Author: capitalaccess

Capital Access Group is pleased to announce that we have provided a $20,000 grant to support the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. Renaissance provides business training and support services, access to resources, and networks for business owners. Capital Access Group’s grant will be used to fuel Renaissance’s women programs, access to capital workshops, and Small Business-Big Impact, Renaissance’s annual event.

“The work that Renaissance does in the community is incredibly inspiring,” said Jacklyn Jordan, President and CEO of Capital Access Group. “The organization is having a profound economic impact across the Bay Area by helping low and moderate-income small business owners succeed. We are especially pleased to support Renaissance’s women’s program to help alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life for low-income women and their families.”

In its first 30 years in the Bay Area, Renaissance has helped bring more than 10,000 small businesses to market, and a recent survey by Entrepreneur Tracker, an independent evaluation by the Aspen Institute’s FIELD program, showed that one year after Renaissance clients completed 10 hours of service they experience a 38% increase in household income.

“We are so appreciative of Capital Access Group’s generous grant,” said Sharon Miller, CEO, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. “Capital Access has an amazing, 30-year track record of supporting California small businesses. We’re thrilled to partner with them, and we’re also excited about the opportunity to collaborate with them on access to capital events. We look forward to working with them over the coming year.”

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Meet the Coffee That All the Cool Tech Kids Drink
Equator Coffees & Teas can be found at LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google offices. Oh, and its founders are the 2016 SBA Small Business Persons of the Year.
BY HELENA BALL

Where do employees of West Coast tech firms get their caffeine fix?
More often than not, they turn to Equator Coffees & Teas, whose blends are stocked at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters and three of Google’s Mountain View buildings. The café at LinkedIn’s new 26-story headquarters in San Francisco’s South of Market district will also stock Equator coffee when it opens in June — just like all other LinkedIn Northern California office locations.

The small, tech-friendly roasting company launched 21 years ago in Mill Valley, just an hour north of its Silicon counterpart. Brooke McDonnell sold her mother’s wedding ring to buy a small Petroncini roaster and start Equator with her life partner, Helen Russell. Today, their 90-employee company, which also has four standalone retail locations, projects some $15 million in revenue for 2016. And they recently became the first LGBT-certified business owners to win the Small Business Administration’s highest honor, the annual Small Business Persons of the Year award.

But becoming the coffee roaster that helps fuel the Bay Area tech scene was a long journey that, in some ways, mirrors what many tech startups go through. For starters, McDonnell and Russell launched their roasting business in a garage, deciding to take a gamble on their own venture after running two coffee carts for several years in San Francisco and Oakland.

Product quality was the first priority: They wanted to focus on finding coffee beans from sustainable sources and build a “farm to cup” relationship rather than buying through a distributor. Like most disrupters, they wanted to change the modus operandi of their industry’s supply chain.

After that, a number of pivots and chance encounters — including a serendipitous meeting with LinkedIn’s head of global food services — led them to success. And much like your typical Valley upstart, Equator has had setbacks along the way, like the time when Starbucks acquired a bakery that represented 12% of its revenue. But thanks to its distinctive blends (and the resilience that most success stories share), the company has maintained double-digit sales growth for years.

From baristas to coffee roasters

In the early 1990s, just as Starbucks was taking off and Americans were finally discovering espresso-based coffee drinks (lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos), McDonnell and Russell were in Portland, Oregon, trying their hand at real estate flipping. The duo themselves had grown up on instant coffee. But seeing the coffee shop culture take off in the City of Roses inspired them to bring the concept back to their home state of California.

After three successful years as coffee cart baristas, they set out to create their own roasting and wholesale operations with Equator. But first, they did their homework: McDonnell sought mentorship from veteran roasters and Russell spent several months working for espresso-machine maker La Pavoni. McDonnell then took the role of “executive chef,” using her sophisticated palate from a childhood of international travels to create their product.

“She would start roasting the coffee, tasting the coffee, and pulling it on an espresso machine and really understand what the nuances of flavor were, and started to create her blends,” Russell says.

“It was very unusual,” she adds. “Back in 1995 there were probably only five women in the country roasting coffee.”

Russell leveraged her own background in sales to take charge of the operational side of the business, cold-calling potential clients (like restaurants or boutiques) and convincing them of Equator’s value as a coffee roaster and full-service consultant. For clients who wished to set up a coffee bar, Equator could help with lease negotiations, setting up the equipment and even creating P&L statements.

