WASHINGTON, D.C. — The owners of Equator Coffees & Teas of San Rafael, Calif., are the first LGBT couple to win the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Person(s) of the Year award.
The company, which started 21 years ago in a garage, now has 90 employees, a coffee farm in Panama, and 350 wholesale customers. The SBA has played a key role in their success, by backing loans for a roasting plant and a retail location.
“I think the government sometimes gets a bad rap, but every time I’ve called the SBA they’ve been there for us,” co-owner Brooke McDonnell said Monday after accepting the award in Washington, D.C. The event was keynoted by entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
McDonnell shared the award with Helen Russell, her partner in business and in life.
