Funding business dreams, vitalizing communities.

Navajo artist Rhett Lynch knows precisely when inspiration struck him to become a painter. He was 5, holding a blanket over himself and a TV in his parents’ basement in Texas, secretly watching midnight broadcasts of his favorite event — Mexico City bullfights. The station broke from the program to air a brief segment about Pablo Picasso, painting bulls and bullfights in his studio. “And in that moment, I remember so vividly thinking to myself, ‘I’m going to be that guy,’ Rhett says. “I didn’t even know who he was.” 

Now 60, Rhett has been nationally recognized as a professional artist for more than four decades. After drawing obsessively as a child, he began making paintings for sale under a mentor at age 15. By age 20, he was well on his way to establishing himself as an artist worthy of commissions. His subject matter, and even his medium, varies — from paintings in oil and acrylic to hand-woven tapestries, sculpture, drawings, and film production.  

“The common denominator for my work has been my use of color, with painting as the bedrock of what I do.” Working from his home studio in Alameda, N.M., he says, “I never considered opening an art gallery.” 

But that’s what happened in 2016, when a new luxury hotel opened in Albuquerque’s Sawmill District. Rhett had been offered a chance to locate his studio in the hotel’s retail space, but when he found himself too busy with commission work to make the move, he pivoted to using the location as a pop-up gallery for other indigenous artists. It wasn’t long before Rhett established it as a permanent gallery with help from DreamSpring that same year. 

Rhett received a DreamSpring loan to help pay for a build-out of the raw space and hire two employees. Long term, he said, the loan achieved so much more. 

“It wasn’t just the gallery being able to keep the doors open or me being successful with the endeavor; that was just Step 1,” he says. “Now, artists have an outlet for their work. They have income.” 

“That loan is one of the main reasons that the gallery is what it is now,” Rhett says, “representing about 20 indigenous, non-indigenous and Latinx artists, and employing four people.” In March 2020, the gallery got a new name to reflect the artistic and economic harmony that Rhett’s business holds space for — Gallery Hózhó, which comes from the Diné Navajo word for balance and beauty.  

Small business owners Shannon and Jerry White remember their humble beginnings. The couple started Santa Fe Doors in a garage, and now the company operates with 12,000 square feet of manufacturing space and more than 30 employees. The company has grown beyond the original concept of supplying local homebuilders with custom Southwest-style doors to be a national leader in the construction of entry and interior doors, gates, barn doors, and both custom and commercial projects. 

Shannon and Jerry have worked on high-profile projects across the country, including a home for an ABC News broadcaster, a Malibu home for an Australian musician, and a custom home in western Colorado for the CEO of the Discovery Network of Channels. 

Project-based contractors like Shannon and Jerry need access to capital for equipment, hiring, inventory, and transportation costs associated with each project. At DreamSpring, we believe that accessing capital is key to growing a small business. We’re here to make sure that contractors can complete projects on time and on budget.  

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey demolished the home Tajuana Roberts and her husband had worked so hard to build just months before. With waters rising, the couple and their young child had to be rescued by boat. Soon after, Tajuana was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and lost her job. 

Instead of drowning in the tragedies, Tajuana strapped on her mental life jacket and implemented her Plan B. With 20 years of experience in the transportation industry, she launched Roberts Freight Dispatching Services in Houston in 2018, with a mission of helping the incarcerated, disenfranchised, or displaced find opportunity. 

A loan from DreamSpring provided a substantial digital/social media marketing budget, which would prove to be the key to Tajuana’s dispatch empire.  

In just two years, Tajuana had grown from one carrier with five trucks to five carriers with 62 trucks. She parlayed her robust online presence to market a self-authored 160-page online freight dispatching training manual so that women interested in the male-dominated industry could create their own freight dispatching business from their homes. And when demand came for one-on-one instruction, Tajuana developed a training academy, Roberts Transportation and Logistics Academy, taught by her to both men and women online and in person. Her business impact is tremendous, helping thousands of students nationwide access logistics careers. 

Penelope’s Permanent Cosmetics & Salon Boutique represents the culmination of a lifelong love of beauty for business owner Penny Clark. A second-generation beauty entrepreneur, Penny wanted her business to help customers feel beautiful. A Power Line of Credit from DreamSpring empowered Penny to purchase equipment and supplies to offer standard salon offerings as well as permanent makeup services. Thanks to the security her line of credit provides, Penny can focus on bringing her clients joy. 

“I really love what I do, and the stylists I get to do it with. It is so wonderful to share this passion with professional women. I am so blessed!” — Penny Clark 

In 2011, Barbara Oldums was a single mom who wanted more than anything to have time to support her daughters in track and drill team while they were still young. She also wanted a paycheck that paid what she knew she was worth. To achieve both, she left her media and communications career to start a janitorial supply business, which became Industrial Solutions Company in Arlington, Texas. The woman-owned, Black-owned business took off so quickly that Barbara needed injections of working capital to help her scale, but her loan needs were smaller than mainstream loan products would accommodate. DreamSpring was able to address her needs and provided four loans between 2017 and 2020, helping Barbara take advantage of growth opportunities she otherwise would have had to bypass. 

When the pandemic hit, she approached DreamSpring for two Paycheck Protection Program loans. Thanks to that support and the funding throughout her journey, Barbara and her now-husband, Bishop L.C. Oldums, who is vice president and CFO, hired their first two employees. Industrial Solutions Company’s clients now include the Texas Rangers, Trinity Metro Transit, and Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport. 

With capital to grow and the confidence to bring her business ideas to scale, Barbara is expanding into construction services. She now provides commercial dumpsters, construction site supplies, and portable toilets, making her business the perfect candidate for DreamSpring's new Fast Forward loan.