“We would sell them espresso equipment, brewing refrigeration — whatever we could do to keep us afloat,” Russell says.

Soon after, they secured orders from renowned chefs, including Thomas Keller from French Laundry restaurant and Pascal Rigo from La Boulange bakery. Equator created customized blends, including French Laundry Blend and Bouchon Blend.

In 2003, Equator moved out of the garage and into a larger location that would allow the company to scale. The owners turned to the SBA for a loan to purchase a 5,500-square-foot facility that would house their larger roasting operations. Capital Access Group, a certified development company that works with the SBA, helped Equator acquire the $1.1 million loan. “I thought it was impossible,” Russell says, but explains that by putting aside as much cash flow as she could over a couple of years, they were able to round up the 10 percent down payment.

Coffee wars

In the new millennium, the Starbucks brand exploded. Competitors started to flood the market, including Stumptown, Blue Bottle, and Philz Coffee. Additionally, the rapidly growing Starbucks acquired La Boulange–which meant Equator could lose its $1 million contract with the bakery overnight. Thankfully, according to Russell, the Howard Schultz-owned chain was unable to re-create the Equator blend and decided to honor the previous contract for three months. But the pair realized they needed to tweak their business model in order to survive in the newly crowded market.

“With all the competition,” Russell explains, “one thing they all had in common was that they had a retail store and we didn’t have one.”

To complete the pivot, they turned again to the SBA in 2004 for a second loan, this time for $250,000 to open their first brick-and-mortar location at Proof Lab Surf Shop in Mill Valley. Since then, three other locations have followed in downtown Mill Valley, San Francisco, and Larkspur–just a few minutes south of San Rafael. But it was a chance meeting at their first location that sealed a relationship with LinkedIn.

“The head of global food services for LinkedIn stopped at the surf shop,” Russell says. After drinking Equator’s coffee, he called the company that manages LinkedIn’s food service. “And he said, ‘You brought me all these other roasters, but I just had the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had.’” The chance encounter landed them the LinkedIn gig, and opened the door to working with other big tech companies.

Today, Equator has more than 350 wholesale customers. Along with double-digit sales growth, the roaster has scaled its social responsibility and sustainability projects, including micro loans for farmers and land rights advocacy for women in Nicaragua. In 2008, Equator founded a coffee farm in Panama, Finca Sophia, and later became a certified B Corporation.

Not only is Equator well loved by the Silicon Valley crowd, it has received accolades along the way. The SBA said it chose the company from thousands of nominees based on growth in employees, sales, net profit, and net worth. The honor comes a few months after Equator (along with a group of other roasters) won the Good Food Award for best taste in responsibly produced coffee.

The Equator founders say the unique taste is one reason why the West Coast tech crowd is drawn to its brews — that, plus the brand’s transparency and sustainability. “Our customers love [us],” Russell says. “They love that we serve customers an excellent product that has a story. And they know we have dirt on our boots.”

Read the full article online here.

Jacklyn Jordan, President & CEO of Capital Access Group, was recently featured in the North Bay Business Journal. A summary of the profile is below, or click here to read the article online.

Significant news at your bank: Capital Access Group was recognized recently as the fastest Certified Development Company (CDC) in California for turnaround times on SBA 504 loan approvals, and in the Top 10 in the entire country, receiving a 4-star rating — the highest rating possible — from the SBA for its work. Capital Access Group turns loans around in almost half the time compared to the national average of all CDCs. In California’s competitive commercial real estate market, quick turnaround time is essential.

Favorite SBA lending story: One of our clients, Marin County-based Equator Coffees & Teas, was named SBA’s national Business Person(s) of the year and the 2016 Small Business of the Year for California. Capital Access Group nominated cofounders, Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell, for the award. We provided SBA 504 financing in 2003 for Equator to purchase its own, 5,500-square-foot roasting plant. We are honored to have played a role in the success of their business.

Calling the decision to purchase “one of the best decisions we’ve ever made,” Helen said Capital Access “made the process very easy, and really walked us through the process. A conventional loan, with a down payment between 20 and 35 percent, would have made it impossible to own.”

Founded in 1995, Equator now has 90 employees, more than 350 wholesale customers – including the renowned French Laundry restaurant in Yountville – and three retail stores in Northern California with two more on the way.

These amazing women have not only created a successful, socially responsible business, they have also helped to influence the trajectory of the coffee industry through their early support of the Fair Trade movement.

