Main Street Launch celebrates another year of entrepreneurial excellence. On Saturday, March 5, 2022 members of the community celebrated the graduating class of the 2021-22 Entrepreneurs in Residence program. Main Street Launch hosted the graduating cohort, mentors, friends, and grantors and colleagues at the scenic Viaggio Winery located in Lodi, CA. Nine program participants from…
MAIN STREET LAUNCH AWARDED $2 MILLION BY WELLS FARGO TO SUPPORT AFRICAN AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURS This grant will enable Main Street Launch to address the racial wealth gap through launching an African American Entrepreneurship Institute. May 6, 2019, Oakland: Wells Fargo announced a $2 million dollar grant in support of Main Street Launch, a Community Development…
Two years ago, the husband-and-wife team, Richard and Mercedes, first thought about opening a family-friendly bar & restaurant. They fell in love with Oakland’s Laurel District, where Degrees Plato now operates, and they feel fortunate for their great neighbors and a supportive community. Now, Degrees Plato has 18 employees, and Richard and Mercedes see their…
Subpar Miniature Golf is an indoor miniature golf course and arcade founded by Michael Taft and David Abernathy. They opened their original location in Alameda in August 2012. Since then, they closed that location and opened a new one at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco in June 2018. At Subpar, mini golf is the focus…
Main Street Launch is proud to partner with Pacific Community Ventures, a nonprofit business lender on a mission to create jobs for working people and make markets work for social good. They achieve their mission through a combination of fair lending, free mentorship, impact investing consulting services, and field building research. Featured here is an…
Bar Shiru is a hi-fi vinyl listening music bar in Oakland, and the first of its kind in the Bay Area. It was founded by business partners Shirin Raza and Daniel Gahr, who also happen to be wife and husband. Shirin and Dan met in 2008 while working at Current TV. Both of them were…
Retreat Skin and Hair Studio provides a safe space for all clients to rejuvenate as they receive high quality skin, beauty, and hair care in a beautiful, relaxed environment. The treatment and product menus are mindfully curated to consider the stress and expense of modern city living. Retreat is a collaboration between two San Francisco…
Sequoia CrossFit is a comprehensive strength and conditioning facility founded by Matt Andus. His studio offers small group trainings and individualized attention designed to assist people attain their fitness goals. For Matt, the most fulfilling aspect of his work is when he can show someone that they can do something with their body that they…
Our partner The Flight Deck, a black box theater in the Heart of Downtown Oakland, has created new offerings for businesses like yours: they are inviting you to use their unique space by hosting team off-sites, large group meetings, and parties. Are you in need of a space for your next large meeting? If so,…
It’s Women’s History Month, and we look forward to celebrating the impact of women entrepreneurs. In this post, we share some basic statistics about women-owned businesses and ways to support women entrepreneurs. The most recently available statistics come from the 2018 State of Women-Owned Business Report by American Express, and SCORE’s Megaphone of Main Street:…
