SCORE Rhode Island and two of its Clients Receive the “Inno on Fire” Award

Providence, RI— Rhode Island Inno has named the SCORE Rhode Island chapter and two of its clients, Buppy Pets and The Spark Social, 2020 “Inno on Fire Award” award winners.

Inno on Fire honors innovators in Rhode Island’s thriving tech and startup communities that are driving the Ocean State forward. The awards will be presented on February 12 at District Hall Providence.

Rhode Island Inno congratulated SCORE Rhode Island for its latest platinum level rating by the SCORE national office, a rating SCORE Rhode Island has achieved for the fourth consecutive year. This rating is based on the number of clients served through one on-one mentoring and workshops and the quality of that service. The all-volunteer led SCORE Rhode Island works closely with the state’s small business and startup communities.

“We are honored to receive such recognition from the local business community and equally excited to see two of our clients among this year’s award winners,” says SCORE Rhode Island Chapter Co-Chair Ray Gorman.

Buppy Pets makes a line of snacks with ingredients meant for humans and dogs to share. The Spark Social is a marketing agency that works with small businesses to develop a social media-driven strategy.

BUPPY PETS created a line of snacks with four ingredients meant for humans and dogs to share.  BUPPY PETS sells the snacks through various sales channels, including a partnership with RI’s WhatsGood, local food markets and events, buppypets.com and local wholesale accounts. “Working with RI based organizations like SCORE has been crucial to the steady growth of my business,” says Lauren Ruggiero, BUPPY PETS founder, who also works with Hope & Main and MassChallenge.  BUPPY PETS was one of Rhode Island Monthly’s Editors Pick for Best of RI 2019.

As The Spark Social, Inc celebrates one year in business, The Spark Social is looking forward to continuing their mission to “Do Good, Socially” with the help of their many clients, partners, and networks in Rhode Island and around the country.

“SCORE, and their many programs and partners, have been an integral part of the growth and scaling process for The Spark,” says vice president and co-founder, Nicole Eller, “without their guidance, we wouldn’t know where to turn for the next steps to help our thriving marketing business really knock it out of the park in 2020.”

“We’re happy to see SCORE receiving well-deserved recognition as a fellow “Inno on Fire” award recipient,” adds president and co-founder Alicia Piazza.

SCORE Rhode Island, a resource partner of the Small Business Administration, has been part of the local small business community for over 50 years. In that time, the chapter has provided mentoring to over 20,000 people seeking advice on how to start or grow a business. In its last fiscal year, SCORE RI provided mentoring to 685 unique clients and offered 73 workshops.

With more than 11,000 volunteer business mentors in more than 320 chapters nationwide, SCORE has helped more than 11 million aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners through mentoring and workshops since 1964.

For help with starting or operating a small business, visit SCORE at www.score.org or call 1-800-634-0245.

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Avatar About the Author: The Rhode Island Small Business Journal is a printed monthly magazine and an online resource for the aspiring and start-up entrepreneur and small business owner.

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