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WHILE WILLIAM (BILL) CUNNINGHAM has been a zealous financial services champion of Rhode Island’s entrepreneurs and small businesses for many years, the COVID pandemic drove his passion, commitment, and exceptional work ethic to a new, stratospheric level. In short, Bill has been indefatigable in helping small businesses navigate through the extraordinary financial challenges that the pandemic brought.
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Bill, a Rhode Island-licensed CPA, is a senior-level accounting executive with extensive experience in a number of industries, including the arts, entertainment, and recreation, as well as the professional, scientific, and technical services sector. His particular areas of expertise are accounting and cash flow, business plans/startup assistance, financing strategies, and operations. For many years he has guided countless entrepreneurs and small businesses in his role as a Certified Small Business Mentor with the SCORE Rhode Island (SCORE RI) chapter. Funded in part by the US Small Business Administration (SBA), SCORE is a nonprofit and the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow, and achieve their goals.
Our small business community was under tremendous strain and uncertainty during the early days of the COVID pandemic. Although help was soon to come in the form of myriad federal and state grant and loan programs, the eligibility requirements for that help and the application processes were often detailed, nuanced, and not always easy for a small business owner to understand. There was an alphabet soup of COVID relief plans: the federal Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), in addition to a myriad of State and local grant and loan programs.
Bill stepped up, in a BIG way. During the height of the pandemic – from October 2020 through September 2021 -- Bill was the leader of SCORE RI’s “COVID Response Team,” a group of nine volunteers who met weekly during most of that period to plan, create, and deliver COVID-related educational programs and blogs, as well as to build the knowledge and consistency of the
WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM
chapter’s cadre of volunteers who were counseling small businesses on the many available relief programs. His passion for learning and countless hours of work ensured that SCORE RI’s services to the public were clear, accurate, and timely.
His commitment to our local small businesses didn’t end there. “While other SCORE volunteers stepped up to help the small businesses in need, Bill was by far the biggest contributor to our COVID educational programs and client mentoring,” said James Mutschler, the SCORE RI Chapter Co-Chair who nominated Bill for this award. As one of 50+ local mentors, Bill personally delivered 22% of the nearly 2400 mentoring sessions that SCORE RI held during that time period; more than 44% of SCORE RI’s total workshop attendees also joined in for one of Bill’s COVID-related workshops. Bill supplemented this work by writing blogs that business owners could use and go back to as they made decisions on critical topics such as how to apply for a RRF grant, how to apply for a PPP loan under $50,000, and the ins-and-outs of PPP for the selfemployed.
“I’ve known Bill for a long time, and his energy and drive to find new ways to create value for the RI small business community are unmatched,” said Mark S. Hayward, the SBA Rhode Island District Director. “During the pandemic,” Director Hayward continued, “Bill’s ‘volunteer’ job became a full-time job and then some, and we at the SBA are extraordinarily grateful for his partnership and contributions. He helped ensure that hundreds of our small businesses were able to obtain available relief funds, document the use of those funds, prepare for loan forgiveness and proper debt management, and understand the potential tax ramifications of that relief. We are gratified to be able to recognize Bill as our 2022 Financial Services Champion of the Year.”
SBA.gov/funding-programs/loans/lender-match
2022 RHODE ISLAND MICROENTERPRISE OF THE YEAR
ON A HOT AUGUST DAY almost 100 years ago in a Saunderstown house overlooking Narragansett Bay, “Granny” remembered that her mother-in-law had given her a recipe for a cold tea, a not so common treat in those days. Granny brewed the special blend of black tea, added fresh mint, juice from lemons and sugar, chilled it and, lo and behold, it more than did the trick: it refreshed, it quenched thirst, and, in Granny’s own words, it was “astonishingly delicious”! Granny was surely on to something, and in 2009 Robin Squibb (her granddaughter) founded The Granny Squibb Company in Providence.