Most-inspiring leader: The leaders I admire most are the hardworking small businessmen and women who start and grow their own businesses. We are fortunate to work with some of the most successful small business owners, the ones who are ready to invest in expanding with their own facilities. They work hard every day to drive economic growth, create jobs, and strengthen their communities.

Auxin Solar, a leading manufacturer of U.S.-made solar panels, solar mounting racks, and solar energy-producing systems, now has room to grow, thanks in part to a $10,206,540 million SBA 504 loan from Capital Access Group. The 504 loan helped Auxin Solar, Inc. to purchase a 99,576 sq. ft. building located at 6835 Via Del Oro, San Jose, CA.

“We were leasing a 27,000 sq. ft. facility, but the business is growing very rapidly, and we recognized that a year down the road we would need a larger facility,” said Mamun Rashid, co-founder, Auxin Solar. “Owning the building allows us to make infrastructure improvements, plus we are now free to install our own solar system technology to power ourselves. The building will also allow for expansion without having to relocate. Essentially the facility allows us room to grow for the future.”

Auxin currently has 90 employees with expansion plans that will support the creation of approximately 40 new jobs at the new facility.

“Auxin Solar is such an exciting business, and we are proud to partner with them to provide 504 financing that will facilitate the creation of dozens of new jobs,” said Cara Rudy, Vice President, Capital Access Group. “Owning the building instead of leasing will help the company control costs because they don’t have to worry about lease expenses going up, plus they can make significant infrastructure investments that wouldn’t have been possible in a lease situation.”

“Cara (Rudy) from Capital Access Group worked with us every step of the way,” said Sherry Tai, co-founder, Auxin Solar. “There is a lot of paperwork, and it’s intimidating for a company like ours in the early stages of growth, but Cara held our hand through the whole thing.”

“The SBA 504 program is a great example of a government program that works. It goes directly to the bottom line, and it creates jobs,” said Tai.

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This morning, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet named Equator Coffees & Teas co-founders Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell the 2016 National Small Business of the Year! This is the first time an LGBT-owned business has won the award.

“It is my extreme pleasure and honor to announce that business partners Brooke McDonnell and Helen Russell from Equator Coffees & Teas headquartered in San Rafael, California are this year’s national Small Business Person(s) of the Year,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. “Helen and Brooke purchased their own roasting plant using an SBA 504 loan. They have worked diligently with their farmers for 17 years and were one of the first roasters to support the Fair Trade movement to gain better wages for growers.”

Capital Access Group nominated Helen and Brooke for the Small Business of the Year award based on the SBA 504 loan the women received in 2003 to purchase their own 5,500-square-foot roasting plant in San Rafael. Helen calls it “one of the best decisions that we’ve ever made.”

“Helen and Brooke are two of the most inspirational small business owners we’ve ever had the privilege of working with, and we are extremely proud of their success,” said Jacklyn Jordan, President and CEO, Capital Access Group. “Helen and Brooke have built a successful, socially responsible business with 90 employees, more than 350 wholesale customers, and three retail stores in Northern California with two more on the way.”

Here are just a few of Equator’s milestones:

• First U.S. coffee roaster to become a certified B Corporation
• Early supporter of the Fair Trade Certified label
• Certified LGBT-owned business by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
• Member of the Golden Gate Business Association
• Included in the SF Business Times’ Top 100 Women-Owned Businesses 12 years in a row
• Ranked No. 6 in the SF Biz Times’ first-ever Top 25 LGBT-owned businesses in the Bay Area

Read the Administrator’s press release here.

Having won the SBA’s Small Business of the Year Award for the state of California last month, the SBA Administrator, Maria Contreras-Sweet, presented Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell, co-founders of Equator, with the award for National Small Business of the Year earlier in the week in Washington, D.C., kicking off National Small Business Week.

The Administrator again recognized this amazing achievement and the historic milestone that the win represents, as the first LGBT business to win the award in the SBA’s history.

Administrator Contreras-Sweet called Helen and Brooke “impact entrepreneurs” as she presented them with the SBA award on behalf of President Barack Obama at their Market Street location on Friday, May 6.

“We wanted to close out National Small Business Week celebrating entrepreneurs with a double bottom line, those who make an impact. It’s important to make a profit, but it’s more important to make a difference in a community,” she said.

Our CEO, Jacklyn Jordan, spoke about how honored we are to be a part of Equator’s growth and success, and congratulated them on this amazing and historic achievement.

We are thrilled to announce that our client, Equator Coffees & Teas, has been named 2016 Small Business of the Year for the state of California.

