April, 2010 
News You Can Use
Business Acceleration Services 
In This Issue
RTC Clients Start 6 Businesses
Stitching Their Way to Success
RTC at the Ei Forum
Plan & Pitch Competition 2010
Market Opportunities
Meet our Intern
News and Notes: NJAWBO of Hudsn County, Save the Jersey City UEZ, Rising Tide Capital Renewed
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Rising Tide Capital Clients Start 6 Businesses in Q1 2010
 
Rising Tide Capital (RTC) is proud to announce that seven of our clients have successfully started their own businesses in the first quarter of 2010. Congratulations to Terrence Beale, Amy Krug, Andy Kumar Bhaier Ramsingh-Lance, Almaz Issac, and Stacey and Betty Grant!
 
Beale, who graduated from the Community Business Academy (CBA) in 2007, has started a short haul trucking business called TJB Trucking. He got his license to drive a truck for interstate transportation and after working diligently on his credit for the past two years, has bought his own truck enabling him to start his business. Krug, whose business is called Designs by Amy, is a talented calligrapher who has started her business doing stationery, invitations, and specialty items on a freelance basis. Kumar sells essential, affordable, disposable medical supplies via his business One Stop Health Services and Solutions.
 
Shortly after starting this Spring's CBA Tuesday night class, Ramsingh-Lance started her nanny placement service, Mother's Choice, right in the heart of Jersey City at 35 Journal Square. After completing the Fall 2009CBA, Issac began baking her native Ethiopian bread called injeera for special clientele via Almaaz's Injeera. The Grants, a mother-daughter team, launched their tea business, The Gran Tea Company, offering beautifully packaged unique, one-of-a-kind antique cups, and specialty teas for order.
 
Jay Savulich, Director of Programs, is ecstatic and proud of RTC's newest business owners. "Congratulations to our newest entrepreneurs! They deserve all of the success that life has to offer. I'm not surprised that they've been able to see their business dreams come true because of all of their hard work. This has been a very successful quarter, and these entrepreneurs are a true inspiration to their peers," Savulich said.

Stitching Their Way to Success

Jacqueline (left) and Kandice Odom
Simmy's Stitches
Seeing her newborn granddaughter lying in an incubator in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit with an old, torn blanket atop of it in an attempt to block out excessive light, Jersey City native Jacqueline Odom knew she had to do something about it. Jacqueline, who had been crocheting for the majority of her life, decided to utilize her crotchet skills and create a beautiful blanket to cover the incubator. Before she knew it, she was making over 40 blankets to donate to the hospital and Simmy's Stitches was born.
 
Simmy's Stitches, named after Jacqueline's granddaughter Simone, was launched last December and after a slow start is finally getting off the ground. The business, which is run by Jacqueline and her daughter Kandice - a current Community Business Academy student - is gaining the interest of many, especially since their recent display at Hoboken University Medical Center's "April Showers" luncheon for expectant moms.
In fact, Simmy's Stitches was recently featured in the Jersey Journal.
Neither Kandice nor Jacqueline had any true business management experience, so at the suggestion of Jacqueline's former co-worker at the Jersey Journal, Kandice chose to enroll in the CBA, and is very happy that she made that decision.
 
"Rising Tide Capital is helping me with everything from marketing, finances, inventory, how to appeal to customers, to just everything about running a business. The CBA classes put everything in perspective; I don't know if I would be able to it without Rising Tide Capital. It's been a major help," Kandice said. For more information on ordering from or donating to Simmy's Stitches, check out www.simmystitches.org, or call 201-938-2778.
Rising Tide Capital Participates at the Entrepreneurship Initiative Forum
Alex Forrester, COO
A Forrester
Rising Tide Capital (RTC) CEO Alfa Demmellash and COO Alex Forrester were both presenters at the 5th Annual Entrepreneurship Initiative (Ei) Forum, held April 16-17, 2010 at the World Trade Center. The Ei Forum is an annual meeting of entrepreneurs whose potential business, arts, and non-profit ventures aim to create positive impacts in society. Demmellash was a featured speaker at during the Ei Reception on Friday, April 16, and Forrester was part of a panel discussion on Saturday April 17. Two RTC clients, An Sean Fields and Simon received full scholarships to attend the forum, courtesy of the Grace and Mercy Foundation, a RTC funder and sponsor of the Ei Forum.
 
"Here at Rising Tide Capital we are always looking for opportunities to give our entrepreneurs access to events in which they could network with potential customers and investors. We are very grateful to the Grace & Mercy Foundation for generously providing financial assistance for two of our clients to attend the Ei Forum," Forrester said.
 
Smart, a current Community Business Academy student, was very excited about being able to attend the Forum.  "This is a time in my life when I really want to start my own business, which is why I am doing the CBA course. To be able to go to Ei at this time was very beneficial. The experience of being in a room full of so many entrepreneurs, many of whom are extremely successful, was very motivating and inspiring," he said.
Attention all Rising Tide Capital entrepreneurs...

plan and pitch

Are you ready to Plan & Pitch your business? Rising Tide Capital's Business Acceleration Services is extending the opportunity to all of our clients, past and present, to work on your business plans and pitch your way to winning one of three micro business grants.
 