For four years now, Kelley McShane has been at the helm of Granny Squibb’s, now located in Westerly. The company markets and sells organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, kosher, preservative-free, and vegan-friendly ready-to-drink iced teas. There are three flavors --Sally’s Lemon, Mojito Lime, and Charlie’s Cranberry, each available sweetened or unsweetened – and the company wholesales throughout New England and sells directly to consumers online. The company also offers what it bills as RI’s newest signature cocktail – The Rhode Island Iced Tea, which includes ingredients from two local, women-owned, organic businesses (Granny Squibb’s Iced Tea and Pawtucket’s RI Spirits), with a portion of sales going to Save the Bay.
The goal is to spread Granny’s recipe across the whole country! Over the years, the company has added seven wholesale distribution partners, which in turn has led to hundreds of new retail accounts. It has also partnered with three aggregator services for home deliveries, as well as a third-party fulfiller that ships products directly to consumers nationwide.
While the COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge to the company, with many of its retail partners facing temporary or permanent closure, the company was able to utilize the US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) COVID-19 relief programs, specifically the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Receiving two rounds of PPP funding – in May 2020 and February 2021 – Kelley was able to keep the company running and add a full-time staff position, as well as part-time employees for project-based work.
Besides building a reputable brand identity, leading the company to rapid revenue growth, and navigating it through a global pandemic, Kelley has also oriented it to have a civic focus, arranging charitable partnerships and contributing time, money, and resources. She leads not only the company, but the community as well, serving on boards and committees with Farm Fresh, Amos House, and the Providence Chamber of Commerce. Rhode Island non-profits Providence Animal Rescue League, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Anchor Recovery, Rhode Island Original, and Blackstone Academy Charter School are among the beneficiaries of the company’s civic focus. The company also has an “If We Can, We Will” initiative designed to help Rhode Islanders reach their philanthropic goals. Kelley is also in the current class of Leadership RI, and she has received a Providence Business News Women in Business award.
“Beyond her success on the balance sheet, Kelley is a successful community leader, showing the wider community just how valuable the small business ecosystem is to all our lives,” said Mark S. Hayward, the SBA RI District Director. “Her personal civic engagement and leadership of the company’s community outreach are a testament not only to her and the business but also to the broader social value of all small businesses. We are thrilled to recognize her and Granny Squibb’s as the 2022 Rhode Island Microenterprise of the Year,” he added.
KELLEY MCSHANE
Co-Owner, Granny Squibb’s Organic Iced Tea
JAVIER BROWN IS PROOF that the America Dream is alive and attainable with hard work. Speaking very little English, Javier came to this country from Venezuela over 25 years ago. At the suggestion of a brother living here in the States, Javier began to research how he could start a packaging and fulfillment business; he also set for himself the goal of becoming fluent in English.
In 2001, using money he had saved in Venezuela, Javier rented a 300 square-foot office in Pawtucket and started O2J, which is a full-service product fulfillment, packaging, and distribution company for the fashion jewelry, apparels, promotional products, housewares, sporting goods, and health and beauty products industries, among others. Now, O2J operates out of a 3,000 square foot space and is able to fulfill substantially more orders every day.
Javier is an insatiable learner, and therein lies the key to O2J’s success. In addition to four years of studying English at CCRI, Javier has been learning about his new country and culture, as well as topics important to small business success. He is always pushing himself to learn and to continue to grow. Javier has taken advantage, and reaped the benefits, of two US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) programs: (1) technical business assistance in the form of trainings/ workshops, as well as free, one-on-one confidential business counseling; and (2) COVID-19 relief funding programs.
Although O2J was thriving before the COVID-19 pandemic, the business was not immune to its effects and was struggling to survive. O2J was able to take advantage of two SBA COVID-relief funding programs: (1) to keep his staff employed, Javier received two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and (2) the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program, a way for small businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic to obtain accessible and borrower-friendly capital in order to recover. With this SBA assistance, O2J was able to pivot and scale from bulk order shipping to individual home deliveries, as many businesses and workers were then remote, at-home workers.
