Win Grants To Build Businesses
During Queens Taste 2014 last Tuesday, Apr. 29, in Flushing, the Queens Economic Development Corporation and the Citi Foundation announced the winners of the Eighth Annual Queens StartUP! Business Plan Competition, a fivemonth challenge-and-instruction course.
Each winner will get $10,000 to jumpstart their businesses.
Gamal Byfield and his martial arts studio, The Branch of Life, took first place in the “Community Business” category. The Rosedale venue serves all ages, but its main focus is on providing after-school activities and discipline to youth from neighborhoods that have experienced too much recent violence. Byfield is currently looking to expand his studio.
The “Food-Based Business” honors actually went to a beverage maker, Astoria Distilling Company. Owner Christopher Murillo is about to launch a craft spirits distillery whose first product will be Queens Courage, a New York “Old Tom” style gin with a subtle sweetness derived from naturally sweet botanicals, malts and honey.
Murillo has spent almost two years of research and development on Queens Courage. He is a client of the Entrepreneur Space, the 12,500- square-foot, industrial-sized, Long Island City food-and-business incubator that QEDC administrates with the NYC Economic Development Corporation.
Finally, Jaime Montalvo prevailed in the “Innovative Business” category. Montalvo is also known as Soraya Sobriedad, a trim and sassy drag queen who offers tasty recipes for healthy Latin cuisine on a her internet cooking show.
Over the course of this year’s StartUP!, more than 250 participants received technical assistance and training on topics such as pricing, marketing and tax filing while also enjoying access to entrepreneurial resources at Queens Central Library in Jamaica. Then, more than 25 teams submitted business plans to the Citi judges.
“Citi is once again pleased to support the Eighth Annual StartUp! competition with a $50,000 grant from the Citi Foundation,” said Eileen Auld, NY Tri State Market Director, Citi Community Development. “The Citi Foundation supports several competitions throughout New York City to encourage innovation among entrepreneurs and create jobs in communities where they are needed most.”
“Growing business is essential to the thriving economy of our borough, and Queens Library supports business owners in many ways every day,” stated Thomas W. Galante, CEO and president of Queens Library. “We are proud to partner with the Queens Economic Development Corporation to continue this great tradition of giving entrepreneurs the skills and resources they need to succeed.”
“StartUP! gets better and better each year, and it’s really hard to choose only three winners,” added QEDC Executive Director Seth Bornstein. “Congratulations to all this year’s participants, and we wish them the best of luck as they pursue their business dreams.”
