May 01, 2024 Economic Development Commission Revolving Loan Subcommittee

TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION REVOLVING LOAN SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING OF THURSDAY, APRIL 4TH, 2024.

WE'LL JUST JUMP INTO THE REGULAR AGENDA.

ALRIGHT, SO WE'LL START WITH THE FIRST, WHICH IS RECOMMENDATION

[1. 24-53150 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Economic Development Commission Revolving Loan Subcommittee meeting of Thursday, April 4, 2024. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]

ARE THEY, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE MINUTES? OKAY.

NOBODY FOR THE PUBLIC IS HERE.

WE JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.

WE WILL, WE WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THERE'S NO ONE HERE, SO KEEP ON GOING.

SO NOW ANOTHER VOTE.

MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE.

COMMISSIONER COHEN.

COMMISSIONER NATOYA? YES.

SO THE SECOND THING ON OUR AGENDA,

[2. 24-53151 Recommendation to approve the revolving loan application in the amount of $99,000 for Red Oxygen, Inc. located at 309 Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]

IT'S RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE REVOLVING LOAN APPLICATION AND THE AMOUNT OF 99,000 FOR RED OXYGEN INC.

LOCATED AT 3 0 9 PINE AVENUE, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA 9 0 8 0 2.

MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THIS ITEM? SO MOVED.

SECOND.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THEIR TAX RETURNS, THEY ARE, UM, CLAIMING THAT FOREIGN ENTITY, UH, INCOME, UM, YOU KNOW, POOR LIKE IRS RULES.

LET'S MOVE BY AUSTIN.

AUSTIN AND SECONDED BY MAYOR.

I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE ANDRE MARTINEZ, WHO WILL TAKE US THROUGH THE CREDIT AND GOING FORWARD.

OKAY, GREAT.

UM, SO THIS LOAN, UH, SIMILAR TO ONE WE JUST DID LAST MONTH IS GONNA BE IN CONJUNCTION, UH, WITH, UH, GROW AMERICA FUND LOAN.

SO THEY'RE ALSO APPLYING FOR, UM, 175,000, OR I THINK THIS ONE'S 150.

150, YEAH, SORRY, 150 WITH GROW AMERICA.

WE'RE WORKING ON ANOTHER ONE THAT'S GONNA COME NEXT MONTH THAT'S SIMILAR.

THAT JUST ISSUED A TERM SHEET FOR 1 75, BUT THIS ONE, UM, SO WE'RE HAVING SOME GOOD SYNERGY.

I GUESS THAT'S A GOOD INTRODUCTION TOO, BETWEEN THE GROW AMERICA FUND, SBA PROGRAM, UM, AND THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND MICROLOAN PROGRAM.

SO TRYING TO SEPARATE OUT THE LOANS.

SO THEY HAD APPLIED ORIGINALLY FOR 2 7 2 50, I BELIEVE.

AND SO WE SEPARATED OUT INTO ONE 50 AND 99 SO THAT THE RLF CAN GET A LITTLE BIT OF BENEFIT, UH, FROM DOING THE TRANSACTION AS WELL.

SO ALL THE LOANS ACTUALLY THAT ARE GOING TO GROW AMERICA FUND RIGHT NOW ARE KIND OF BEING SPLIT UP IN THAT WAY.

UM, AND THIS, SO THIS LOAN IS TO A TECH COMPANY RIGHT THERE.

THEY'RE A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER AND PUBLISHER.

UM, THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD DATA IN THE REPORT FROM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THEIR SERVICES.

SO IT'S MOSTLY TEXT MESSAGING SERVICES.

UM, THEY DEVELOP THE SOFTWARE AND THE ALGORITHM THAT, UM, ALLOWS LARGE COMPANIES TO SEND AUTOMATIC TEXT MESSAGES TO PEOPLE.

UM, SO LIKE WHEN YOU BUY SOMETHING, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THEN YOU AUTOMATICALLY GET A TEXT SAYING THANK YOU FOR YOUR PURCHASE OR EVEN LIKE EMERGENCY MESSAGES THAT YOU GET ON YOUR PHONE.

USE THIS TYPE OF SOFTWARE AS WELL AS OTHER NOTIFICATIONS FROM LIKE UTILITY COMPANIES OR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UM, ARE SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF THE, OF THE APPLICATION.

UM, AND SO THEY ARE A 10-YEAR-OLD COMPANY THAT WAS, UH, FOUNDED, UM, BY THE PRINCIPAL.