To increase his business knowledge, Javier has participated in several SBA programs and workshops and, since 2015, has worked one-on-one with a business counselor at the RI Small Business Development Center (RISBDC), an SBA Resource Partner. Javier’s counselor, Manuel J. Batlle, the RISBDC Assistant State Director, nominated him for this award because of “Javier’s vision to pivot his business from a packaging company in the declining jewelry industry to a fulfillment center in the growing e-commerce industry, his constant quest for business counseling, and his thirst for new knowledge.” Javier has also received business assistance from SCORE RI, as well as participating in Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program.
Throughout the many years growing O2J, Javier has been steadfast in his desire to give back to his new home that has given him so much. O2J is an active contributor to the RI community: for example, it has donated money to the Special Olympics of RI, as well as Providence Sports and Leadership; and Javier himself has collaborated with Pawtucket’s Blackstone Academy Charter School as a speaker and motivator for recent graduates, sharing his own journey and experiences and encouraging them to believe that any goal can be reached with hard work, continued learning, and skill improvement.
While O2J has not yet recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, it remains in the game and is confidently moving forward to begin its third decade in business. “Javier’s journey should inspire every entrepreneur, and we at the SBA are proud to have been able to assist him at various points in his business’s lifecycle,” said Mark S. Hayward, SBA’s RI District Director. “He is a role model for so many, and we are proud to name O2J as the 2022 Rhode Island MinorityOwned Small Business of the Year,” he added.
JAVIER BROWN
MARK TOROK, THE OWNER OF Anchor Physical Therapy in Wakefield, began his healthcare career as a US Navy Fleet Marine Force Corpsman, serving for six years before beginning his higher education journey and ultimately earning his Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Master of Science in Physical Therapy, Master of Business Administration, and Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
A former baseball player, Mark is particularly interested in the rehabilitation of the athlete, ACL reconstruction rehabilitation, biomechanics, joint replacement and reconstruction rehabilitation, and sport-specific physical therapy. He practiced physical therapy for a decade before starting Anchor Physical Therapy (Anchor PT). In order to do so, however, Mark – like many startups -- needed additional capital, and the US Small Business Administration (SBA) was there to help. Working with BankNewport, an SBA lending partner, Mark obtained an SBA-guaranteed loan that, along with his own capital, allowed him to start and build out Anchor PT.
Anchor PT opened in May of 2017, and the business grew steadily over the years. Mark had decided, before COVID arrived, to expand Anchor PT and build-out almost twice the existing space to better serve his patients. To that end, he signed a new lease in January 2020 but, by the very next month, COVID was rapidly spreading throughout New England. What did Mark do? He pivoted the business in a way that allowed him to retain his staff while working tirelessly to see patients through telehealth visits including, at a time of tremendous uncertainty and fear, pro bono visits with first responders, grocery workers, and frontline healthcare workers.
When businesses started to reopen and vaccines began to be available, another challenge arose: building materials and construction labor were difficult to get. Mark knew that, if he were going to expand into the new space, he would have to do the demolition and build out himself. And so he did. With the help of some close friends, he took down and reframed walls, hung drywall, built a new waiting room, laid flooring, and more – all while seeing patients and running the business during the day.
Mark’s perseverance has borne fruit. Every year since its start in 2017, Anchor PT has steadily grown in a handful of significant measures: it had 1000 patients in 2017 and over 3000 patients in 2021; its revenue and net profit have grown each year between 11% and 23%; it almost tripled its space from 800 square feet when it opened (with a single treatment room that also doubled as Mark’s office) to the current 2,300 square-foot facility; and it started with one physical therapist (Mark) and a part-time administrative person, and today it employs three physical therapists (including Mark) and three administrative support staff – and Mark hopes to add two more physical therapists this year.
Anchor PT has given back to the community and supported a number of charitable causes over the years, including sponsoring the annual Broad Rock Middle School Crazy Coyote Race/5K, South County Hospital Golf Tournament, The Taste of Southern Rhode Island, and various youth sports teams in southern Rhode Island. In addition, Anchor PT serves as an Integrated Clinical Education Site for URI, providing student physical therapists with the mentorship and hands-on education they need to complete their formal education to become healthcare professionals.
