Boston Public Market Vendors Graduate from Interise StreetWise ‘MBA’™ Program

Boston Public Market Vendors Graduate from Interise StreetWise ‘MBA’™ Program

Local food entrepreneurs at permanent, year-round market benefit from award-winning curriculum, local instructor

BOSTON — The owners of ten local food businesses, including seven vendors at the upcoming Boston Public Market, graduate today from Interise’s award-winning StreetWise ‘MBA’™ program focused on accelerating economic and small business growth in lower income communities. Since November, these local food entrepreneurs have received innovative business development with a program that covers topics such as strategic planning, access to capital, government contracts, financials, marketing and sales, and human resources. Participants will receive a certificate of small business entrepreneurship, granted in partnership with Boston University’s Entrepreneurial Management Institute, at a graduation ceremony today.

"My wife Nancy and I are extremely grateful and thankful for the opportunity to be part of the Interise StreetWise ‘MBA’™ program,” said Al Rose, co-owner of Red Apple Farm, a fourth-generation family farm in Phillipston, MA. “The occasion to remove one’s self from daily demands in order to strategically focus and reflect on the direction of one’s business is immeasurable and critical to the success of any business venture.  This carefully thought out curriculum and professionally led program helped us analyze and improve all aspects and areas of our business in a rewarding team environment!"

Interise is a Boston-based not-for-profit organization that builds the capacity of established small business owners with the management knowledge, business know-how, and relationships they need to scale. Unlike some small business development opportunities, participants in the StreetWise ‘MBA’™ program work on their own businesses rather than studying large corporations. Each participating business functions as their own live case study and lessons are instantly applied to their business to implement change. Each business develops a Strategic Growth Action Plan™ - a three-year plan designed throughout the program, outlining business goals and the specific action steps necessary to achieve them.

“Our vendors can’t stop talking about how helpful Interise’s program has been for their businesses,” said Liz Morningstar, CEO of the Boston Public Market, which opens in July. “We’re incredibly excited about the connections these local food producers are making with each other and throughout Boston’s growing entrepreneurial food economy.”

Interise’s StreetWise ‘MBA’™ curriculum is offered in 60+ communities across the nation. More than 3,000 businesses in the U.S. have completed the curriculum with significant results. According to Interise’s most recent impact report that tracks its businesses from 2011-2013, business owners who completed the program have an average increase in revenue of $480K and 43% of those companies have secured new contracts. Historically, Interise alumni create new jobs at five times the rate of the private sector as a whole, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

“We are thrilled to learn that seven of tonight's graduating companies have been accepted to become vendors at Boston Public Market and are pleased that Interise’s StreetWise ‘MBA’™ was an integral ingredient in their recipe for continued success,” said Jean Horstman, CEO of Interise.

CommonWealth Kitchen, which operates Boston's only shared-use commercial kitchen and culinary business incubator, played a key role in advising on the curriculum and facilitating connections between market vendors and other Boston-area food businesses. CommonWealth Kitchen’s Pearl Food Production Small Business Center in Dorchester features a state-of-the-art shared-use commercial kitchen, large cold and frozen storage space, and a separate commissary where staff offer contract processing options to local farmers and market vendors.

“This class exemplifies the value of strategic collaboration,” said Jen Faigel, Executive Director at CommonWealth Kitchen. “We’ve been able to use our partnership with Interise and BPMA to connect invaluable business development resources to our members and graduates of our food business incubator, while building great new partnerships with folks that will be vending at the Public Market.”

In addition to gaining knowledge, participants in the StreetWise ‘MBA’™ program made valuable connections with their fellow market vendors, small food businesses from Commonwealth Kitchen, other business owners and experts. Working through similar business challenges with entrepreneurs like themselves removes that feeling of isolation and provides access to the resources, relationships, and structure needed to successfully scale their business.

"As an entrepreneur, you're in the thick of your business in every way, shape and form. It can be difficult, if not downright impossible, to see the big picture when you're solving small (or not-so-small!) issues throughout the day,” said Leigh Foster, co-owner of Nella Pasta, a Quincy-based pasta producer. “The StreetWise ‘MBA’™ program was an opportunity to step outside the day-to-day to see my business as a whole. Classes are a time to share ideas and fears with classmates and hear genuine advice. Homework forces you to remove yourself from the day-to-day and focus on big picture strategy, setting strategic goals and following through on them. It's funny how for the first time, you truly value the time dedicated to attending class and homework because it's completely for you and your business!”

Below is a list of today’s StreetWise ‘MBA’™ graduates. Boston Public Market vendors are marked with an asterisk, and CommonWealth Kitchen businesses are marked with a hashtag.

#Veronica Janssens (Batch – Boston, MA)

*Joe Langhan (Beantown Pastrami – Boston, MA)

#Liam Madden (Jubali – Boston, MA)

#Jason McCrea & Kate McCrea (McCrea’s Candies – Boston, MA)

*#Leigh Foster (Nella Pasta – Quincy, MA)

*Beth Quinn & Brian Quinn (Q’s Nuts – Somerville, MA)

*Al Rose & Nancy Rose (Red Apple Farm – Phillipston, MA)

*Barbara Rietscha (Stow Greenhouses, LLC – Stow, MA)

*Heather Schmidt & Josh Danoff (Union Square Donuts – Somerville, MA)

*Christina Barbieri & Luca Mignogna (Wolf Meadow Farm – Amesbury, MA)

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The Boston Public Market will be a 28,000 square foot permanent, year-round, self-sustaining market that provides fresh local food to consumers from all income levels and nourishes our community. It will be a civic resource, educating the public about food sources, nutrition, and preparation.

At the market, farmers, fishermen, and food producers from Massachusetts and throughout New England will offer the public a year-round source of fresh local food and an opportunity to taste, buy, and understand what our region has to offer. The market will house over 35 vendors selling locally produced items such as farm-fresh produce, meat and poultry, eggs, milk and cheese, fish and shellfish, bread and baked goods, flowers, and an assortment of specialty and prepared foods. The Boston Public Market will be the only locally-sourced market of its kind in the United States.

For more information and to follow the progress of the market, visit us at www.bostonpublicmarket.org, or on Facebook (Facebook.com/BostonPublicMarket), Twitter (@BosPublicMarket), and Instagram (@BostonPublicMarket).