RIEDC Awards $10,000 Small Business Loan to Spirare Surfboards
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February 2, 2010 | Print this page | Share This |
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) today announced that its Small Business Loan Fund has awarded start-up company Spirare Surfboards a $10,000 micro-business loan.
The SBLF micro-business loan will help the newly established surfboard company, which produces surfboards with a fine-art design, a high degree of functionality and eco-friendly materials, expand its business.
“We are pleased to award this SBLF loan to such a unique and sustainable long-term growth business,” says RIEDC Executive Director Keith Stokes. “Spirare embodies the great growth potential of so many young entrepreneurial companies developing within the state’s small business community. We look forward to supporting them throughout their continued growth and success in Rhode Island.”
Spirare Surfboards, located at Conley Wharf in Providence, makes surfboards that are designed and manufactured with eco-friendly materials including wood, foam, fiberglass and epoxy. The business embraces a high-level of design innovation and utilizes alternative materials and methods to make highly functional surfboards that emphasize design and sustainability.
Spirare owner Kevin Cunningham, a 2005 Rhode Island School of Design graduate and avid surfer, has been designing highly regarded surfboards since 2003 and formally established Spirare in 2009.
“Spirare considers itself a part of the fine arts and crafts industry and plans to further penetrate those markets in Rhode Island and New England,” Cunningham says. “Although there are competitors in this marketplace, there are no other manufacturers of surfboards as eco-friendly, functional fine art. We target surfers and art collectors with a multi-faceted marketing and promotion strategy through online mediums including the Web site, blog and the virtual social networking vehicle of Facebook.”
With the market for sustainable surfboards expanding, demand for these “green” alternative boards, which are made from harvested biodegradable wood and 100 percent recycled eco-friendly foam, is steadily increasing. In addition, Spirare wood surfboards are generally lighter and perform better than other wooden surfboards due in large part to their innovative eco-design.
Spirare is currently working on surfboard designs for the Nike 6.0 surfing team, which includes surfers Coco Ho, the third-ranked women’s professional surfer on the World Championship Tour, and rookie of the year Carissa Moore, who is third on the World Qualifying Series surf tour. Moore, also a documentary filmmaker, is making a film about surfboard shapers that will feature Spirare as a “start-up” with a totally new perspective on surfboard design and shaping.
Small-scale or micro-business entrepreneurs have unique challenges in getting started, growing and acquiring financing. The Small Business Loan Fund’s Micro-Business Emerging Growth Fund program assists start-up or existing businesses that employ fewer than five people and generate less than $500,000 in annual revenues. Micro-businesses can use the funds for start-up financing, inventory, machinery and equipment, working capital, bridge financing for small contractors and mezzanine financing.
For more information on Spirare Surfboards, visit www.spiraresurfboards.com.
About the RIEDC’s Small Business Loan Fund
The RIEDC Small Business Loan Fund provides direct, fully-secured loans of up to $500,000 for manufacturing businesses and $250,000 for non-manufacturing businesses. The loans can be used for acquisition and improvements of land, buildings and equipment, new construction, and working capital. The loan funds cover an average of 25 percent of a project’s costs. The interest rates are fixed and the repayments terms are flexible and range up to 10 years. The SBLF’s Micro-Business Emerging Growth Fund can provide up to $10,000 to emerging entrepreneurs and micro-businesses.
