MENDOCINO Co., 12/30/22 — The third round of the West Center StartUp Mendocino business accelerator program is about to begin, and the twelve local businesses that have been selected for the free program have finally been announced. Participants will receive a series of free trainings over 21 weeks, and conclude with a public event on June 8, 2023 at the Little River Inn.
The program is “designed to give local entrepreneurs with great ideas the opportunity to participate in an intensive training program to spark new thinking about what is possible for their business, their community, and the economy of Mendocino County,” according to the announcement.
This year’s participants include a number of local food businesses, fire prevention and landscaping, as well as several “business to business” organization — the full list is included below. Our congratulations to the winners! (Full disclosure: The Mendocino Voice participated in the first round of this program).
Here’s the announcement from West Center:
FORT BRAGG, Calif. – December 13, 2022 – West Business Development Center (“West Center”) is pleased to announce that twelve early-stage entrepreneurs have been selected for the StartUp Mendocino 2023 business accelerator program. This no-cost program is designed to give local entrepreneurs with great ideas the opportunity to participate in an intensive training program to spark new thinking about what is possible for their business, their community, and the economy of Mendocino County.
The program will begin on January 12, 2023 running until the program’s event finale on Friday June 8, 2023 at the Little River Inn, to which the public is invited. Over the course of the 21-week program participants will be introduced to new approaches that address business and financial planning, successful branding and marketing, technology and best practices for e-commerce, time management, and how to pitch your business.
The 2023 participants include:
● Miss KJ’s Bangin Bites, a catering company offering desserts to full meals, is owned by Kerryjane DeVito (North Coast)
● Full Service Fire Prevention was formed by Josh King to mitigate the potential of wildfire on public and private property (North County)
● Ignacio Fuego Hot Sauce warms people’s souls and bellies with unique hot sauces made by Michael Sheller (Ukiah Region)
● Syd’s Tempeh Co.’ s owner, Sydney Grange, makes handcrafted tempeh from locally sourced grains and beans (Ukiah Region)
● Alien Major, started by Cameron Underwood-Williams, provides worksite wellness services (Ukiah Region)
● Mendo Junk Removal, run by Scott Shaw, is the only local company that specializes in junk removal services (North County)
● Wild Mendocino utilizes the wildcrafting skills of owner Sherry Bell who makes handcrafted organic soaps (North Coast)
● Paradise Garden Landscape Design, founded by Stevie Jean Carey-Prock, brings climate-forward landscape design and installation (North Coast)
● Big Earl’s BBQ’s owner, Earl Chavez, cooks up Texas-style barbecue with all the fixings (Ukiah Region)
● All Our Relations Consulting, a new business owned by Buffey Bourassa, plans to lead partnership efforts with tribal communities (North County)
● 352 Innovation, LLC, owned by Krystyna Kubran, offers several unique engineering solutions that support the clean transportation industry (Ukiah Region)
● Grazing Bull Catering is a queer owned catering company, founded by Lew Crockett, that cooks up nutritious comfort food for the local community (Ukiah Region)
Laura Brooks, StartUp Mendocino’s Program Director, stated, “We were so pleased with the caliber of all applicants to the program. Every candidate was worthy, so it was a challenge for the selection committee to make their final decision. Kudos to everyone who applied.”
StartUp Mendocino 2023 is made possible by the generous support of our local sponsors, which include: Redwood Credit Union, the County of Mendocino, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Tri Counties Bank, Charles D. “Charlie” Kelly, LPL Financial LLC, and Umpqua Bank. West Center is still actively seeking sponsorship for this Mendocino business accelerator program.
Follow the StartUp Mendocino program at www.westcenter.org/startup-mendo or contact Laura Brooks, [email protected] for program information.
