New Address: Two Embarcadero Center, 8th floor, San Francisco, CA 94111     

Lena’s Soul Food, Faces of Entrepreneurship Winner

Lena’s Soul Food has become a pillar in its community of East Oakland. Not only does owner Calvin Andrews employ dozens of people, including formerly incarcerated folks, but he also gives back by giving away unsold food to locals in need, many of whom are unhoused.

With Love Market & Café, Faces of Entrepreneurship Winner

Andrew McDowell was laying on the beach in Cancun, reading My Business, My Mission – the story of businessmen and entrepreneurs partnering together to find solutions for economic growth to restore and impact lives. The immense impact of social enterprises in third world countries detailed in the book, and two years of collecting ideas, brought clarity to his vision. That day he made the decision to exit the world of digital advertising and start his own business.

Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas, Faces of Entrepreneurship Winner

If several years ago you would have told Alicia Villanueva that she would be making over 40,000 tamales a month, she would not have believed you. By day she cleaned houses and did home care. Every night she dreamed of starting her own business. Since arriving in the United States in 2001, she had a passion for sharing her Mexican culture and the best way to do that was through cooking tamales.

Bethany Smith, B Team Solutions

Updated April 2019 Winner of 2016 Faces of Entrepreneurship Award Necessity may be the mother of invention, but if you ask any inventor, they may say the real devil is noticing that need. Then, of course, you have to do something about it. That’s how it was for Bethany Smith of B Team Solutions, LLC,

Rebecca Weston, Sacred Mountain Spa

Just how well is she doing? Her first year the business brought in $209,000, and at the end of 2015, the business brought in $313,000, almost a 67% increase. The next year, she increased sales by another 33%. In 2017 and 2018, despite the chaos brought on by wildfires in the area, the spa has weathered the storm. “This fall has been great, we’ve been really busy to where on weekends we have waiting lists,” she said. “So that’s a big plus.” 

Vicente Quintana, El Nopalito Produce

Vicente Quintana started El Nopalito Produce in Watsonville, CA with a 30-pound box of cactus paddles. In six years, he turned his kitchen-table business into a thriving concern with six employees, processing 10,000 pounds a week and distributed in more than 30 markets across central California.

Abraham Lopez, YucaTech Technology Solutions

Abraham Lopez immigrated from Mexico in 1998, and worked hard to master English and earn an Associate’s Degree in Computer Information Systems, all to further his dream of opening his own electronics repair store. Thanks to help from Renaissance Marin and their Small Business Development Center, he is now the proud owner of YucaTech Technology Solutions.