Welcome to the Emerging Enterprise Center
A Place to Launch and Grow
Comcast Business, The Official Technology Partner of the EEC, and ABC have teamed up to bring a Shark Tank Casting Call to Philadelphia!
The casting call will take place next Friday, June 10th at Xfinity Live in Philadelphia.
The casting call will begin at 9:00 AM.
Comcast Business will be onsite throughout the day alongside ABC. This should be a great event and awesome opportunity for some.
Full details can be found below.
http://www.abcfullcircle.com/abclaunch/sharktankcomcastbusiness/
We are pleased to announce that our own EEC client, Delivery Circle, will be featured at The Technology Forum of Delaware on June 22, 2016 in Wilmington!
The Technology Forum of Delaware will be featuring its second annual Technologies to Watch Showcase to be hosted this year by Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor at their offices on Rodney Square in Wilmington during the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. The Forum will be spotlighting the compelling technologies and innovations that are inspiring new products, new services, and new businesses in our region. The Forum anticipates a strong showing of business, technology and community leaders, plus significant local media coverage. Last year, the Forum had over 250 people attend this event and this event is quickly becoming one of Tech Forum’s signature events.
What: Tech+Jazz 2016: Technologies to Watch Showcase
When: June 22, 2016
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Where: Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor, Rodney Square, 1000 North King Street, Wilmington DE 19801
Website: www.techforumde.org/event-2234185
Register today to support our EEC Client.
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New Castle, DE – May 24, 2016
Last Wednesday, Direct Mobile Transit Inc., the newest start-up company at the Emerging Enterprise Center’s business incubator, held their Ribbon Cutting, in front of the four new Ford Transit Vans that were funded in part by the SBA backed Loan received from M&T Bank!
Participating in the Ribbon Cutting were John Fleming, District Director Small Business Administration
, Yvette O’Donnell and Pat Ponzo from M&T Bank, Frank DeSantis, Program Director of the Emerging Enterprise Center, Mark Kleinschmidt the President of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, along with Direct Mobile Transit drivers, NCC Chamber Ambassadors, John Banks and Ellyn Herbert from the SBA, and other friends and family.
Started by brothers, Michael and Charles Bantum, Direct Mobile Transit Inc. looks to capitalize on the aging baby-boomer population by providing quality transportation service that supports the mobility, well-being and health of seniors and mobility challenged residents of New Castle County, Delaware. After spending the time researching their market, developing their business plan, establishing an understanding of the licensing, regulations, and partnerships necessary to operate in this space, and in building up their own capital to start the business, they incorporated in early 2016. Because of the thoroughness of their preparation, they were able to secure a SBA Loan, through M&T Bank, to purchase the 4 wheel chair accessible vans that they will be operating.
According to Mike Bantum, the idea for Direct Mobile Transit came from a personal situation, of having to deal with an aging relative, who although still very active, was no longer able to drive themselves, and wanted the flexibility to make appointments and continue daily activities without having to depend on relatives’ availability, or traditional van-pool services.
Frank DeSantis from the Emerging Enterprise Center said he is very happy to have DMT join the EEC. “Mike and Chuck Bantum are great examples of the type of entrepreneur we need to see in Delaware, as we seek to ‘grow-our-own’ companies. They saw a need, developed a plan to fulfill that need, and created a thorough Business Plan that demonstrated a good grasp of what they would need to do to achieve their vision.”
Direct Mobile Transit is currently working on hiring and training their drivers, and establishing contracts with some key partners. They expect to be up and running in June, providing transportation for facilities, non-emergency medical transportation and personal car service, that puts their customers in control of their mobility.
About Direct Mobile Transit
Direct Mobile Transit: Providing quality transportation service that supports the mobility, well-being and health of seniors and mobility challenged residents of New Castle County, Delaware. www.directmobiletransit.com
About Emerging Enterprise Center
The Emerging Enterprise Center, a New Castle County Chamber of Commerce Initiative, is a small business incubator designed to provide businesses with a comprehensive program of Support, Advice and Access to resources, in a nurturing environment, so that they can grow their business, develop business skills and graduate with a sustainable business model
Contacts:
Mike Bantum, President, Direct Mobile Transit, (302) 218-5106
Frank DeSantis, Program Director, Emerging Enterprise Center, (302) 737-4343
FedEx is conducting a small business grant contest. The contest offers grants to 10 small businesses, with a collective prize pool of $100,000. One Grand Prize winner of $25,000, one $15,000 winner, and eight $7,500 prizes will be awarded. The 2016 FedEx Small Business Grant Contest is open to U.S.-based for-profit small businesses that have less than 50 employees and have been operating for six months or more. To enter, participants must visit www.fedex.com/grantcontest and enter their contact information, write a short profile about their business and upload four photos of their business or product, including their logo. While not required, participants also have the option of submitting a 60-second “elevator speech” video to supplement their entry.
The contest entry period is open from May 3 to May 30, 2016, with voting to take place from May 17 to June 13, 2016. Following a judging period, winners will be announced on July 11, 2016 at www.fedex.com/grantcontest.
