Aaron Schaap

Aaron Schaap believes everything can be made better through community. Whether that community is digital, physical or both, Aaron wants to be a part of it and quite possibly started it.

In 2004, Aaron founded Elevator Up, a web-hosting and web-development company. Through websites, social media and the sponsoring and hosting of events, Elevator Up rapidly established a strong presence in the community.

One of the initiatives Aaron is most passionate about is coworking. He created The Garage in Zeeland, MI and The Factory in Grand Rapids, MI—two venues open to people of all professions and walks of life to visit, work and collaborate. The model scares some at first, but quickly turns most into advocates.

The entrepreneurial spirit in Aaron can only be held down in the sense that he doesn’t like to refer to himself in clichés. However, he can’t stop himself from being heavily involved with Momentum-mi.com, helping others grow their ideas and start-ups while also launching and co-launching several new ventures of his own, like Downstream (http://downstreamapp.com) and Canvas (http://canvashosting.com).

A strong believer in community and supporter of other entrepreneurs, Aaron’s enthusiasm for growing businesses through relationships is contagious. That’s a true community.