West Las Vegas incubator boosts startups

Shaundell Newsome's small-business marketing company was growing steadily until the recession hit Las Vegas and small businesses could no longer afford his services, or any services at all.

He lost 60 percent of his business in two months. Newsome laid off seven of his nine employees, which he describes as feeling like firing family, and decided to regroup.

He moved last year into the Urban Chamber of Commerce's Business Development Center, a business incubator that opened in November 2010 in partnership with the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency.

"The smaller office allowed us to get back on our feet a little bit," said Newsome, who is also a chamber director.

He has since added two staff positions at Sumnu Marketing and is soon upgrading to a larger space in the incubator, which was funded by a $1.3 million community development block grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and nearly $500,000 from the Economic Development Administration.

The center, at the chamber's 1951 Stella Lake St. headquarters in West Las Vegas, has 12 offices that rent at below-market rates. Half are currently filled, and applications are being accepted for open spaces.

The incubator's West Las Vegas location and the group's reputation as a predominantly black chamber -- before a 1997 name change it was known as the Nevada Black Chamber of Commerce -- have led to misconceptions about who can apply for a spot in the incubator.

Urban Chamber Vice President Jerrie E. Merritt sits on the committee that selects companies for the incubator, along with two city representatives. Merritt said the chamber is focused on small-business development as a whole and is not specifically concerned with minority-owned or West Las Vegas-based businesses.

"So often the community thinks or feels that we are only focused on black-owned businesses," Merritt said. "That is not true."

"We never felt that way," incubator tenant Suzanne Samlowski, co-owner of biotechnology company TrueCells LLC, said with a laugh.

Samlowski's husband found the incubator through an Internet search when the pair, along with partner John McGregor, were looking for a space to launch their cancer research product development business.

"We were looking for flexible space that we could turn into a lab for reasonable rent," Samlowski said. "It just gave us the hope that we could start a business."

TrueCells moved in last summer and built out their office to include a laboratory in the back.

Before applying, prospective tenants should have a business plan, financial statements (either for the company or the individual), business licenses and insurance. Companies should also plan to expand. One of the incubator's goals is to create jobs, so tenants shouldn't expect to remain a one-person operation. Nonprofits are not eligible.

After two years, tenants will meet with business counselors from SCORE Southern Nevada to determine if they're ready to move out into the world. SCORE has a remote office at the incubator and offers training, workshops and counseling sessions for tenants.

"People who want to get started with the right path and if they have the right budget in place, the incubator would be a good help because that's what it's supposed to do," said SCORE counselor Raj Tumber. "You've got the resources, the counseling, all the common components or organizations you need in place."

Charlita Williams, president of home health care training company, All Around Business Development Services, said she plans to stay in her 1,200-square-foot space for four years ---- the maximum time allowed.

"It has opened other doors, other avenues for our business," she said.

The company, which offers certifications for home health aides, has landed more contracts from being in the area, Williams said.

Other incubator tenants include a plumbing company and commercial cleaning company.

"The incubator and the focus of the Urban Chamber and the other smaller chambers is to make sure that everybody gets back to work," Newsome said.

"It has to start with small businesses first."

Contact reporter Caitlin McGarry at cmcgarry@review journal.com or 702-387-5273.