HIS NAME IS THOMAS SHEHAN.

HE HAS, UM, OVER 60% OWNERSHIP, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF, UM, SHAREHOLDERS THAT HAVE SMALL PERCENTAGES.

SO HE HAS A NUMBER OF INVESTORS AS WELL, UM, THAT OWN THE REST OF THE SHARES, BUT N NONE OF THEM HAVE OVER 20% OWNERSHIP.

I THINK THE LARGEST ONE IS ABOUT 10%.

UM, SO THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED TO BE A PARTY TO THE TRANSACTION.

THAT 20% THRESHOLD IS, UM, A THRESHOLD SET UP BY THE SBA.

SO THEY DON'T REQUIRE ANY PERSONAL GUARANTEES OR PERSONAL INFORMATION ON MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS.

AND THAT, AGAIN, DEFINITION IS 20% OR LESS OWNERSHIP.

SO, UM, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED OF, OF OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE THAN WE TYPICALLY SEE.

UH, BUT I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN THAT.

SO FOR ALL OUR PURPOSES AND THE SBAS, YOU KNOW, THOMAS IS OUR PERSONAL GUARANTOR.

HE WILL BE PROVIDING THE PERSONAL GUARANTEE.

HE'S THE OWNER, HE RUNS THE COMPANY, UH, BUT HE DOES NOT ACTUALLY OWN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF IT.

UM, AGAIN, THEY'RE ESTABLISHED COMPANY AND THEY'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND.

SO IT'S ACTUALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE THEY ALSO HAVE A AUSTRALIAN SUBSIDIARY THAT WAS STARTED BEFORE THIS COMPANY.

SO ON THEIR, UM,

[00:05:01]

AND THEN ALSO IN THE, IN THE FINANCIALS THAT YOU'LL SEE, IT DOES REFERENCE SOME CONSOLIDATED FINANCIALS AS WELL.

SO FROM THE OTHER ENTITY AND THIS ENTITY TOGETHER.

UH, AND SO THEY, UH, UH, ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND, UM, AND ADD SOME CAPACITY TO THEIR SERVER AS WELL AS HIRE SOME NEW DEVELOPERS, UM, AND COVERING A COUPLE ONE-TIME EXPENSES, UM, THAT THEY HAVE THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BETA TESTING AND MIGRATING A NEW SERVICE.

SO AMAZON WEB SERVICES, THEY'RE GOING TO BE FOLDING THAT INTO THEIR CURRENT SERVER, AND SO IT'S KIND OF A LARGE UNDERTAKING.

UM, AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT THEY NEED THE FINANCING FOR.

UH, AND SO THE ANOTHER THING THAT YOU WILL NOTICE HERE IN THIS TRANSACTION, SO IT IS MOSTLY, YOU KNOW, LIKE A VIRTUAL TECH COMPANY.

THEY DO HAVE COWORKING SPACE LOCATED IN LONG BEACH, LIKE WE JUST SAID AT LINK SPACES, UM, WHICH IS ANOTHER, UM, RLF BORROWER.

UM, AND THEY ALSO, UM, HE ALSO OWNS A HOME IN LONG BEACH.

AND SO WE DON'T TYPICALLY, UH, SEE COLLATERAL, BUT BECAUSE THERE'S NOT, YOU KNOW, A TECH COMPANY IS, IT'S, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF HARD ASSETS.

SO OUR UCC FILING, UM, ISN'T, DOESN'T REALLY COVER MUCH, RIGHT? IT'S ALL, UH, INTANGIBLE IF YOU WILL, ALL THE ASSETS LIKE THE SERVERS AND THE SOFTWARE AND STUFF.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN EASILY LEAN.

AND SO IN THIS CASE, UM, WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THE PERSONAL GUARANTEE BE SECURED BY A THIRD POSITION, UH, DEED OF TRUST LIEN ON THE PERSONAL RESIDENCE, UH, LOCATED IN LONG BEACH.

AND SO SORT OF ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS, UM, THE SBA LOAN IS BEING SECURED THAT WAY.

AND I THINK THAT FOR THIS TRANSACTION AND THE RISK INVOLVED, IT MAKES SENSE.

UM, ONE OF THE MAIN WEAKNESSES OF THE TRANSACTION IS THEY DID HAVE A LOSS IN 2023, SO THEY COULD NOT CASHFLOW THE DEBT IN 2023.

AGAIN, THEY'RE GOING THROUGH A LOT OF R AND D WITH THIS ONBOARDING OF THIS NEW AMAZON SOFTWARE AND IMPLEMENTING IT INTO THEIR SERVERS.

AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE REASON, UH, FOR THAT LOSS ALSO, UM, THEY DO HAVE SOME, UH, OPERATIONS LOCATED IN AUSTRALIA AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY GETTING A TAX CREDIT FROM AUS FROM THROUGH THEIR FOREIGN COMPANY, UM, IN AUSTRALIA TO HELP, UM, SUPPORT SOME OF THIS R AND D AS WELL.

SO THAT WAS ALSO ANOTHER UNIQUE THING ABOUT THE TRANSACTION IS THEY HAD ABOUT $200,000 IN A TAX CREDIT, UM, THAT THEY RECEIVED, UH, BASICALLY OFFSETTING THEIR PAYROLL COSTS, RIGHT, FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE LOCATED IN AUSTRALIA.

SO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIALS, UM, SHOWED MORE OF A BREAK EVEN FOR 2023.

UM, BUT THAT IS ONE OF THE WEAKNESSES IS THAT THEY ARE SHOWING A LOSS.

AND AGAIN, UM, THE LOSS IS BASED JUST ON THEIR US OPERATIONS.

UM, SO THEY'RE A LARGE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MULTINATIONAL TYPE COMPANY AS, AS SOFTWARE GOES.

UM, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY, THEY CAN, THEY HAVE DEMAND FOR IT EVERYWHERE.

UM, AND SO THE OWNER THOUGH HAS STRONG PERSONAL CREDIT.

HIS CREDIT SCORES ARE 800, UM, YOU KNOW, OR HIGH SEVENS.

UM, AND ALSO THE COMPANY, UH, DOESN'T HAVE VERY MUCH, UM, OTHER EXISTING DEBT.

THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO CASHFLOW SUCCESSFULLY FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, YOU KNOW, UM, GROWING ORGANICALLY BASED ON THEIR OWN OPERATIONS.

UM, AND THIS, UH, IS THE FIRST, ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY GETTING KIND OF MORE LONGER TERM, UH, BANK, YOU KNOW, UM, AND MORE KIND OF PERMANENT DEBT.

UH, AND SO I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY A STRENGTH, UM, OF THE TRANSACTION AS WELL.

UM, AND SO YOU DO SEE IN THE CO IN THE COLLATERAL ANALYSIS, UM, IN THE PACKAGE, I BELIEVE IT'S ON PAGE SEVEN OF 14.

UM, THERE'S TWO ANALYSIS THERE.

ONE IS BASED ON THE SBA LOAN, RIGHT? SO A LOT OF, AGAIN, SOME OF THESE TABLES AND THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT, UM, BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO USE THE EXISTING LOAN REPORT, UM, FROM THE GROW AMERICA FUND.

SO, UM, SOME OF THE FORMATTING MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENT, BUT I ALSO DID ANOTHER ANALYSIS THAT SHOWS JUST ON THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND THAT IT IS, IT WOULD BE A HUNDRED PERCENT SECURED.

UM, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN THAT TWO, 2.18 TO ONE WOULD BE THE COLLATERAL COVERAGE RATIO, AND THAT IS INCLUDING THE PREVIOUS LIEN, UM, FOR THE EXISTING FIRST MORTGAGE, UM, WITH JP MORGAN CHASE, AND THEN ALSO THE GROW, UM, AND AMERICA FUND OF LONG BEACH LIEN FOR THE SBA LOAN.

SO WE'LL BE IN A SUBORDINATE POSITION, BUT I STILL THINK IT'S WORTH IT, UM, FOR THE CITY TO TAKE THAT LIEN POSITION.

UM,

[00:10:01]

GIVEN, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFICS OF THIS TRANSACTION AND, AND WE DID GET AN AUTOMATED VALUATION, THAT'S WHAT A VM STANDS FOR, UH, RECENTLY THAT HAD A VALUE ON THAT PROPERTY IN LONG BEACH OF 946,000.

SO EVEN WITH TWO PROCEEDING LIENS IN FRONT OF US, THERE'S STILL COLLATERAL COVERAGE AVAILABLE, UM, TO COVER THIS LOAN.

UM, AND AGAIN, THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY I FELT LIKE IT WAS WORTH IT.

UM, BUT HE, HE IS PRETTY STRONG PERSONALLY.

HIS PERSONAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND INCOME STATEMENT, UM, ARE ALL THERE FOR YOU TO REVIEW.

