(upbeat music)
- When we really came about this business,
Happy Paddler in 2013,
we kinda merged our passions
for being outside in nature
and sharing that with other people.
- I grew up on the beach
showing people sand dollars
and this and that.
Telling strangers all different
facts about all this stuff
and I think it was,
I've been training for this day right now.
- Back in the fall of 2018, Red Tide hit.
That was a really kinda dark ages for us.
That was a tough few months.
We reached out to Pat Gordon
of the Florida SBDC at USF.
And she was extraordinarily helpful.
She helped us apply for
a secure the Bridge loan
for Red Tide.
It did help financially, of course,
but really it was just so nice to know
that we had that support.
After we made it through
our tough months back
in the fall of 2018, we came
across a new opportunity
and right away, I knew Pat
at SBDC was the one to go to
for guidance on how to
approach this new opportunity.
We needed to apply for a loan
and we didn't know how to do that.
So we called Pat and she,
again, was right from the start
realistic, practical about everything.
She was very straight
forward, and encouraging
every step of the way.
- I wish we had known
about the SBDC earlier.
Honestly, when we first
started the business
'cause it would've been a
lot of headaches avoided
- [Holly] Mm hmm.
if we had known Pat before.
I just can't say enough
good about, you know,
the resources there at the SBDC.
It's just amazing that this is,
there's no cost for it.
I mean, it's just, it's
been an amazing resource.
(upbeat music)