The Plan & Pitch Competition 2010 will take place on June 19, 2010. It is an all-day seminar featuring 30 Community Team Works volunteers from Goldman Sachs and Rich Zeoli, Founder and President of RZC Impact, an executive communications firm with areas of expertise in media and presentation skills training. Goldman Sachs volunteers will be on hand to give you individual assistance in fine tuning your business plan and refining your business pitch. Best of all, you have the chance to win up to $1500 in microbusiness grants.
 
Only 30 entrepreneurs will be selected for Plan & Pitch 2010. Applications will be sent out by Friday May 7, 2010, and  the application deadline is May 28 at 6PM.
 
To help you prepare your entry, we are hosting a Plan & Pitch Tutorial on May 20 at the Grace Church Van Vorst at 6 PM. You will get hands-on assistance with your business plans from volunteer coaches through our corporate funders and we will explain exactly what is expected in a prize-winning business plan. You will also hear from a dynamic local entrepreneur, Stevie Clifton, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Animoto.com - a rapidly growing company with over a million users - on how he successfully planned and pitched from start-up to growth. 
 
Don't miss these fantastic opportunities to strengthen your business!
Market Opportunites

Would you like to show off your work and make some sales? Here are some opportunities in the area for you!
 
� Creative Grove Art Market, Every Friday 2-8pm at Grove Plaza, Jersey City NJ. To sign up, visit http://creativegrove.org/vendorsignup.aspx .
 
� 2nd Annual Village Art & Flea Market, May 15, 2010 11:00am-6:00pm at 4th Street and Newark Ave. The deadline to sign up is May 5th! To sign up visit http://jcvillage.org/contact/.
 
� Home & Lifestyle Show, May 20-23, 2010 at Newport Centre Mall, Jersey City, NJ. For more information, email [email protected] or call (718)-241-4630.
 
� 2010 Fine Art & Crafts at Verona Park, May 15-16, 2010 10:00am-5:00pm (rain or shine) at Verona Park, Verona, NJ. To apply for this event, visit www.rosesquared.com.


Meet our Intern

D Woods
This past March, Rising Tide Capital (RTC) welcomed its first ever communications intern, Danielle Woods, a senior from Saint Peter's College.  Danielle has been working diligently with Communications & Development Associate, Esther Fraser, on various tasks, ranging from video editing, to writing press releases and client profiles, to contributing to the monthly newsletter.
 
"I am very happy to be interning here! The staff has been great to me, and the work that I am doing can all be put into my portfolio, which is another plus. This is definitely an experience that I will always remember," Danielle said.
 
Danielle is graduating next month with a degree in Communication and a concentration in Graphic Arts. She has a keen interest in broadcasting (both television and radio), as well as a passion for writing, especially sports stories. Five years from now, Danielle sees herself as a sports anchor for ESPN, as well as an owner of an all-star cheerleading gym. With the experience of interning at RTC under her belt, Danielle is well equipped to enter the real world, and we wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors!
News and Notes 
NJAWBO of Hudson County: During Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010, Rising Tide Capital hosted an event for female business owners with the New Jersey Association of Women's Business Owners (NJAWBO). This initial meeting laid the groundwork for the launch of the NJAWBO Hudson County Chapter which took place on April 28, 2010 at The Embankment in Jersey City, NJ. Rising Tide Capital is well represented amongst the members of the inaugural chapter. Not only is CEO Alfa Demmellash one of the founding members, but three of our entrepreneurs, Beatrice Johnston, Michelle Ashley, and Michele Pope have also joined. Beatrice Johnston, CEO of Brand Excitement! is serving as VP of Marketing and Michele Pope, CEO of MAP (signage designs and consulting) is VP of Membership. If you are a woman entrepreneur in Hudson County, Rising Tide Capital encourages you to contact Michele Pope for information on NJAWBO. 
 
Save the Jersey City UEZ: With the proposed funding cuts to the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone program (UEZ), Rising Tide Capital stands to lose one of our largest funders, the Jersey City UEZ. The Jersey City UEZ program is one of the largest and most productive in New Jersey, with over 600 active UEZ-certified businesses. Sales tax revenues that are generated by UEZ businesses are reinvested in programs that benefit the community by building and revitalizing neighborhoods, helping local businesses improve their sales and reduce costs, and working in partnership with several non-profit and educational organizations to help residents rebuild their lives through job- and career-training and small business development. The demise of the Jersey City UEZ means that many local non-profit organizations and community programs that offer valuable services to the community will either have to cut their programs dramatically or even close their doors. To get more information about how you can lend your support, please visit the Save The Jersey City UEZ Facebook page.
 
Rising Tide Capital Renewed:
In anticipation of entering its sixth year anniversary, Rising Tide Capital will be unveiling a new organizational image on May 15, 2010. This comes after months of planning, as well as the creative expertise of Evan Santiago, Creative Director of One Element LLC. "The inspiration behind the brand was GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT and the various iterations of CAPITAL," Santiago said regarding the inspiration and the meaning behind the new look.
"We are expecting that the new Rising Tide Capital logo and website will be fresh and bold, and ultimately represent the organization and its mission as we move forward into the next phase of our growth," said Alfa Demmellash, CEO of Rising Tide Capital. Stay tuned to see the new face of Rising Tide Capital!
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