UM, BUT I THINK THIS IS AGAIN, A GREAT SYNERGY BETWEEN THE RLF AND, AND THE GROW LONG BEACH FUND.

UM, 150,000 LOAN WITH, WITH THE SBA DOES GET A 85% GUARANTEE.

SO IT'S KIND OF A WIN-WIN FOR BOTH LENDERS TO KIND OF SPREAD THE RISK BETWEEN THE BOTH PROGRAMS. UM, AND IT, YOU KNOW, IT QUALIFIES AND MEETS ALL OF OUR, OUR, OUR MISSIONS.

UM, AND SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND JUST LIKE OPEN IT UP TO, TO YOUR QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD.

LET'S JUST ACKNOWLEDGE FOR THE RECORD THAT COMMISSIONER LARKINS HAS JOINED THE MEETING AND WE HAVE A GUEST.

HI WALTER.

HEY, HOW'S IT GOING? HI.

GOOD .

YEAH, I FEEL LIKE I'M A FLOATING HEAD.

YOU THE BODY , YOU CAN PUT A BEACH BACKGROUND ON THERE.

THAT'D BE NICE.

, I'M OUT IN CHARLESTON, UH, FOR A TEAM MEETING, SO, UM, ON THE EAST COAST THIS WEEK, BUT WE WANTED TO KEEP THE REGULAR SCHEDULE OF THE MEETING, UH, FOR SURE.

SO ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE PRESENTATION? YES, I JUST HAVE A GENERAL, HOW DID, HOW DID THIS, UH, INDIVIDUAL COME TO YOU GUYS? I WILL, UH, ASK GOOD QUESTION CALLED ADDRESS THAT ONE.

SO, UM, WE WENT TO THE ACCELERATOR SITE ELECTRIC, NO, SORRY, ACCELERATOR CONFERENCE ON THE QUEEN MARY.

AND HE WAS ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS THERE.

UH, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE LOAN PROGRAM, UM, CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE AND HE WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WE CONNECTED WITH US BUSINESS CARD, TOLD HIM ABOUT THE LOAN PROGRAM AND THEN WE ENDED UP BEING WITH HIM, UM, FURTHER DOWN THE LINE TO TALK ABOUT IT.

SO YEAH, IT WAS FROM THAT CONFERENCE YOU DID ALL THE, THAT APPS GOOD NETWORK NOW IT WAS, IT WAS OUTSTANDING NETWORKING.

I WAS REALLY FORTUNATE THAT BOTH COLTON AND JESSICA WERE ABLE TO GO AND THEY, THEY KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT THE LOAN PROGRAM.

UM, AND WE TRY OUR BEST TO DO AS, DO THINGS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

WE DO, WE TRY OUR BEST TO DO THINGS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

MM-HMM, .

ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? YEAH.

AND THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD EVENT, SO I'M GLAD, UM, I HAD FORGOTTEN THAT THAT'S WHERE THIS GUY CAME FROM, UM, MEETING AT THAT EVENT.

SO THAT'S REALLY GOOD.

THAT'S GOOD SYNERGY.

AND SO AGAIN, THIS LOAN, UM, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED, YEAH, SO IT DID ALREADY GO THROUGH THE SBA, UM, APPROVAL PROCESS.

IT GOT APPROVED ON FRIDAY, I BELIEVE OF WAS THAT LAST WEEK? YES, LAST WEEK.

AND SO, UM, THEY'RE ALREADY GONNA, YOU KNOW, BE MOVING FORWARD WITH THEIR CLOSING.

UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY HE'S HAPPY BECAUSE AGAIN, OUR RATE, UM, IS LOWER.

SO HIS BLENDED RATE WILL BE MUCH, WILL BE LOWER THAN IF HE WOULD'VE FINANCED THE WHOLE THING WITH THE SBA.

AND SO WE'RE DOING THE SAME TERM, UH, 10 YEAR TERM, BUT JUST A LOWER RATE AND THEN ALSO A FIXED RATE.

'CAUSE THE SVA HAS A VARIABLE RATE RIGHT NOW.

SO AGAIN, IT'S KIND OF A WIN-WIN.

BOTH PROGRAMS ARE GETTING SOME ACTIVITY AND THE END, YOU KNOW, BORROWER GETS A LITTLE BIT OF A BETTER DEAL.

UM, AND I THINK JUST ESTABLISHING, UM, ALSO THE, LIKE A MORE DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY, HAVING THE RLF LOAN REALLY GIVES A MUCH MORE DIRECT CONNECTION TO YOU GUYS, UH, UH, AT THE CITY VERSUS THE SVA GOES ALL THROUGH, YOU KNOW, MY ORGANIZATION.