New Castle, DE, May 2016: The Emerging Enterprise Center (EEC) has officially announced that K-Video & Web Productions will be the official videographer sponsor for all business education workshops for the remainder of 2016. One of the key missions of the EEC is to help businesses develop business skills to tackle not only the nuts and bolts aspects of running a business but also marketing, networking, and sales skills so that they can grow. K-Video has been a member of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce (affiliated with the EEC) for over a year now and has never taken on a series this large with the Chamber. With this new sponsorship, the EEC can provide one more benefit to its businesses for attending the business education workshops.
The Emerging Enterprise Center wants you to join us for Educational Workshops and Networking! Find a workshop for you and your business at www.eecincubator.com. Register today at www.eecincubator.com. Contact Frank DeSantis at [email protected] or 302-737-4343 for more information on the Emerging Enterprise Center and its many programs that assist businesses in the community.
About K-Video & Web Productions
K-Video & Web Productions specializes in Safety, Training, and Marketing video production. K-Video has been providing high quality, affordable video solutions since 1980. Our clientele ranges from small, local businesses to large, global corporations. We develop products that will represent your organization with pride and integrity.
Nonprofit organizations are all around you. Each nonprofit has a specific cause that they are working to better. Today, there is a nonprofit for almost any possible cause you can imagine. These nonprofits function on your donations. Without your donations of money or time, some of these causes will never be confronted. Although it is hard to part with our hard, earned money, there are a number of benefits of donating to a nonprofit organization. There is nothing wrong with rewarding yourself with that money you earned but it might feel more satisfying to reward someone else with it. It’s about that proud feeling you get knowing that you have done something that may help others and support a cause you care abou
t it.
A recent study by Harvard Business School faculty and graduate students titled “Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior,” explores the ways in which charity donations can benefit your psychological, spiritual and emotional well-being. So do yourself a favor, boost your spirits, help a cause, give yourself a tax deduction, and donate.
Did you know that the Emerging Enterprise Center (EEC) is a nonprofit? We are looking for donors like you to help us support our local entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs in New Castle County will help our local economy grow and bring more business and jobs to the area.
The EEC is designed to provide business support services to entrepreneurs and associated companies in New Castle County, Delaware. The incubator is not merely about a physical building offering lower rental rates, but rather is a pro
gram intended to help new businesses succeed to the point of “graduating” from the program within a defined time period. The EEC provides mentoring, educational opportunities, networking events, shared office equipment, receptionist services, and other amenities that are vital to the success of a new business.
Participants have access to customized business and technical assistance geared toward the specialized needs of individual companies. The EEC provides an environment in which like-minded businesses accelerate their potential through interaction, partnerships, joint ventures, and other mutually beneficial collaborations.
Don’t you want to be a part of something that helps New Castle County and Delaware grow?
Donate to the EEC to keep the doors open, lights on, and programs going. Boost your spirit now by donating today.
Spring is here and with it comes the threat for severe weather. Thunderstorms, heavy rain, flooding, lightning, hail and tornadoes are common during this time of year, and can cause significant damage to homes in minutes. Paul Davis Emergency Services of New Castle, a leading provider of fire and water damage clean up and restoration services, offers consumers some safety measures to protect their family and property.
According to Stephen Haftl, Paul Davis office owner, every homeowner should have a disaster plan and a basic emergency kit for their family should a severe storm strike. A family disaster plan should include where to assemble in the house when the storm hits (i.e., sturdy interior room or basement) and the nearest designated storm shelter if you have time to evacuate.
The Basic Emergency Kit should include:
Below are some valuable tips for protecting your property from severe weather:
According to Haftl, if damage to your home or business is significant, contact a properly licensed professional or company in the property loss restoration and emergency mitigation service industry. Look for certifications from The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC).
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Paul Davis is a leading provider of fire, water and mold damage restoration and reconstruction services for residential and commercial properties. Local office owners nationwide are properly licensed individuals with certifications from leading industry organizations like The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). Founded in 1966, Paul Davis has restoration, remodeling and emergency services franchise office locations throughout the US and Canada. Visit the local office website at www.pauldavis-newcastle.com.
The Emerging Enterprise Center has burst into 2016 with a full head of steam! Three new companies have entered the EEC, hot on the heels of Uniscrap PBC, a Greek company who joined the EEC’s International Soft Landings Program in January (featured in February’s Business Matters).
In early February, CircleBack Lending, an internet-based consumer lending company joined and moved in to the EEC, followed my Direct Mobile Transit Inc. in early March. Direct Mobile Transit provides non-emergency medical transportation, and accessible transportation for healthcare & non-healthcare appointments. Also in March, Deer Valley Danes, joined the EEC as part of the Virtual Incubation Program. Deer Valley Danes was the 2015 Winner of the Annual Swim With the Sharks Video Pitch Competition! (Swim With the Sharks Video Pitch Competition has been moved to September! Stay Tuned for more details!)
The addition of these four new start-up companies bring to eleven the start-up companies in the EEC’s Incubator Programs: Eight in the Incubator In-Residence Program, Two in the International Soft Landings Program, and one in the Virtual Program. With the interest of several more potential start-ups joining, the EEC will soon be bursting at the seams! A great sign that the entrepreneurial start-up community is prospering here in New Castle County!
