RapiFast
Sara Rossel knows about perseverance. While growing up in Argentina, her mother told stories about escaping Italy during World War II when she was 9 years old with her family to a new country where they didn’t even know the language but were determined to start over. Sara channeled the same energy herself while studying dentistry and pivoted to her curiosity about starting over and becoming a successful entrepreneur in the U.S.
Today, Sara is the Founder and CEO of RapiFast LLC, a small business in Metro Atlanta that provides medical devices and test kits, focusing on prevention and rapid results. “Having had the immense opportunity to travel around the world, I realized that rapid testing devices are needed as a first measure in first aid, accidents, point of care, border areas, armed forces, health campaigns and more,” Sara said.
Not even two years after starting RapiFast, the pandemic surprised the world and Sara knew it was time to act by launching RapiFast’s COVID-19 mobile testing service. Her company was one of the first in the U.S. to offer the service. But her small business was still in startup phase and she needed help expanding production of her testing kits.
Having already learned about SBA programs and services, Sara turned to Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), an SBA resource partner that provides counseling and capital for small business owners through its Women’s Business Center. ACE provided her coaching sessions, assisted with her business plan, and provided her a loan as an SBA Microlender. Sara also has received exporting assistance from another SBA resource partner, the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center’s U.S. Export Assistance Center, to enter international markets.
In 2023, Sara was selected to participate in the SBA T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders program, which is a six-month long executive leadership course designed to help small business executives grow their operations.
“Curiosity and the desire to build my own brand have led me to ACE and SBA, where I found a huge source of tools to educate myself and strengthen my own business. Both institutions have been the fundamental pillar so that today I can celebrate the first closing of a contract with the U.S. Navy,” Sara said.
What advice would Sara give to other small business owners about SBA resources?
“When we start our business and see from the outside how big the SBA is, how serious it works and the support it has from the US government, it may scare us. We may feel that it is not for those of us who are starting. But the reality is yes! SBA is there to support us and give us all the tools so we can achieve it.”