Local Entrepreneurs Victorious In Library Competition

Brooklyn Public Library's (BPL) Business Library PowerUP! Your Business Starts Here competition recently awarded entrepreneurs Farid Ali Lancheros and George Constantinou Fernandez as the top prize winners with future Bedford-Stuyvesant coffee shop owner Tremaine Wright and yoga trainers Kristen Davis and David Bivens as runner-ups.

Ali and Constantinou plan to open Bogota Latin Bistro, a 75 seat restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn. the partners received an award of $10,000 and an in-kind package of services worth another $10,000.

"The PowerUP! Business Plan Competition tapped into Brooklyn's entrepreneurial spirit by inspiring a wealth of new business ideas," said Ginnie Cooper, BPL's executive director.  "We were impressed with all the creative and well thought out business plans that were submitted. The creators of Bogota Latin Bistro were selected because their idea had all the elements of a winning plan.  We hope their participation in the Library's competition contributes to their success because that is our goal, to help and support Brooklynites to attain success and all of their dreams."

"The PowerUP! Businesss Plan Competition provided us the motivation and tools to create a business plan for our restaurant idea," said Ali.  "It brought us to people, places and valuable resources we would not have acquired on our own.  Some amazing doors have opened up as a result of walking into this library.  The Brooklyn Public Library has been an incredible place to come to get information."

The PowerUP! Business Plan Competition was sponsored by Brooklyn Public Library's Success Council and funded by Citibank, Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, Community Capital Bank, Donovan Communications, Harvest Hanson and Pina M. Inc.