Equity Lab | Hey, entrepreneurs — you can win $20,000 to start a business + Who’s MermanMike?
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It’s Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021; this is Alex Yoon-Hendricks.
Do you have a dream business idea but no money or storefront to get it off the ground? Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s foundation arm is once again taking applications for its Calling All Dreamers competition.
Since 2013, the competition has annually bestowed $10,000 and a plethora of services to one budding business owner or co-owners to help them realize their dream of opening a shop in downtown Sacramento.
The previous winners were Andy’s Candy Apothecary (its inaugural winner), Ana Apple, The Allspicery, Oblivion Comics & Coffee, Milk House Shakes, NEO Escape Rooms and Nash & Proper.
Do some of those business names ring a bell?
As far as I can tell, recent winners NEO Escape Rooms and Nash & Proper are doing OK, all things considered, and I’m still regularly buying cinnamon sticks from Allspicery.
But several of those shops are no longer in Sacramento — Andy’s Candy Apothecary, Milk House Shakes and Oblivion all closed during the pandemic, and Ana Apple closed in 2016, two years after it opened.
It is, as they say, not a great look. The closures are a problem organizers behind the competition are well aware of. Last year, just months into the COVID-19 pandemic, they canceled the competition altogether. Instead, they opted for giving grants to previous winners in a program aptly titled Supporting Our Dreamers. (Oblivion ultimately closed a few months later.)
All this to say, opening a business is very hard. Keeping one open during a pandemic, especially in an area as battered by restrictions and shutdowns as downtown Sacramento, is a Herculean effort.
But a dream is a dream! To quote Gabriel Berzamina and Acme Lee, co-owners of NEO Escape Rooms in an interview with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership:
Dreaming reveals new ways of serving our communities that aren’t yet being provided. In the dream state, there are no limitations.
The deadline to apply for the Calling All Dreamers competition is Aug. 16 at 5 p.m. More details and applications are online here. This year, the organizers are even doubling the cash prize, meaning the winner would get $20,000 on top of other services like financial planning, legal services and marketing help totaling $100,000 in value.
Here’s what else you need to know this week:
Must-Read Stories
SACRAMENTO’S SUPERHERO SERIES LANDS NEW HOME IN DOCO PLAZA:
Sacramento was initially introduced to Impound Comics last year when founder Brent “Trayce” Sands published his first comic in “The Impound” series, officially bringing a superhero to the city.
Beginning Aug. 6, you can buy the series and other merchandise in-store at the Impound Comics Store. Sands and partner, Antawn Bryant, are hosting their opening at 10 a.m. Friday at Downtown Commons.
The store is located on the main plaza at 500 J St., Suite 155, next to Echo and Rig.
MEET DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO’S NEWEST HOT SPOT:
When the city reopened on June 15, Tony Christian, Robbie Metcalf and Byron Hughes took over management of Tiger Bar and Restaurant.
They’re calling this reinvention “Tiger After Dark” where they serve food until 2 a.m. and have live music sets from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The bar is at 722 K St.
LAWSUITS CHALLENGE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION MANDATES:
Two recent California laws directing public corporations to appoint more diverse leaders to their boards of directors are facing tough legal challenges, raising questions about whether they’ll endure.
One law, signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018, requires a certain number of women to serve on public boards.
The other law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year, directs corporations to appoint more racial minorities or gay directors to join their boards.
Have you seen our mini-documentary?
What can California do to help people find fulfilling jobs and build its middle class?
That question mattered even before the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Californians struggled to achieve stability in the Golden State.
In 2019, more than 30% of California workers earned less than $15 per hour, according to the American Community Survey. The pandemic hammered those low-wage earners.
This year, we sought out workers to tell us what it would take to move more people into jobs with higher pay, benefits and stable hours.
See what we found in ‘Beyond Poverty: Fight for the California Dream’
More Interesting Reads
Fauci fears that a variant worse than delta is coming, says COVID-19 cases may double | The Sacramento Bee
See how many people in California are vaccinated, and find a COVID vaccine appointment | The Sacramento Bee
‘Equal opportunity bully.’ Former Sacramento County CEO cleared on discrimination claims | The Sacramento Bee
What we’re watching (and you should, too!)
Someone once told me you’re not really a Sacramentan until you get into an inner tube with some friends, put on some tunes, and lazily float the American River for hours, frying in the sun and vibing the whole way down.
Inevitably, someone will accidentally drop something into the river — maybe a soda can, or a stray piece of plastic. Maybe someone will jump into the cool water hoping to avoid the feeling of being an active participant in the destruction of our environment.
But sometimes it’s not trash — sometimes we end up losing an item far more sentimental or personal, sucked under the surface of the water by the river’s fast current.
Enter, Merman Mike, or rather Michael Pelley, who films his regular dives in and around Sacramento for submerged valuables while also cleaning up trash he finds along the way.
His YouTube channel has been less active in recent months, but I am still drawn to his past uploads. There is something deeply soothing about the GoPro footage of him sweeping the bottom of rivers, digging into the sandy soil, paired with the calming sounds of bubbles escaping his mask. When his metal detector begins to buzz and you can hear his muffled excitement, it’s magical.
The Bee profiled him last summer, but you can also check out his channel on YouTube.
Where to find us
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Thank you for reading, and we will see you again next week!
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This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 1:11 PM.