City Partners With Tech Company To Develop App For Small Businesses

By: Alena Maschke

The City of Long Beach has joined forces with a Pasadena-based tech company to deliver mentorship and assistance to small business owners and entrepreneurs planning to start businesses in Long Beach. Together, the city and its partner, Start It Up, are developing an app that connects local entrepreneurs with experienced mentors who can guide them through the at times arduous process of starting a small business.

To jumpstart the project, the city invested $25,000 from its Innovation Fund into the development of the app, according to Economic Development Officer Seyed Jalali. “This was very unique,” Jalali pointed out. “We like to see it as an example of how government can act as an investor.”

After several months of testing and reviews by the first round of mentees, Start It Up and its Long Beach partners, which include Long Beach City College’s Small Business Development Center and several local business improvement districts, are now looking for 60 more budding businesses to fill the remaining app subscriptions purchased by the city.

Read more on the Long Beach Business Journal