SUCCESS STORIES
The Staten Island Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helps small businesses in a variety of impactful ways.
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Below are a few of the success stories we are proud to share, highlighting the resilience, growth, and achievements of the small businesses we support.
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If you would like to share your story with us, please email us at sbdc@csi.cuny.edu.
Clair Fahim,
C&M Alpha Dental Studio
Since 2020, Certified Business Advisor Joe Muller has provided ongoing guidance to Clair, assisting with access to critical funding, including SBA EIDL and Paycheck Protection Program loans, which helped sustain and grow the business. With continued support in research, business planning, and strategic development, the owner successfully launched a second company, Snap Cust on Guard, focused on manufacturing athletic mouth guards. The business has also expanded into government contracting opportunities through the SBDC BidMatch program and has received recognition within the local business community.
Anna Lau,
Snugshi
Inspired by the need for a wire-free solution for menstrual cramps, high school entrepreneur Anna Lau founded Snugshi to produce heatable, weighted stuffed animals for portable health relief. Staten Island SBDC advisors Angela Chuppe and Joe Muller provided critical guidance on business planning, overseas manufacturing, and pricing strategies tailored to the product's young demographic. Buoyed by that guidance, Lau secured the top prize of $1,500 in Staten Island’s chapter of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, hosted by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, toward her business and a Board of Directors scholarship of $1,000. Lau then won the Young Entrepreneurs Academy national competition, taking home a $5,500 cash prize, a $30,000 scholarship to the Rochester Institute of Technology, a full tuition scholarship to the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship, and the title of America’s Next Top Young Entrepreneur.