“In recognition of Mark’s service to our country as a veteran, his grit and perseverance, and his entrepreneurial and community spirit, the SBA is pleased to name Anchor Physical Therapy the 2022 Rhode Island Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year,” said Mark S. Hayward, SBA’s Rhode Island District Director.
Physical rehabilitation is not easy, but it helps when the treatment provider knows what true perseverance is and channels that knowledge into motivating people to become the best version of themselves. But isn’t that what a veteran is? Someone who serves to the best of his ability. Well, that’s Mark Torok, an asset to the South County community.
MARK A. TOROK
Founder and Owner, Anchor Physical Therapy, LLC
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2022 RHODE ISLAND YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
IF YOU LOVE READING, this “story” is for you! You’ve surely heard of the mobile library, but what about the mobile bookstore? Yes, that’s right: a mobile bookstore. The “bookstore on wheels” has been here in Rhode Island for three years now, thanks to young entrepreneurs and writers Alexa Trembly and Emory Harkins. They are the co-founders and co-owners of Twenty Stories, which also has a bricks and mortar location on Ives Street in the Fox Point section of Providence.
Alexa and Emory studied creative writing in college, bonded over their love of books and, for real, fell in love. After graduation they moved to Los Angeles with the idea of a mobile bookstore, their inspiration being LA’s thriving mobile food truck scene and the new spaces it created. With the help of a Kickstarter campaign, their idea became a reality: Alexa and Emory bought and renovated a 1987 vintage van and began driving around LA offering the twenty books each month that they carefully and personally selected. Why twenty books? In large part because of the van’s limited space – and so, too, the Twenty Stories business name was born.
When Alexa and Emory decided to return to the East Coast less than a year after arriving in LA, they chose Rhode Island and brought along the teal, distinctive van that continues to be at the heart of Twenty Stories and serves as the bookstore’s second location during the summer. That is also when they opened a bricks and mortar bookstore that continues the twenty books concept, along with current and past curations, children’s books, art books, stationary, and more. The bookstore also hosts free public programming, including author readings and community events with writers and artists from across the country – because Alexa and Emory believe that bookstores are community spaces and free public programming is a crucial way to give back. Another example of giving back: the bookstore hosts an annual Book Drive to collect used books for two local nonprofits to which, over the last two years, Twenty Stories has collected and donated more than 1,300 books.
But, as we all know, the coronavirus pandemic hit and, like many small businesses, Alexa and Emory needed help to stay alive. The van with its relatively low overhead was one thing, but the Ives Street bookstore involved a different – and larger -- set of operating costs. Would they have to close the bricks and mortar store?
ALEXA TREMBLY AND EMORY HARKINS
Co-Founders and Co-Owners, Twenty Stories, LLC
Even though the business’ gross revenue from its e-commerce store grew significantly early on in the pandemic -- from 6% to 43% -- Alexa and Emory still needed help. They found it through U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan secured through SBA banking partner BankNewport, as well as an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) received directly from the SBA. Sandra McNamara of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program worked with Alexa and Emory on their PPP loan application, and she nominated them for this award. As Alexa explained, the funds from both loans were critical to the business, “allowing us to survive the economic instability of the pandemic and helping offset the financial hardship and difficult decision to close the bricks and mortar store to the public for 8 months in 2020.” Twenty Stories survived the pandemic, and it is positioned this year to hire a seasonal part-time employee for the bookmobile.
“Twenty Stories is a terrific addition to Rhode Island’s independent bookstore space. We are delighted to join The Today Show, Forbes, The Boston Globe, and Publisher’s Weekly, among others, that have highlighted Twenty Stories for its innovative and disruptive approach to bookselling. Because of Twenty Stories’ innovation in creating a market niche, its ability to be resilient during the pandemic, its desire to impact its community, and its determination to keep young people engaged with paper books during this digital era, we are thrilled to recognize Alexa and Emory as the 2022 RI Young Entrepreneurs of the Year,” said Mark S. Hayward, SBA Rhode Island District Director.
