Sixty-eight entrepreneurs received checks from Start Garden’s $300,000 relief fund, which was dubbed The Comeback Fund.
The relief efforts originated from the annual Start Garden 100 competition. After the COVID-19 global pandemic was declared, disrupting the business plans of entrepreneurs, the organization pivoted to offer a relief fund.
“Each day, we talk to entrepreneurs, many say that time is their biggest enemy,” said Jorge Gonzalez, Start Garden co-director. “When their April 1 bills came due, it was a serious blow. We knew they needed money before May 1, so we compressed what’s normally six months of work into three weeks. With so many requests, we wished we could do more. We’re confident we did the best we could as fast as possible.”
The funds were approved by a review committee after entrepreneurs were given 100 hours to apply for the grant. The winners were notified through Zoom calls.
The results of the 100-hour application process:
- 430 applications submitted
- $5.6 million in requests
- 70% of fund requests were for $10,000 or less
- 68 applicants were selected to receive funds
- Selections were made and entrepreneurs notified in less than 100 hours
- 88% of recipients indicated a household income of less than $60,000
- 44% of recipients are female and 56% were male
- 35% of recipients are Black, 32% are Caucasian, 25% are Hispanic, 4% are Asian, 3% identified as other.
“New business owners frequently pay everyone else before themselves. Almost instantaneously, their ability to provide for their own families was compromised,” Start Garden co-director Paul Moore said. “These funds targeted eliminating that problem for an entrepreneur as they spend the next few months navigating the daily changing landscape of how to make a comeback.”
The 68 recipients:
5F Ventures LLC
AgHelp
Any Colour You Like Treats LLC
Arebelo & Associates
Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine
Aztech
Bare All LLC
BattleGR
Blackbird RSVP
Break Room Therapy
Bryan Esler Photo
Chez Olga LLC
CNN Cleaning LLC
Daddy’s Dough Cookies
Dime & Regal
Edgerow Property Management
El Globo Restaurant
El Granjero Mexican Grill
Emonae Korean BBQ
EverythingAB
Flip Dog Yoga
Germination Labs
Grand Rapids Sport & Social Club
Graped Out
Guelaguetza Designs
Irie Kitchen
Jose Abreu Graphic Studio, antiguamente Koren Graphic Design*
KOKI
La Casa del Pollo Loco
Lawnbot
Life Addicts Studio
Lindo Mexico Restaurante Mexicano
Little Space Studio
Littlebird, That Earlybird, Kingfisher
Love’s Ice Cream & Chocolate
Luxe Artisan Preserves
Matt Everitt Productions
Michigan Clinical & Therapeutic Massage
Michigan House Creative
Mindset Meals
Mosbys Popcorn
Muse GR
New Valley Landscape LLC
Noble Strong Training LLC
Old World Olive Co.
Pack Elephant
PhotoUp
Polished Nail Bar & Spa
Pottery Lane
Rising Grinds Cafe
Rogers Wealth Management Services, LLC
RYE Venue Management LLC DBA The Lit GR
SlothWerks LLC
Soldadera Coffee LLC
Sparkle All The Time
Supreme Focus Ent (Dj Composition)
Sympl.
Tacos el Cunado
The Comedy Project
The G-1:27 Collection
The Hot Spot Metal Studio
The Wisdom Center LLC
United Freedom Painting LLC
VIVE MICHIGAN Magazine
Wallway Technologies & Women in Tech with Ariana Podcast
Wear Your Curls
Wimage, LLC
Wormies
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