By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald | November 15. 2025 (Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of eight articles spotlighting the businesses making up the 2025 Laine Business Accelerator cohort.) OLEAN — She traveled almost 3,000 miles away from her home in Trinidad with her husband to the United States, with dreams of settling here and opening a restaurant, specializing in the unique Caribbean foods and flavors of her home country. “Food is definitely my l

By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald | November 8. 2025 (Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of eight articles spotlighting the businesses making up the 2025 Laine Business Accelerator cohort.) “Where’s the beef?” is an enduring, legendary advertising slogan made famous by Wendy’s in 1984 and still used today when comparing the merits of arguments or products. Jeff Andrews, however, not only knows where the beef is — he’s helped to build a thriving busines

By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald | November 1, 2025 (Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of eight articles spotlighting the businesses making up the 2025 Laine Business Accelerator cohort.) You might say podcasts changed Josh Fuller’s life for the better. Fuller, founder and CEO of Fuller’s Fabrication, a metal design, welding and fabrication business, credits the podcasts he listened to while working a previous seasonal job to his current success with

By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald | October 25, 2025 (Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of eight articles spotlighting the businesses making up the 2025 Laine Business Accelerator cohort.) Molly Vaughan had to start all over. Having moved to Cuba from Buffalo to accept a job as an occupational therapist at Olean General Hospital, she had to literally rebuild her life, finding new providers, such as physicians, dentists, supermarkets — and someone to p

By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald | October 18, 2025 (Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of eight 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

By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald | October 11, 2025 (Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of eight 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 priv

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