Business Model: How to Scale for Growth - Emerging Farmer Learning Series
March 4, 2026 12:00PM - 1:30PM
Featured Speaker: Millie Chu, Founder & CEO, Global Entrepreneurship Business Lab
Hosts: Jazmin Bolan-Williamson, Farm and Food Business Coordinator, Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, and Erin Elly, Technical Assistance Manager, Michigan Good Food Fund
To provide support for Michigan farmers and food business owners, Michigan’s Emerging Farmers and the Michigan Good Food Fund are partnering to host a free webinar series focused on key business topics. This farmer training series will cover a range of subjects, including value-chain coordination, customer insights, preparing for financing, and more.
These virtual sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 12-1:30pm, March 4-April 15, 2026. During each 90-minute session, experienced subject matter experts will lead a presentation before transitioning to breakout rooms among participants. These sessions will be hosted live for interactive discussions, as well as recorded and shared for later viewing.
Meet this Week's Speaker
Millie Chu is an internationally recognized expert in entrepreneurship, business strategy, and social impact, with deep experience supporting food and farm-adjacent businesses. She is the founder of the Global Entrepreneurship Business Lab (GEBL), a Michigan-based consulting and training firm that helps entrepreneurs turn real-world operations into clear, fundable, and scalable business models.
Since 2007, Millie has worked at the intersection of economic development, entrepreneurship, and food systems, supporting thousands of organizations and entrepreneurs through business planning, market research, financial readiness, and growth strategy. Her work includes advising food producers, farms, food trucks, restaurants, markets, and value-added food businesses, as well as drawing on her own lived experience as a former co-founder of two family-owned food establishments.
Millie has also led food-focused initiatives at a national and global level. She has designed social gastronomy and food entrepreneurship programs in partnership for the U.S. Department of State and the University of Michigan, including the development of multi-course curricula for refugee entrepreneurs in the Middle East. Social gastronomy uses food as a tool for economic opportunity, workforce development, and community resilience; connecting culinary skill, entrepreneurship, and social impact.
Featured in Forbes as an immigrant leader and highlighted by outlets such as U.S. News & World Report, Millie is known for translating complex business concepts into practical, actionable frameworks. Her work helps businesses clarify their value proposition, choose the right business model, prepare for growth, and navigate the path toward financial sustainability and access to capital.
About Michigan Good Food Fund
Michigan Good Food Fund invests in food and farm entrepreneurs across the state, offering flexible financing and tailored business assistance to grow a more resilient, inclusive local food system. We meet entrepreneurs where they are, connect them with what they need, and build long-term relationships that help their businesses thrive. As we work toward a more resilient, inclusive food industry, we focus on entrepreneurs whose access to power and capital has been historically limited because of their race, ethnicity, and/or gender. Our efforts are guided by the shared vision of our Stakeholder Board, a diverse group of entrepreneurs, farmers, funders, and policymakers with deep roots in Michigan.
About Michigan’s Emerging Farmers
Our statewide program aims to create pathways to growth and economic opportunity for all of Michigan’s agricultural producers, including small- to mid-sized farmers. This project is funded by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, in a cooperative agreement with members of the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, Michigan State University Extension, and Michigan Food and Farming Systems (MIFFS).
This work is supported by the American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Initiative program, project award no. 2023-70417-39233, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
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