Borrower Spotlight

Dolcezza Gelato

Georgetown, Maryland

Who they are

Robb Duncan studied engineering at Georgia Tech before starting a career in software development that included stops in San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Portland, and Buenos Aires. While in Argentina, he found two passions – his future wife, Violeta Edelman; and gelato. They eventually relocated to Washington D.C. and founded Dolcezza. Dolcezza is distinguished by its emphasis on partnerships with particular farms that live up to high standards of quality. They have six retail locations, can be found in over 100 restaurants, as well as on the shelves of over 2,500 grocery stores (including Whole Foods) – and also ship directly to consumers from their factory.

Loan Overview

Line of credit intended to provide cash flow relief during normal seasonal cycles (e.g. it’s harder to sell ice cream in the winter!).

In Robb’s words

“Our past experience with banks was the typical corporate & institutional experience, where there is no ‘real’ relationship. Even when they say they value community and relationships...their actions spoke very differently than their words. After our first meeting with Charley, we knew Walden was very different; we’d finally found a bank who values the local community of farmers and makers. Sharing values with your banker? That’s something I never thought possible.”