Ms. IyaSokoya Karade and Mr. Oloye Ifa Karade owned and managed a home-based family childcare program for a number of years. Over those years the childcare program gained national recognition, served as a resource for families in the community, and advocates for children on state and local issues. But the couple still had bigger aspirations […]
Category: Success Stories
Susan Devaney – The Marvins Group LLC
Ms. Susan Devaney is CEO of The Mavins Group, LLC which is comprised of two subsidiaries: Moving Mavins and Mavins Realty. When Ms. Devaney first came to the NJSBDC at Rutgers-Newark in June 2007, she was starting her first business, called Moving Mavins, LLC, a move management company focused on serving seniors in New Jersey […]
Faith Baum & Ken Douglas – Illumination Arts LLC
Faith Baum and Ken Douglas are the founders/owners of Illumination Arts, LLC an architectural lighting design and consulting company that specializes in “innovative lighting designs” that address “both aesthetic and practical” requirements. Ms. Baum and Mr. Douglas both worked at the same architectural lighting firm and had tried to purchase the business unsuccessfully for two […]
Aminata Dukuray – African Secrets LLC
Born in Sierra Leone West Africa, Aminata Dukuray came to the United States in 1990 with dreams of a future. As immigrants, she and her husband started a family and struggled to provide for themselves in a country that often turned dreams into nightmares. Despite the challenges, Ms. Dukuray never gave up on her dreams […]
Tanglea Stewart – Bobbie’s Babies
Natives of Newark, Tangela Stewart and her mother, Barbara “Bobbie” Stewart, wanted to bring a premium daycare center – Bobbie’s Babies – to the city. The NJSBDC at Rutgers University Newark assisted the two with business and marketing counseling and today the center enrolls 43 children and employs nine teachers and aides,providing specialized educational services.
Peter Larchmont – Porta Print, Inc
Peter Larchmont is the founder and owner of Porta Print, Inc. a printing company that specializes in desktop publishing, color copies, offset printing, digital printing and binding services. The company began operating in 1995 on Halsey Street, in downtown Newark, with one employee. Today the company has grown to a staff of three and its […]
Patricia Mendez & John Rivas – Family Food Distributors Inc
When Patricia Mendez met her husband John Rivas in 1999, they shared a common passion – food. Patricia had thirteen years’ management experience in the food distribution industry, and John had owned a supermarket and his family a restaurant. An immigrant from Ecuador in 1989, Patricia recognized a niche that needed filling: supplying nostalgic food […]
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The NJSBDC at Rutgers-Newark is funded (in part) through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.