Leanne Duong-Ma was running a small business name Direct Source Procurement, supplying sustainable and eco-friendly reusable food packaging and food service supplies items like cups, lids, and straws to area businesses since 2017. The Las Vegas based company had been making steady growth for a few years, but Duong-Ma believed that her women/minority-owned certified business could be servicing a much larger market. Duong-Ma reached out to the Nevada SBDC for assistance with marketing strategy, market research, and to discover what e-commerce options were available to her.

Duong-Ma was paired with Nevada SBDC advisor Catherine Francisco, operating out of the new Asian American and Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas. To assist with networking and expanding her marketability, Francisco invited Duong-Ma to a national networking conference and to take part in the Super Bowl Business Connect program, a program that connects experienced, event-ready Las Vegas businesses with opportunities to compete for contracts related to Super Bowl LVIII, taking place in Las Vegas in 2024. Because Direct Source Procurement was already a woman and minority-owned certified business, they were in a perfect position to take advantage of this program. After creating a pitch, Duong-Ma applied and was selected as a supplier for the upcoming Super Bowl. Francisco also assisted Duong-Ma in applying for the Clark County Technical and Economic Assistance Program (TEAP) grant, which disburses funds to small businesses in the Clark County area that were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Direct Source Procurement is now an official supplier of Super Bowl LVIII, a huge win for the business that will surely lead to other contracting opportunities in the future. The business was also approved for a $25,000 TEAP grant, granting Duong-Ma some additional capital to expand her marketing efforts. She then leveraged these big wins to respond to an RFP from the Clark County School District and is now awaiting school board confirmation to be a supplier for one of the nation’s largest school districts.