Capital Access Group nominated Equator cofounders Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell for the award based on the SBA 504 loan the women received in 2003 to purchase their own 5,500-square-foot roasting plant in San Rafael. Helen calls it “one of the best decisions that we’ve ever made.” Equator now has 90 employees, more than 350 wholesale customers – including the renowned French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, Calif., cafes at LinkedIn and micro-kitchens at Google – and three retail stores in Northern California with two more on the way.

“It is such an incredible honor to be recognized by the SBA as Small Business of the Year for the State of California, and we are grateful to Capital Access Group for nominating us for this prestigious award,” said Helen Russell, Co-Founder, Equator Coffees & Teas, Inc. “As an entrepreneur, a women-owned business, and a LGBT-certified business, I am proud to say that the SBA has been there for Equator at all stages of our growth over the last 21 years. The SBA knows that small businesses like Equator are creating quality jobs and driving our economy. The SBA has had our back at important milestones in our evolution. We celebrate this achievement with our employees, our partners and our collective communities.”

“We were especially proud to nominate Helen and Brooke for this prestigious award,” said Jacklyn Jordan, President and CEO, Capital Access Group. “These amazing women have not only created a successful, socially responsible business, they have also helped to influence the overall trajectory of the coffee industry through their early support of the Fair Trade movement. They are imminently deserving of this award, and we are honored to have played a role in the success of their business.”

In 2011, Equator was the first U.S. coffee roaster to become a certified B Corporation, meeting rigorous environmental and social performance standards. The company works directly with its farmers and was one of the first roasters to support the Fair Trade Certified label to gain better wages for the growers. It also co-owns a sustainably planned farm, Finca Sophia, in Panama, which won the 2016 Good Food Awards. Equator, as part of its social mission, provides 100 percent health insurance to all of its employees.

Already, the kudos for Helen and Brooke’s achievement are pouring in:

In making the announcement, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said, “These small business owners represent the best of the best and showcase daily their entrepreneurial spirit and what it takes to be successful in today’s evolving and competitive business environment.”

“This celebrated recognition of Helen and Brooke’s outstanding work not only exemplifies what we know of women in business leadership; it also illuminates an answer to the challenge of our time, demonstrating that businesses can be both successful and sustainable,” said California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom. “Their example and their achievements set the standard for small businesses to follow and I congratulate them both on their contributions to the community and the state of California.”

“Equator Coffees and Teas say ‘our story lives in every cup of coffee we make,’ and like their intensely loyal customers, we find that story compelling,” said Mark Quinn, SBA San Francisco District Office District Director. “Helen and Brooke support projects around the world that improve quality of life from coffee growing regions to the Tenderloin.”

“Brooke and Helen’s shared love for artisan coffee and a desire to have an impact on an industry with evolving social, economic and environmental issues is profound,” said Chef Thomas Keller, whose restaurants serve its own unique blend of Equator Coffee. “It is their commitment to forging personal relationships with farmers and hands-on approach that make them inspirational leaders and business owners; they are most deserving of this prestigious award.”

Equator will be honored on May 2nd in Washington DC. The event is being held as part of the 2016 National Small Business Week celebration, May 1-7.

Read the full article online here.

Capital Access Group recently arranged $2.3 million in total project financing for Basil Leaf Café to purchase the 2,697 sq. ft. building it had been leasing since 2006. Basil Leaf Café is located at 501-521 Hartz Avenue, Danville, CA.

“The SBA 504 loan was a no-brainer,” said Dan Hawkins, President, Basil Leaf Café. “The 10% down payment makes it very attainable, especially in this area where the cost of real estate is so high. For just 10% down you can get into the market, and the long-term, fixed payments offer stability for the business. For entrepreneurs that stability is key.”

Basil Leaf Café is a full-service Italian restaurant specializing in fresh fish, salad, pasta, and homemade risotto dishes combining traditional Italian fare with seasonal California ingredients. The restaurant has been operated by local entrepreneur Dan Hawkins since 2006.

Basil Leaf Café currently employs the equivalent of 25 full-time employees, and the 504 loan will facilitate approximately five additional positions, according to Hawkins, who said that if he hadn’t exercised the option in his lease to purchase the building, “all of the jobs would have been lost. So it’s a win-win.”

“My experience working with Capital Access Group was great,” said Hawkins. “Cara was awesome, and even their attorney was incredible. They went above and beyond to help out.”

Read the full article online here.