“If it were not for DreamSpring, we would not have been able to take advantage of some new customer business opportunities. It was a life-saving opportunity for our business.” — Barbara Oldums

Kristelle Siarza has owned Siarza Social Digital, a thriving integrated marketing business in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since 2014. She has never missed a payroll date for her seven-employee team. She is also the sole breadwinner for a child in middle school and her significant other, a U.S. military veteran with a disability. Many of her clients are in the service industry, which reduced expenses or closed during the 2020 pandemic. This resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of dollars in work for her business, and she quickly became deeply worried, for the first time, about making payroll. Kristelle reached out to DreamSpring for support. As an approved lender under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, DreamSpring guided Kristelle through the process and with their help, she was able to receive relief funding that enabled her to retain all of her employees. 

"I had many sleepless nights, vulnerable moments and emotional phone calls. I'm thankful that the DreamSpring community gave me the glimmer of hope I needed to keep our staff stable for the next few months." — Kristelle Siarza

Tabernash, Colorado, describes itself as a rural mountain town. Until Simple Coffee Co., came along, the 400-person town was arguably more mountain, less town. Entrepreneur Olivia Youngs sought to change that. With a love for coffee, a dedication to ethical practices, some global influences, and a splash of her minimalist stylistic sense, Olivia launched a first-of-its-kind venture for Tabernash in 2019. She opened Simple Coffee Co., with the help of a $10,000 small business loan from DreamSpring.

Much of her approach for this environmentally-friendly boutique coffee shop, which also doubles as a community watering hole, was influenced by Olivia’s desire to address problems she witnessed in the fashion industry, such as waste and inequality. Olivia buys her coffee from a roaster that is known for transparency and sustainable practices. Instead of serving drinks in paper cups, she uses glass jars that patrons can either return or reuse. Simple Coffee is also a family endeavor, with Olivia’s husband occasionally manning the register and her three young daughters observing the inner-workings of an emerging and successful small business. Today, each cup of joe sold is helping to fuel the local mountain-town economy — and beyond.

“I was super appreciative of the loan.  It was an easy process, and it was half of my startup costs, so it was very, very helpful.” — Olivia Youngs

After 15 years as an elementary school teacher, Deidre Sanders followed a dream of establishing an educational space where instructors could have the freedom to teach creatively and adjust their approaches to suit the unique needs of each student. Deidre originally struggled to secure a loan to help her launch this new child care business. When she applied for funding through DreamSpring, she was approved for a $20,000 small business loan to get her venture started.

In 2019, the Sanders Academy for Excellence (SAFE) in Waco, Texas, opened its doors and began to support children from infants to 12 years of age. When COVID-19 struck in 2020, Deidre was forced to close temporarily. DreamSpring decreased her loan payment amount and deferred payments for several months — relief options that DreamSpring offered to clients to help them navigate the pandemic’s economic toll. Today, her academy is back open and is at maximum enrollment. Deidre now supports more than 10 full-time employees and she is considering expanding to open a charter school.

“I believe DreamSpring is the reason we are where we are now. They gave me a break. They trusted me and gave me the confidence to get up and running.” — Deidre Sanders

Guillermo Alvarado always wanted to be his own boss. So, in 2005, when the opportunity arose to buy property in the historic district of Colorado Springs, he jumped at the chance to start his own business. The Cucuru Gallery Café initially opened as an art gallery and coffee shop, but Guillermo was eventually able to expand into a full restaurant focused on using fresh, regional ingredients to create Mediterranean and Latin American fare. The café also displays and sells paintings by local artists and regularly hosts live music, firmly cementing its reputation as a hub for culture and community in Colorado Springs. 

Before COVID-19, Guillermo succeeded as a sole proprietor, supported when needed by family members who helped him part-time. When the pandemic threatened his ability to remain open in 2020, he applied for and received two Paycheck Protection Program loans from DreamSpring. The funding helped him survive, and he is now turning his business into a limited liability corporation and planning to hire permanent, full-time staff to support its continued growth.

When native Cubans Yuneisi Oliva and husband Greico Herrada moved to Colorado from Florida, they longed for Cuban food but couldn’t find any. Inspired to fill the void, Yuneisi and her mother began selling homemade Cuban food at local festivals. It was a hit, leading Yuneisi to seek capital for a food truck.

When a traditional lender turned her down due to insufficient income, she approached DreamSpring, which quickly approved her for a small loan. Not only did the food truck succeed, but also Yuneisi paid off her loan within a year and began saving to open a restaurant. With the help of another small loan from DreamSpring, Yuneisi opened El Bohio Criollo Cuban Cuisine restaurant in Golden, Colorado, employing several new staff members including her mother, younger sister, husband and three sons.

A member of Santa Ana Pueblo, Shirley grew up making her own clothes and was often asked by others where she had bought them. She realized she could use her gift to make clothes inspired by Native American culture as a way to preserve her family’s heritage. Shirley named her business RedWing Collections after the name her grandfather gave her: RedWing.

To get her company off the ground, Shirley needed new sewing equipment and capital to purchase supplies. A friend referred her to DreamSpring for a start-up loan. Since then, Shirley has received additional loans from DreamSpring and continues to grow her business.

Several years ago in Las Vegas, John Pinnington found himself in search of a printer who could print his items the very next day. Unable to find a printer who could do so, John was inspired to open AA Printing Service to fulfill next-day business needs. Since 2011, AA Printing has provided this niche service and supported hundreds of fellow small businesses.

John learned about DreamSpring at an Urban Chamber of Commerce meeting and immediately sought a new business loan. DreamSpring helped John refinance and consolidate his other loans, building his credit so he could access efficient capital. He truly sees DreamSpring as a partner to his success.