Suffolk County small businesses awarded $125G in grants to offer same-day delivery for customers
Members of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce at a meeting Tuesday about a new grant for small business owners. From left are Kimberly N. Jackson, Rose Ward, Jordan Isaac and Barry Braxton Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Forty small businesses in Suffolk County — that also are members of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce — will be able to participate in a $125,000 program to offer same-day delivery to customers, officials announced on Tuesday.
Each grantee will receive $2,500 in credits to use Trellus Same-Day Local Delivery & Marketplace, a technology startup based in Long Beach.
The credits equal more than 200 deliveries and don’t expire until Dec. 31, 2026, according to Rose Ward, a representative of the 400-plus member chamber.
“We want to help you to grow your business, to move your business a bit further,” said Ward, founder of NFocus Management Group LLC, which offers financial literacy workshops for young people and training for entrepreneurs.
“If you're not a chamber member become one today and you can also apply for the grant program,” she said, adding the grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.
The grant application may be found at bytrellus.com/jumpsmart.
The chamber was awarded the funding by Suffolk County, which received it as part of a larger pandemic-relief package from the federal government.
Adam Haber, co-founder and CEO of Trellus, said it was started in 2021 to help small businesses and those based in homes to compete on delivery services with Amazon.com and other retailing behemoths.
“We make it easier for you to serve your customers,” he told about a half-dozen business owners who attended a briefing at the Middle Country Public Library’s Miller Business Resource Center in Centereach.
Haber demonstrated the Trellus app, in which users arrange for a delivery and receive notification when it has been completed, including a photo of the package on the doorstep.
He said Trellus had made 114,000 deliveries in the past three years for more than 480 businesses, including 450 based on Long Island. The company has 18 employees and relies on more than 100 gig drivers to transport goods in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Westchester counties.
Trellus only works with independently owned businesses, small chains and franchisees. “The whole reason that we started this app is to save the small business community,” said Haber, who has owned restaurants and ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate as a Democrat.
As the question-and-answer period was winding down, Jennifer Leveque, founder of Whipped Lash New York Inc. in North Babylon, was filling out the grant application.
Securing a grant “would definitely help me,” she said in an interview. “I offer 24-hour local delivery and I'm the one making the deliveries. The grant would relieve me of that responsibility.”
Leveque said her one-person business sells false eyelashes that use tiny magnets instead of glue to attach to the eyelids. The eyelashes are vegan and reusable, she said.
Consultant Jordan Isaac, owner of Cornucopia Business Consulting in Yaphank, said the grant program “is something that can help my clients” because it's designed for small businesses. He said he helped entrepreneurs reduce expenses by improving the efficiency of their operation.
Separately, Haber, the Trellus executive, said it had nearly completed raising $4 million from investors for the launch of its “Local Marketplace” app, which would be an online store for small companies. The fundraising campaign is on top of $2 million that was secured in December 2021 from about 20 investors.
Trellus plans to launch its Local Marketplace app after July 4, Haber said. The company will receive a percentage of each sale made via the app and also can provide delivery for a fee.
“We've created a marketplace for all the inventory that you have in your stores,” he said, adding that shoppers will be able to narrow their search to retailers within seven miles of their home.
Forty small businesses in Suffolk County — that also are members of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce — will be able to participate in a $125,000 program to offer same-day delivery to customers, officials announced on Tuesday.
Each grantee will receive $2,500 in credits to use Trellus Same-Day Local Delivery & Marketplace, a technology startup based in Long Beach.
The credits equal more than 200 deliveries and don’t expire until Dec. 31, 2026, according to Rose Ward, a representative of the 400-plus member chamber.
“We want to help you to grow your business, to move your business a bit further,” said Ward, founder of NFocus Management Group LLC, which offers financial literacy workshops for young people and training for entrepreneurs.
WHAT TO KNOW
- The Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce unveiled a $125,000 grant program for its members in Suffolk County.
- Forty small businesses will each receive $2,500 in credits to use Trellus Same-Day Local Delivery & Marketplace to make deliveries to customers.
- Funds come from pandemic relief provided to Suffolk County by the federal government.
“If you're not a chamber member become one today and you can also apply for the grant program,” she said, adding the grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.
The grant application may be found at bytrellus.com/jumpsmart.
The chamber was awarded the funding by Suffolk County, which received it as part of a larger pandemic-relief package from the federal government.
Adam Haber, co-founder and CEO of Trellus, said it was started in 2021 to help small businesses and those based in homes to compete on delivery services with Amazon.com and other retailing behemoths.
“We make it easier for you to serve your customers,” he told about a half-dozen business owners who attended a briefing at the Middle Country Public Library’s Miller Business Resource Center in Centereach.
Adam Haber, co-founder and CEO of Trellus, explains the delivery grant program for small business owners at the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce meeting in Centereach on Tuesday. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Haber demonstrated the Trellus app, in which users arrange for a delivery and receive notification when it has been completed, including a photo of the package on the doorstep.
He said Trellus had made 114,000 deliveries in the past three years for more than 480 businesses, including 450 based on Long Island. The company has 18 employees and relies on more than 100 gig drivers to transport goods in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Westchester counties.
Trellus only works with independently owned businesses, small chains and franchisees. “The whole reason that we started this app is to save the small business community,” said Haber, who has owned restaurants and ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate as a Democrat.
As the question-and-answer period was winding down, Jennifer Leveque, founder of Whipped Lash New York Inc. in North Babylon, was filling out the grant application.
Securing a grant “would definitely help me,” she said in an interview. “I offer 24-hour local delivery and I'm the one making the deliveries. The grant would relieve me of that responsibility.”
Leveque said her one-person business sells false eyelashes that use tiny magnets instead of glue to attach to the eyelids. The eyelashes are vegan and reusable, she said.
Consultant Jordan Isaac, owner of Cornucopia Business Consulting in Yaphank, said the grant program “is something that can help my clients” because it's designed for small businesses. He said he helped entrepreneurs reduce expenses by improving the efficiency of their operation.
Separately, Haber, the Trellus executive, said it had nearly completed raising $4 million from investors for the launch of its “Local Marketplace” app, which would be an online store for small companies. The fundraising campaign is on top of $2 million that was secured in December 2021 from about 20 investors.
Trellus plans to launch its Local Marketplace app after July 4, Haber said. The company will receive a percentage of each sale made via the app and also can provide delivery for a fee.
“We've created a marketplace for all the inventory that you have in your stores,” he said, adding that shoppers will be able to narrow their search to retailers within seven miles of their home.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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