Two women-owned Cincinnati-based small businesses, including a popular Madisonville cafe, bakery and food truck operator, have received grants from a local nonprofit to grow their operations.
The Cheesecakery, which operates a cafe, bakery and event space in Madisonville as well as two food trucks, and Indulju Relaxation Boutique, an Evendale-based spa, received funding as part of a Main Street Ventures-backed pitch competition last month.
The grant amounts were not disclosed, but the funding will help both businesses scale, Main Street Ventures said. The Over-the-Rhine nonprofit and entrepreneurship support group, provided the funding as part of a collaborative pitch competition for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program at Cincinnati State.
The competition provided an opportunity for the scholars to practice their pitches and receive industry feedback from the Main Street Ventures team.
Ten scholars from the cohort pitched their growth project in May.
Two were selected for funding.
The Cheesecakery was born in 2009 as Cincy Sweets. Owner Liz Field added a food truck in 2018, and a brick-and-mortar store in Madisonville on Whetsel Avenue in 2019. The business serves more than 100 flavors of cheesecake. In April of this year, the Cheesecakery expanded with a full-service bakery next door to its original location with a menu that includes cannoli, tiramisu, cream horns and macarons.
Indulju, owned by Nichol Carmichael, has been in business since 2014. The boutique offers a variety of relaxation massage and skin care services as well as waxing, hot stones and essential oils.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, or 10KSB, is a $500 million investment to help entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunities by providing them with greater access to education, financial capital and business support services. Participants, who are known as small business scholars, receive scholarships for a 14-session training program.
Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center was chosen to deliver 10KSB in Southwest Ohio; the program began in February 2020. Cincinnati State its currently accepting inquiries for the spring 2023 cohort. Businesses have to be in operation for at least two years with a minimum of two employees or contractors.
Main Street Ventures provides capital, connections and education for entrepreneurs with a particular focus on women and minority entrepreneurs who have been historically under-represented in the startup community.
Its most notable programs include Launch It: Cincy, a pitch competition exclusively for undergraduate students in the Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Dayton region. Main Street's Launch and Leap grants are also awarded throughout the year.
