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Phat Salads and Wraps, Napa

Background
In the spring of 2007, Gia Sempronio came to the NVC Small Business Development Center with an idea to own a high quality, healthy and mobile quick service take out food business. Her idea was to take off of the traditional motor catering truck known better for visiting construction and office sites with a healthy alternative to be called Phat Salads and Wraps. Early on Gia identified that fresh and healthy are critical keys to success.

Constance Rose Textile Designs, Eureka

Like most artists, Connie Rose has been creating works of art all her life.  However, she never quite considered herself an “artist”.  Like anyone else, she worked a typical 9-5 office job and art was just a hobby on the side.  After a while she began selling her bead work and experimenting with textiles.  Even after Connie had begun selling her art work, she still didn’t label herself as an artist.  However, after she participated in the North Coast SBDC Artists Flight program that all changed.

Mad River Brewing Company, Blue Lake

Mad River Brewing bottles in a riverWith a small group of investors, Bob Smith founded Mad River Brewing Company in 1989.  Bob was committed to both brewing fine ales with traditional brewing methods, and using “Reduce, Re-use and Recycle” programs.  Mad River Brewing Company has achieved a 98% waste reduction rate.

Rising Tide Sea Vegetables, Mendocino

Rising Tide Sea Vegetables is a thriving cottage industry perched on one of the cleanest coastlines in the world – the wild and beautiful north coast of California. We have been fine-tuning the techniques involved in wildcrafting, drying, and storing sea vegetables since 1981. According to many of our customers we now have the highest quality seaweed available in the United States.

Brian Newell Furniture, Mendocino

Brian Newell began carving wood at age eight is now a world class furniture artists who recently decided to set up shop in Fort Bragg on the Mendocino coast of California.  In 2004 Robert Long described Newell’s work this way in American Craft Magazine, “His work combines cleanly executed pieces, what seem to be contradictory qualities, such as weight and lightness, formal elegance and whimsy, is his secret.”  Newell’s work is the product of remarkable journey from his hometown of Flint, Michigan to Atsugi-Shi Japan on the outskirts of Tokyo and then to the California Coast.

Tip Top Bike Shop, Oakland

Richard and Charlotte Oelerich, Owners of Tip Top Bike ShopFocused on helping “everyday riders,” Tip Top Bike Shop gently and helpfully encourages people to start and keep cycling as a mode of transportation and recreation. In addition to being extremely environmentally conscientious in every aspect of their business (from building renovation to daily operations), they regularly donate to local organizations as well as shop locally and encourage their customers to do so.

DRACO Healthcare Consulting LLC, Fremont

Dr. Linda Zhao, Owner of DRACO Healthcare Consulting LLC.Draco Healthcare gathers and provides healthcare information to pharmaceutical and medical device companies.  It focuses on the enormous Chinese market, and is the only provider to provide patient-by-patient, hospital-by-hospital and region-by-region information.

Sparta Performance Science, Menlo Park

Dr. Phil Wagner, Owner of Sparta Performance Science

Sparta Performance Science is a new facility in Menlo Park which develops scientifically-driven workout programs for professional and amateur athletes.  The company’s state-of-the-art facility provides expert assessment of athletic capabilities, a custom workout plan and continual monitoring of progress.  It targets everyone from members of NFL football teams to high school and college athletic stars.

Marbella Properties, Silicon Valley

Marbella Properties, formerly called “It’s a Hummer”, specializes in high-end residential property management.

Although she had many years of experience leasing and managing high-end properties, owning and managing her own business was a new experience for Carla Bunch. She’d purchased an existing company, It’s a Hummer, in March of 2008. By May, she realized she needed help and came to the Silicon Valley SBDC to get it.

Ku Day Ta Tea Lounge, Milpitas

Ku Day Ta is a new company that promotes tea drinking through a range of tea lounges where you can enjoy various tea drinks in a relaxed, stylish and contemporary atmosphere. In addition to tea drinks and unique confectionaries, they also offer a selection of packaged tea for sale. Ku Day Ta is an ideal location for corporate events, bridal showers, charity events and local club meetings. The company’s first tea lounge opened in September 2008 after a long two year process of business development that included traveling to several Asian countries - including China, South Korea, India, Thailand and Indonesia – to learn how each culture grows, brews and uses tea.