AND SO SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT THAT RELATIONSHIP CAN GET LOST.

UH, ARE THERE TWO LANES ON THIS GUYS PROPERTY? SO THERE WILL BE, RIGHT NOW THERE'S JUST ONE AND THAT'S HIS, HIS FIRST MORTGAGE.

UM, BUT THE GROW AMERICA FUND LOAN IS GONNA CLOSE SOONER PROBABLY THAN YOUR, THAN THIS ONE.

AND SO THEY'RE GONNA BE IN A SENIOR POSITION.

NO PROBLEM WITH THAT.

I MEAN, GIVEN, GIVEN THE COLLATERAL ANALYSIS, NO, BECAUSE THERE'S PLENTY OF EQUITY.

UM, I WOULD SAY THAT IF IT HAD BEEN CLOSER TO, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT HAVING AS MUCH COVERAGE, WE COULD HAVE DONE WHAT THEY CALL LIKE A PER PURSUE.

IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED WAY TO DO IT.

THAT'S ALSO WHY I'M NOT RECOMMENDING THAT WE DO THAT.

UM, BUT YOU CAN DO THAT.

AND SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION THAT IF WE NEEDED TO AND WANTED TO, AND IN SOME OF OUR LARGER LOANS, WE HAVE DONE THE PERRY PURSUIT

[00:15:01]

POSITION, UM, WITH GROW AMERICA FUND AND SORT OF LIKE, OR LIKE AN EQUAL POSITION.

IT'S JUST DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT THAT YOU, UM, DO.

AND SO IT'S, IT'S LIKE AN INTERCREDITOR AGREEMENT THAT YOU DO AND IT HA I THINK THERE'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY THAT YOU, UH, RECORD THE DEED AS WELL.

UM, BUT SO WE COULD DO THAT, BUT I THINK IN THIS CASE, UM, IT, IT, IT'S NOT REALLY WORTH IT.

THERE'S STILL GONNA BE ACCESS CLA WE STILL HAVE EX EXCESS COLLATERAL COVERAGE AFTER ALL THREE LIENS OF 117,000, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN THE AMOUNT OF THE LOAN THAT WE'RE MAKING.

SO BASICALLY TWO TO ONE, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE 200% COVERED EVEN WITH THOSE LIENS.

UM, AGAIN, IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW MU HOW MUCH YOU TRUST THAT VALUATION TO AND COULD YOU REALLY GET 900? I THINK REAL ESTATE VALUES AND LONG BEACH ARE PRETTY STRONG.

AND SO IF YOU WERE TO HAVE TO DO THAT, I THINK YOU COULD GET THAT VALUE.

UM, AND SO THE AUTOMATED VALUATION IS THROUGH LEXISNEXIS AND IT, IT USES COMPARABLE SALES IN THE AREA BASED ON SIMILAR SIZE OF PROPERTY AND SQUARE FOOTAGE.

AND I HAVE A COPY OF IT IF ANY OF YOU GUYS ARE INTERESTED IN KIND OF SEEING MORE OF THE DETAILS OF WHAT GOES INTO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE COULD ALWAYS SHARE THAT.

AND IT IS IN YOUR FILE.

UM, CARLA, JUST SO YOU KNOW, IN OUR SHARED FILES, ALREADY UPLOADED THAT THERE.

MM-HMM.

, THE GREAT THING IS THIS IS A SOFTWARE COMPANY TECHNICALLY.

MM-HMM.

SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD ADVERTISE BROADLY IF WE CAN.

WHATEVER YOUR STRATEGIES REGARDING THAT BECAUSE UH, SOME PEOPLE ONLY THINK WE'RE BRICK AND MORTAR MM-HMM.

, YOU KNOW, FUNDING.

SO FOR COMPANIES TO KNOW THAT THEY CAN DELIVER SOFTWARE AND ALSO GET TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES IS GONNA BE REALLY HELPFUL.

DEFINITELY.

I THINK THAT IS A GOOD POINT ACTUALLY.

WE DO A LOT OF, UM, RETAIL AND RESTAURANTS, SO THIS DOES HELP TO KIND OF DIVERSIFY THE, THE BUSINESS TYPES THAT WE'RE FUNDING.

GOOD.

A GOOD POINT.

JOB.

NO QUESTIONS FOR OKAY.

