Marisol Martinez ran her own boutique before taking a job with Corky & Co., a Fall River children’s clothing manufacturer. Now she’s back in the entrepreneurial spirit, with a new fashion label and plans to sell handbags at trade shows in New York and Atlanta.
But this time, she’s not doing it alone.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
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Martinez, of Cranston, is working with Urban Ventures, an “incubator without walls” that recruits promising businesses in Rhode Island’s cities and works closely with them to help them grow, connecting them with experts in a wide range of fields.
“I was a little intimidated at first, because I’m not a business person – I’m a creative person,” Martinez said. “But that’s why I really needed them. … I told them my story, and they created a committee for me of people in marketing, finance, even a lawyer for my trademark. Anything that I’ve needed, that’s what they brought to the table.”
Urban Ventures isn’t restricted to minority businesses, but of the 33 on its current roster, 25 are minority-owned, according to Justin Aina, the executive director. They range from family child care, to janitorial services, to fashion, to a sign and billboard maker.
What they have in common, Aina said, is an urban setting and a commitment to intensive, long-term collaboration with the nonprofit group to meet their businesses’ full potential.
Founded in 1999 as part of an urban economic development effort backed by the state and the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, Urban Ventures began as a more traditional business incubator, with a building at 150 Colfax St., in South Providence, that also housed the first clients. But the group wanted to reach more businesses than it could fit in that space, so it began reaching out to the community at large, mostly minority businesses in the area.
After working with 17 or 18 entrepreneurs, however, Aina said, they realized that “only seven or eight could really do something great.” Urban Ventures decided to target companies like that – ones with substantial growth potential and the ability to take full advantage of all the resources the group could provide. “We see 10 before we end up with one,” Aina said.
The chosen ones get business coaches and a customized board of volunteer advisers who work with them for several years (the target is three to four) to grow the company and ensure its future viability.
Urban Ventures is not, by any means, the only resource available to small urban businesses in Rhode Island. There are incubators, plenty of places to get information and referrals, and all sorts of training programs, from quick tutorials to longer courses.
But what makes this program unique, said Hannah Hodgson, president of the Cranston Chamber of Commerce, is the way it connects entrepreneurs directly with expert advisers.
“Other things are more classroom-oriented, or resource centers where you don’t have a lot of one-on-one time with an expert,” Hodgson said. “Urban Ventures is more of a hands-on approach. You have years of experience in one room from all different backgrounds.”
To reach companies that aren’t quite long-term Urban Ventures material, but need help, the group plans to offer a “Gateway to Business Development” program, Aina said, so business owners can walk in, talk with experts for an hour, and get some advice and referrals.
But the core of Urban Ventures – growing businesses over several years – has proven successful and will remain the priority, Aina said. From 2000 to 2004, he said, the group’s portfolio grew from seven companies with total revenue of $241,472 and 16 employees, to 25 companies, 22 of which had total revenue of $8.54 million and 77 employees (the other three were in their planning phase). By the end of this year, the roster is expected to grow to 40.
No one has yet “graduated” from Urban Ventures, though some businesses are more actively engaged with the group than others. Legacy Cleaning, for example, which is still at 150 Colfax St. and has grown from a “mom-and-pop” with one employee to a staff of 15, got lots of help early on, and owner Wally Akinkuowo credits that support, in part, with the company’s 70-percent plus growth since 2000. But now he’s mostly on his own; his Urban Ventures coaches just “come in here once in a while to check how healthy the business is.”
Araminta McIntosh, on the other hand, who also signed up in 2000, is still making the most of her resources. She’s trying to turn her Providence family child care business, Home Away from Home, into a full-fledged child care center, and she’s working closely with her advisers.
“They have been a tremendous help to me,” she said.
As for Martinez and her label, Milana Designs, the adventure is just beginning.
“We meet about once a month, and we talk about where I’m at and what I have to do to get to the next level,” she said. “It’s been great. I’m really excited.”
