By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald | October 18, 2025 (Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of six articles spotlighting the businesses making up the 2025 Laine Business Accelerator cohort.) Artists use a variety of media to demonstrate their talents. Painters may use canvas, writers may use words … but Shaina Griffin combining her chef and as an artist to create culinary masterpieces as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate. The result are two f

By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald | October 11, 2025 (Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of six articles spotlighting the businesses making up the 2025 Laine Business Accelerator cohort.) OLEAN — By his own admission, two decades ago, David Preston was an overweight computer guy with little, if any interest, in physical fitness. Now, 20 years later, he has turned his back on his computer- related career and has built Preston Personal Training, a privat

Olean Times Herald staff August 21, 2025 OLEAN — Over the past four years, the Laine Business Accelerator has awarded more than $150,000 in seed money to 30 local businesses and provided those businesses with hundreds of hours of advice and counsel, resulting in more than 50 new jobs being created to support the growth and expansion of many of these businesses. This year, the fifth of the program, add eight more businesses, $40,000 more in seed money and, LBA officials hope,

Olean Times Herald staff July 8, 2025 OLEAN — Monday is the deadline for businesses to apply to be considered for the fifth Laine Business Accelerator cohort, a joint effort between Olean Business Development Corporation, Jamestown Community College’s Workforce Development and the Entrepreneur Center at St. Bonaventure University. Those businesses selected to be part of the cohort will receive $5,000 in seed funding, access to extensive mentorship opportunities from leading

Olean Times Herald staff June 3, 2025 OLEAN — The Laine Business Accelerator has opened its application process for 2025, giving local businesses the opportunity to apply to become a part of this year’s cohort — the fifth in the Accelerator’s history. “It’s an exciting time for us to launch the application for this year’s Laine Business Accelerator,” said Bob Forness, Olean Business Development Corporation (OBDC) president and executive director. “As the LBA marks our fifth