CircleBack Lending was introduced to the Emerging Enterprise Center by Joe Zilicosky, from the Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO), because of the EEC’s ability to meet their particular needs. They are an Internet-based consumer lending platform with a two-part mission. First, they aim to provide prime and super-prime consumers in the United States a fast and efficient way to borrow money at attractive interest rates. Second, they offer institutional investors a robust, transparent platform to invest in these consumer loans. Loans are offered through County Bank of Rehoboth Beach, DE.
The Internet has already become the primary place for individuals to manage their personal finances. CircleBack Lending believes this trend will continue, especially as more traditional banks and lending institutions maintain extremely tight credit policies, even for credit-worthy borrowers. They also believe that professional investors will continue to deploy capital into consumer credit to diversify their portfolios beyond traditional stocks and bonds.
CircleBack Lending is an interesting, and slightly unusual opportunity for the Emerging Enterprise Center. In some respects, the EEC is treating this as an extension of our International Soft Landings Program, where foreign companies looking to establish a base in the US, leverages the EEC’s Support, Access to Resources and Advice to accelerate their entry into the market. CircleBack Lending will be our Domestic Soft Landings Company. The company was launched in November 2012, and started making loans in November 2014. Although their corporate location is in Boca Raton, FL, they want to establish a major part of their operations here in DE, due to the quality of the talent available. In the near term, they would be recruiting and hiring, programmers, developers, salesforce software engineers, and a marketing team. By the end of the year, they would be looking at the possibility of establishing a call center here in DE.
The Chief Marketing Officer, Scott Lascelles and several of their key staff have roots in the Delaware banking community. Scott was with Springleaf Financial, others have BankOne, Barclay Card and PNC experience, so they recognize the positive benefits of having their operations here. Scott also said that they would very much like to be a part of the incubation program to learn the skills needed to refine their business model so that they can scale the business quickly, and are looking to become fully engaged in all that the EEC has to offer.
Started by brothers, Michael and Charles Bantum, Direct Mobile Transit Inc. looks to capitalize on the aging baby-boomer population by providing quality transportation service that supports the mobility, well-being and health of seniors and mobility challenged residents of New Castle County, Delaware. After spending the time researching their market, developing their business plan, establishing an understanding of the licensing, regulations, and partnerships necessary to operate in this space, and in building up their own capital to start the business, they incorporated in early 2016. Because of the thoroughness of their preparation, they were able to secure a SBA Loan, through M&T Bank, to purchase the 4 accessible vans that they will be operating.
Direct Mobile Transit is currently working on hiring and training their drivers, and establishing contracts with some key partners. They expect to be up and running in April, providing transportation for facilities, non-emergency medical transportation and personal car service, that puts their customers in control of their mobility.
We welcomed Karin Roseman, founder of Deer Valley Danes, LLC, to the EEC Virtual Incubator Program, in early March. Deer Valley Danes is a distributor for Oma’s Pride Raw Dog Food, O’Paws Freeze Dried Dog food and manufacturer of DVD homemade hand cut treats for dogs and cats. Their home base is Greenville, Delaware and offer free delivery to New Castle County. They travel to dog related events to show & sell their product, and it is available online on their own website and Amazon. A business that started out based on a love of animals, and dogs in particular, and passionate commitment to providing the best possible food for them, grew through word of mouth and exhibiting at Dog Shows and Competitions, soon grew to rely on a cadre of family and friend volunteers, who often worked, literally, for dog food! Karin began to recognize the growth potential for her business and realized that she needed to develop the processes and organizational structure needed, to truly grow the business.
After attending of the EEC’s Growth Wheel Workshops, as part of the Business Education Program, Karin decided it was time to take that next step, and get some help, joining the Virtual Incubation Program.
The Virtual Incubation Program is designed for that start-up company that doesn’t need office space, like a retailer, online seller, or distributor, but wants to take advantage of all of the other features of the EEC’s Incubation Program, including connection to resources, advice and mentoring, access to business education and networking events, and especially our Growth Wheel business skills development program, which is designed to help business owners; Get Focused, Make Decisions, Take Action.
For More Information on the Emerging Enterprise Center, check it out on www.EECincubator.com, or contact Frank DeSantis, Program Manager at [email protected].
The Swim With the Sharks Video Pitch Competition has been a huge success for the past three years, as part of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Dinner. Past Winners and Finalists include Carvertise (formerly Penguin Ads), NumbersBee, Delivery Circle and Deer Valley Danes!
This year, Swim With the Sharks Video Pitch Competition has been split out of the chamber’s dinner, and moved to September, where it will become the focal point of the Emerging Enterprise Center’s Annual Luncheon.
Video has become such a very important part of every business’ marketing and brand presence. What started out primarily on Social Media, is now, and should be, part of your website, online marketing and even local cable TV.
This Year’s SWTS competition will include workshops designed to help you understand how you too can incorporate video into your business, and build a Video Pitch, that is clear-concise & compelling!
Stay Tuned for Details coming in June 2016!