Lynisha Senegal at the Vision View center near Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Facebook photo

This story was originally published by Fresnoland, a nonprofit news organization.

Lynisha Senegal’s minority-owned business hub Vision View launched only a few years after the now-bankrupt Fresno tech company Bitwise Industries opened its doors.

She compared her business’s trajectory to that of Bitwise in an interview with Fresnoland, noting it took them seven years to raise roughly $2 million, she said, while Bitwise raised about $100 million in 10.

Bitwise’s former CEOs have since pleaded not guilty to wire fraud in connection with those investments. Critics say the shuttered tech hub grew too big, too fast.

Vision View, meanwhile, is gearing up to celebrate paying off its mortgage with a seven-year anniversary party outside its campus Saturday, Feb. 17.

The businesses’ distinct but parallel courses speak to the challenges unique to companies run by Black women like herself, she said in an interview with Fresnoland.

“We don’t get that same level of investment,” she said, attributing it to an “inherent mistrust of minority businesses.”

“While Black women might be the fastest growing small business base,” she added, “and we’re the ones who create jobs for people who look like us, we’re probably 1% of the investment dollars across all of the investor dollars.”

These challenges, though not unique to Fresno, can be even more pronounced in a region with far fewer investors than other parts of California like Silicon Valley, she said.

But that hasn’t stopped Senegal from making a name for Vision View with Fresno’s elected officials and philanthropic organizations, who have chipped in to help realize Senegal’s vision for a business center in east Fresno near Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

It also hasn’t stopped her from dreaming big on what’s next for Vision View – namely, making what she calls Frenso’s “airport district” a gathering place for community and small businesses, on the same level as River Park and the Tower District.

What is Vision View?
Senegal acquired what’s now Vision View’s business campus on Clinton Way in February 2017.

She got the idea for the venture through her work doing research as part of Fresno’s DRIVE Initiative executive committee. She observed that many visitors to Fresno would flock to the Starbucks near the airport to meet with potential employers and had few hotel options in the vicinity.

“Isn’t there a better place for businesses or individuals to meet with employers?” she said.

“There wasn’t any real place or designation here … nearby the airport,” she added, “so that people can feel like there’s a business center.”

Seven years later, Vision View’s campus is home to 37 small businesses. The majority of them rent a dedicated space in their headquarters on Clinton, walking distance from the airport.

Among these companies are a range of startups, from Pleasant Living, an adult day center for people with disabilities, to a mobile phlebotomy business.

In addition to leasing these businesses office space, Vision View offers support with other tasks that can be daunting for startups, from help with marketing to payroll processes, according to Vision View’s website.

She’s hoping these services help small, minority-owned companies in Fresno cross that critical five-year mark.

“We’re all about that small, startup microbusiness,” she said, “helping them to scale (and) providing all those resources that we can.”

ARPA funding and an international food court
Making Vision View’s headquarters fully operational over the past seven years was a struggle.

About two months after Senegal acquired the property, part of the roof caved in. That part of the building remained unused for several years.

She credits Councilmember Tyler Maxwell – whose district includes Vision View’s neighborhood – with helping secure $500,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act to fix the roof.

A $200,000 grant from the Central Valley Community Foundation and $500,000 from the California Endowment also helped pay off the mortgage for the building, she said.

As for the roof renovation, Senegal said it’s part of the way done.

The ARPA dollars are also helping fund an international food court on the building’s rooftop, which Senegal said will feature anything from Caribbean eats to Italian food.

The space will also offer a commercial kitchen for cottage food operations, which is the state’s name for home-based food businesses.

Senegal said there’s a need for this in the wake of the pandemic.

“A number of those (food) businesses had to pivot,” she said. “While they may have pivoted to the food trucks, they still need a commercial space” to safely prepare and handle food.

Vision View’s celebration
Vision View’s anniversary event, which doubles as a Black History Month celebration, is happening Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at Jericho Field right next to the Vision View building at 4974 E. Clinton Way.

Senegal said it’s a family-friendly event with bounce houses for kids and plenty of food vendors for all.

Attendees can enjoy live music and dance performances, as well as a ceremony honoring 100 Black men who helped “foster and/or build the Vision View campus,” according to a media release announcing the event.

There’s no charge to enter and parking will be available on Vision View’s campus.

For small businesses interested in learning more about Vision View’s services, Senegal said people should call their main line at 559-851-5787 or email laneesha@visionviewca.com.