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Do you have a great business idea but need help getting it off the ground? Allentown might be the place for you. City officials and business leaders Tuesday morning announced a "Shark Tank-like" competition that will connect prospective retailers with access to downtown retail space, up to $15,000 in forgivable loans and professional help at discounted rates. Organizers hope the Retail Mosaic program will help open 10 new retail stores within the Upside Allentown Neighborhood Partnership Program area by summer's end. Funding comes from Allentown's federal Community Development Block Grant. Qualified applicants must create at least two full-time jobs within three years that can be filled by city residents that meet low-to-moderate income requirements. Restaurant week runs from Sunday March 6 until Saturday March 12. Fourteen restaurants are participating. "There has been tremendous growth downtown," Santo Napoli, the owner of assembly88, The Archive and New York Urban, all in the downtown, said in a news release. "There are thousands of employees and arena patrons to create enormous foot traffic. This program has been created to help those entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of a fantastic opportunity." Before the pitch, applicants will be pre-screened. Those selected will show a commitment to create jobs and have a solid business plan. Apply online here. Then up to 20 applicants will have a chance to make an elevator pitch in a "Shark Tank"-esque interview. The final 10 will be narrowed down to those who are credit worthy and proposing a unique, needed service that fits the downtown. The city's identified available clustered retail spaces within the Upside Allentown boundaries, which includes the 700 to 1000 blocks of Hamilton, Linden and Walnut streets and Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and 10th streets. Sixty-six percent of small businesses fail in their first five years. While 87 percent of businesses in an incubator program survive that time frame, according to Retail Mosaic. Through the incubator program, awardees will be able to rely on a committee of professional providing pro-bono and discounted support to help develop and launch the business. "The Retail Mosaic is a collaborative effort on the part of a number of committed partners," Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Senior VP, Allentown Initiatives Miriam Huertas said in a press release. "This is a chance to reactivate underutilized properties and increase opportunities for area residents to find employment." Read the article here.
Do you have a great business idea but need help getting it off the ground?
Allentown might be the place for you.
City officials and business leaders Tuesday morning announced a "Shark Tank-like" competition that will connect prospective retailers with access to downtown retail space, up to $15,000 in forgivable loans and professional help at discounted rates.
Organizers hope the Retail Mosaic program will help open 10 new retail stores within the Upside Allentown Neighborhood Partnership Program area by summer's end. Funding comes from Allentown's federal Community Development Block Grant.
Qualified applicants must create at least two full-time jobs within three years that can be filled by city residents that meet low-to-moderate income requirements.
Restaurant week runs from Sunday March 6 until Saturday March 12. Fourteen restaurants are participating.
"There has been tremendous growth downtown," Santo Napoli, the owner of assembly88, The Archive and New York Urban, all in the downtown, said in a news release. "There are thousands of employees and arena patrons to create enormous foot traffic. This program has been created to help those entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of a fantastic opportunity."
Before the pitch, applicants will be pre-screened. Those selected will show a commitment to create jobs and have a solid business plan. Apply online here.
Then up to 20 applicants will have a chance to make an elevator pitch in a "Shark Tank"-esque interview. The final 10 will be narrowed down to those who are credit worthy and proposing a unique, needed service that fits the downtown.
The city's identified available clustered retail spaces within the Upside Allentown boundaries, which includes the 700 to 1000 blocks of Hamilton, Linden and Walnut streets and Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and 10th streets.
Sixty-six percent of small businesses fail in their first five years. While 87 percent of businesses in an incubator program survive that time frame, according to Retail Mosaic.
Through the incubator program, awardees will be able to rely on a committee of professional providing pro-bono and discounted support to help develop and launch the business.
"The Retail Mosaic is a collaborative effort on the part of a number of committed partners," Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Senior VP, Allentown Initiatives Miriam Huertas said in a press release. "This is a chance to reactivate underutilized properties and increase opportunities for area residents to find employment." Read the article here.