I THINK THAT'S THE WANT MOTION.

OKAY.

, WE ALREADY HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR VOTE THEN.

NON AGENDA, PUBLIC CODE, AGENDA COMMENT.

OKAY.

IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION MME. CLARK, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE.

COMMISSIONER CON YES.

COMMISSIONER KINS? YES.

, UH, AT THIS TIME WE'LL TAKE

[PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Economic Development Commission Revolving Loan Subcommittee on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Chair.]

WELL, I WILL MENTION THAT NOW HERE.

AS A GUEST, HE IS AN ENTREPRENEUR.

ANNOUNCEMENTS WAS ANNOUNCEMENT.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

THIS IS JUST GIMME AN , SO NO COMMENTS.

OKAY, PERFECT.

ALRIGHT, NOW WE'LL GO MOVE ON TO ANNOUNCEMENTS.

[ANNOUNCEMENTS]

PERFECT.

ARE THERE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS? OH, OKAY.

I HAVE NO AL HE IS HERE.

HE'S, UH, WITH UH, HE'S AN ENTREPRENEUR, BEEN AN ENTREPRENEUR FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.

FIRST STARTED AT 16 YEARS OLD.

NICE IS 14 AND 16, 14, 14, 14 YEARS OLD.

UH, BEEN INVOLVED WITH A LOT OF, UH, DIFFERENT COMPANIES SINCE THAT TIME.

HE IS ON THE, UH, LONG BEACH, CAL STATE LONG BEACH ON THE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF INSTITUTE, ENTREPRENEURS INSTITUTE INNOVATION HERE.

UH, HE IS GOING TO LIVES IN LONG BEACH AS WELL.

WE'RE LOOKING AT A STRATEGY TO TRY TO DEAL WITH THE HUNDRED STARTUP GROUP CONCEPT THAT THE MAYOR HAD WITH RESPECT TO HIS INITIATIVE, WHICH OBVIOUSLY BELIEVED INTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

WE TRYING TO BRAINSTORM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH THAT MISSION AND CREATE AN ECOSYSTEM HERE IN LONG BEACH THAT FOSTERS ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

SO HE'S, UH, IN A DEMOGRAPHIC OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THAT IS EARLIER THAN MINE, , AND I THINK WE NEED MORE VOICES.

HOW SO? YEAH.

I HAVE NO IDEA REALLY.

I SHOULD MOVE THROUGH THAT NOW JUST FOR DISCUSSION.

, I DON'T SEE ANY DISAGREEMENTS, SO I CURIOUS ON THAT.

YEAH, WELL, YOU KNOW, PRETEND LIKE I'M IN YOUR DEMOGRAPHIC, UH, BUT THERE'S A VOICE THAT WE NEED TO HEAR IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH BECAUSE THAT IS OUR FUTURE.

AND, UH, GETTING IDEAS AND INPUT FROM THEM OR, I THINK IT'S, UH, IMPORTANT FOR US TO HEAR THAT AND FOR TO BE HERE AND SEE THAT WE DO FUND, UH, COMPANIES THAT ARE RELATIVE STARTUPS TO A CERTAIN DEGREE.

THAT'S, THAT'S NEW.

I THINK THAT THAT MESSAGE NEEDS TO GET OUT THERE.

WE DON'T, THEY DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO GO AFTER, UH, VENTURE MONEY FOR EQUITY THAT THEY CAN GET A DEBT, UH, FINANCING AS WELL.

THAT THESE STARTUPS KNOW THEY HAVE OPTIONS.

AND, UH, BE A PRETTY NEW COMPANY.

MM-HMM.

TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.

SO THAT'S A MESSAGE WE WANT TO GET OUT TO THE INSTITUTE, ALSO TO LONG BEACH ACCELERATOR.

SO, UH,

[00:20:01]

SO HE'S HERE FOR THAT AND WHO KNOWS.

HE MAY BE INTERESTED AT SOME POINT IN TIME BEING COMMISSIONER, IF YOU GUYS REMEMBER JESSICA BACK IN THE DAY, SHE WOULD'VE ATTEND THESE MEETINGS AND ULTIMATELY, UH, SHE BECAME INTERESTED IN BEING ON THE, ON THE COMMISSION.

THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT, UH, HAVING, UH, YOUNGER VOICES THERE THAT FILL SOME CATEGORIES THAT WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE ON OUR COMMISSION.

SO THAT'S WHY HE'S HERE.

GREAT.

ANY COMMENT YOU'D LIKE? THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.