Keba Konte has demonstrated his commitment to creating good jobs for people in Oakland, California. In fact, over the years he’s created over fifty jobs through three enterprises. But, when he went to his bank to secure funding to open a new wholesale coffee roastery and cafe, he was turned down.
Category: Success Story
James Holtslag, The Heart and Trotter
Civic San Diego provided Accion San Diego, a nonprofit microlender, $400,000 in lending capital from the Civic San Diego Loan Fund in 2017. This capital is supporting small businesses in communities that have a median household income of $60,000 or below. One of the businesses who received funds was The Heart and Trotter Butchery located in the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association (BIA). Voted San Diego City Beat’s Best Butcher Shop the last three years, the Heart and Trotter is a whole animal butchery offering the highest quality, hormone and antibiotic free meats and products sourced from local sustainable ranchers and businesses.
Christopher McMichael and Maurion Gaines, Threadz Culture + Fashion
Before they started their business, Christopher McMichael and Maurion Gaines came together over their shared passion for music. In 2012 when Chris was working security and kept hitting ceilings as he tried to advance in his career, he decided to pursue his clothing line full time. “My clothing line had already had some success. I knew that for it to grow to the next level, I needed to open a store to better serve the business,” remembers Chris. At the same time, Maurion was doing well in his job as an electrician and wanted to invest some of the money he had saved into something he was passionate about. As Chris shared his desire to take his clothing line and expand into a retail store, Maurion knew it was the right time and opportunity he’d been looking for. Together they launched Threadz Culture + Fashion, a retail store featuring the best streetwear and urban clothing styles in Oakland. They offer custom, limited run pieces, enabling their customers to build a look that is truly unique.
With Love Market & Café, Faces of Entrepreneurship Winner
Andrew McDowell was laying on the beach in Cancun, reading My Business, My Mission – the story of businessmen and entrepreneurs partnering together to find solutions for economic growth to restore and impact lives. The immense impact of social enterprises in third world countries detailed in the book, and two years of collecting ideas, brought clarity to his vision. That day he made the decision to exit the world of digital advertising and start his own business.
Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas, Faces of Entrepreneurship Winner
If several years ago you would have told Alicia Villanueva that she would be making over 40,000 tamales a month, she would not have believed you. By day she cleaned houses and did home care. Every night she dreamed of starting her own business. Since arriving in the United States in 2001, she had a passion for sharing her Mexican culture and the best way to do that was through cooking tamales.
Tyrone Botelho and Tiffany Hoang, Circle Up Education
Javier Zamora, JSM Organics
Stardusted Events, Joze Lopez
Judi Henderson, Mannequin Madness
After working with business coach Gwen Wright of The Wright Consultants, who also runs Renaissance’s Financing Resource Center, Judi increased her sales by 10 percent and her profit margin by roughly 25 percent. Judi says she’s now well on her way to joining the million dollar club.
Andrei Sobolev and Serhiy Misiruk, Creative Millworks, Inc.
When banks wouldn’t give Andrei Sobolev and Serhiy Misiruk a loan, they found a solution with Opening Doors. Now, they get frequent loan offers from those banks and can choose where they’ll take their business.