Kids' clothes, grown-up businesses
Any parent can tell you that children can be an endless source of joy, tears, laughter and stress. For two Santa Barbara County moms, they’re also a source of business inspiration. In Solvang, children’s clothing company Lollybean has seen steady growth since owner Amy McConnell started the business in 2007. With the clothes she designs Read More →
San Luis Obispo entrepreneur returns to his roots
Buying his old company back last year was a business decision, but James Whitaker admits pride had something to do with it. Quickcondoms.com — as the name suggests, the company sells condoms online — was struggling. Whitaker started the business as a 19-year-old Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student and sold his half to his Read More →
Whole Foods thinks local as tri-county products land on shelves
Whole Foods Market has been in expansion mode for the better part of two decades. As it has opened stores in the Tri-Counties, entrepreneurs have worked to get their products on the stores’ shelves. Beth Bailey is a Santa Barbara mother of two who founded The Kiddo Co. The company makes all-natural, all-organic “squeezies,” Read More →
SLO firm gets local with mobile ads
The buzzword-heavy consensus in the tech world is that print publications are dying, consumers glaze over at the sight of traditional Web ads and hyper-local mobile phone marketing is the official Next Big Thing. That’s all fine — but what’s a corner diner or mom-and-pop shop to do to get out a coupon and grab Read More →
Growing a tech business: Ojai
Tri-county agricultural giants such as Gills Onions and Mission Produce ship onions and avocadoes all over the country and are some of the biggest names in the business. But they run on software written by Ojai entrepreneur Bryan Bernard and his small team of programmers. Bernard’s AgKnowledge software suite is tailored to agribusiness, with the Read More →
Bargain boutique
Whether on the sales rack or in the rental market, Johanna Melamed knows how to snag a bargain when she sees it. Melamed is the owner of The Closet, a boutique consignment and resale clothing business with stores in Santa Barbara and Westlake Village. She recently moved the Santa Barbara store from its first location Read More →
Eyeing new concepts
Health care reform may be the hottest topic in the United States, but one Goleta medical equipment firm is focusing its attention on developing low-cost medical imaging technology for overseas markets. Pointe Conception Medical is launching what it says is the first integrated and networked endoscopic camera system in the world. The new medical video Read More →
