Fair Game
Terry shares how happy he is to have come across Veteran Launch: “You are doing an enormously valuable service for veterans. It was a pleasure to find Veteran Launch and receive the loan that helped me acquire Fair Game.”
VIP Grooming
“When we found the location, we knew we had to jump on this perfect opportunity to expand the business. We couldn’t have done it without the second loan from Main Street Launch,” says Lancy. “The loan allowed us to revamp the new place, set aside money we’d need to grow this new investment, purchase equipment, and help us expand our staff.”
The Port Bar
Sean Sullivan has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community and the Oakland small business community for 15 years. He and his partner Richard Fuentes saw an opportunity to create a gathering place open seven days per week, specifically focused on serving LGBTQ people and Uptown.
Civil Labs
Civil Labs is a social enterprise with a mission to empower young people to make change in their community, and to give them the resources to do so. The Oakland-based business is developing a food community center that provides space for after-school youth programming and commercial kitchens for area food entrepreneurs.
Haute Butch
HauteButch opened in April 2012, offering their customers a line of masculine and gender-neutral clothing and footwear designed for women’s bodies.
The Waffle Experience
The Waffle Experience offers a large menu for breakfast and lunch, all centered around waffles. If you’ve never tried a burger on a waffle or a salad with a waffle base, these guys have you covered.
Bernal Cutlery
Bernal Cutlery offers several classes that cover breaking down fish and vegetables with Japanese techniques, everyday Western knife skills, and Japanese Whetstone sharpening.
Jenny Pennywood
In 2008, Jen Garrido was exclusively working as a fine artist in several galleries. When the recession hit, everything stopped. Jen has always been business-driven and created work for herself, so she got creative about other ways to use her experience as an artist to make money.
Barron Ross
Ed’s business works passionately to support their clients and their families to plan and pay for long-term care. His $50,000 Main Street Launch loan helped upgrade their technology and systems, so they could spend more of their time with clients, and less on arduous record keeping.
Kingston 11
Kingston 11 is truly a part of Oakland, and their business employs 30 people from the community. Nigel notes, “Oakland is a diverse city, and we want our restaurant to reflect the community. From our management team to our customer service approach, we reflect Oakland.”