Alexa and Emory look forward over the next five years to growing the business’s literary prowess by expanding the fleet of bookmobiles and continuing to connect with both readers and authors in new and authentic ways. Stay tuned for the next chapter of their story!
Keep up with PBN’s 2022 roundup of the leaders making a difference throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
At companies across the region, notable leaders are running businesses, navigating company restructuring, serving on boards, and investing in growth. The notable individuals profiled in these categories are exemplary examples of the work being done here in our market. Share your success with your customers and employees.
June 10:
NOTABLE WOMEN IN BANKING & ACCOUNTING
Deadline June 1 July 8:
NOTABLE WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING & TECH
Deadline June 29 September 2:
NOTABLE WOMEN IN INSURANCE
Deadline August 24 October 14:
NOTABLE WOMEN IN LAW
Deadline October 5 November 11:
NOTABLE WEALTH MANAGERS
Deadline November 2
2022 RHODE ISLAND JOSEPH G.E. KNIGHT AWARD FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL EXCELLENCE
SCORE RHODE ISLAND IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE the Joseph G.E. Knight Award winner for 2022 is Katherine (Katy) Westcott, Founder and Owner of Katrinkles, Inc. Over the past 8 years, Katy has gone from being a sole proprietor doing craft/hobby work from her home, to running a business with over $500K in annual revenue, supported by 11 employees.
Katy graduated from RISD’s Jewelry and Metalsmithing department, worked as a goldsmith in New York City, and later designed costume jewelry in Rhode Island. One day on a lunch break, a coworker showed her how to crochet, which quickly expanded to knitting, sewing, weaving, and spinning wool. As with many hobbyists, making things for herself turned into making things for others. She then turned her hobby into a business and now a passion.
On the journey from a hobbyist to a self-funded company, Katy leveraged a wide range of free business support services, including: • Small business workshops organized by the SBA in conjunction with the Pawtucket Chamber of Commerce; • Workshops organized through the Cranston Chamber of Commerce, the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the Center for Women & Enterprise; • The SCORE Mentor program (beginning in 2019); and • Polaris MEP.
Beyond the pride that she must have for her company’s success and her personal success, Katy has benefited others in her community as the business has grown. Her business is supporting crafters with high quality buttons and tools for their projects. Her goods are made locally from durable locally-sourced hardwoods like cherry and birch, and they are finished by hand, giving each piece unique character. From design to production, all Katrinkles products are made in-house by her dedicated team. She and her staff are crafters and artisans themselves, so they know that the right tool can be an inspiration. Simply put, Katrinkles’ goal is to provide the best tools and materials so that crafters can do their best work.
Katrinkles began in the corner of a loft apartment in Pawtucket in 2012. Given the business’ popularity and growth, it moved multiple times, leading to its current home in the Union Paper building in Providence, where five laser machines and ten people work in 2,200 square feet. As her revenue increased, her production volume and working space expanded, as well as her staff. Since 2019, Katrinkles has provided health insurance and retirement benefits for employees similar to much larger companies. But there is more to the story!
Katrinkles is a woman-owned business that is proud to prioritize using American manufacturers for its supplies and use sustainable materials. Katy has contributed money to numerous charitable causes including Raices, AS220, the Southern Law Poverty Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, the New England Youth Sheep Show, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, Heifer International, and more.
The story of Katy Westcott is not just a story about an amazing woman with a vision: it is also a story about values, perseverance and a commitment to ensure that our communities are positively impacted. “Katy and her team have been an inspiration to our Chapter, growing through the challenges of COVID and building a business that serves customers all over the world,” said SCORE chapter co-chair Jim Mutschler. “We expect she will continue to expand and be a great model for how to leverage all the wonderful services and resources available to small business owners,” he added.
KATHERINE (KATY) WESTCOTT
Founder and Owner, Katrinkles, Inc.
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