G.E.N.T.S’ Enterprises LLC
“TruFund opened the door to funding that wasn’t available to us from traditional financial institutions. We also received business management training that helped us develop a solid business plan and prepared us for successful operation.”
— Evelyn Braud,
CEO, G.E.N.T.S’ Enterprises LLC
If you’ve traveled through Louisiana, you’ve probably seen the work of Evelyn Braud and her team at G.E.N.T.S’ Enterprises, LLC. From water towers perched more than 150 feet in the air to the highways and bridges that you travel over and under, G.E.N.T.S’ specializes in keeping structures like these in tip-top shape through large-scale maintenance and rehabilitation projects.
Evelyn established G.E.N.T.S’ in 2006 with her husband, Greg. Their company is the only minority-owned business in the state that performs their type of work, which includes abrasive blasting, industrial painting, water tank cleaning, inspection and repair, and municipal water system management. Evelyn and her company work in a unique niche because their services are tailored to government agencies and entities, rural water conventions, and municipalities. Their work requires that they ensure compliance with the policies and procedures of these local and government agencies, and the company has many licenses and certifications to validate their work.
From the humble beginnings of their home, Evelyn and her husband have grown G.E.N.T.S’ to an office space in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and have also opened a branch of their business in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. With excellence as her standard, Evelyn ensures that her company offers the best product and is proud to say that they have never had a dissatisfied customer. Since the start, Evelyn and her company have been steadily climbing the towers of small business success.
When Evelyn wasn’t able to secure money for her small business through traditional funding sources, she called TruFund for assistance. Through TruFund, Evelyn was able to obtain the financing to start G.E.N.T.S’ and received technical assistance and business advisory services to help develop her company’s business plan. Evelyn called on TruFund again after the Great Floods of 2016 wreaked havoc across the state of Louisiana. G.E.N.T.S’ received disaster relief assistance through TruFund’s Restore Louisiana Small Business Loan Program, helping their business recover after the devastation of the floods.
In 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic caused small businesses throughout the country to reduce staff, cut business operation hours or, in the most extreme situations, shut their doors permanently, Evelyn sought out TruFund for support. On January 22, 2021, Evelyn received pre-loan and COVID-19 disaster recovery technical assistance, helping her retain at least two jobs at her business and ensuring that G.E.N.T.S’ could continue serving the community with their services throughout the pandemic.
Climbing the towers of small business success isn’t an easy task, but TruFund is proud to be part of creating a diverse and inclusive small business ecosystem by offering its services to underserved and often underrepresented minority- and women-owned businesses like G.E.N.T.S’ and Evelyn Braud.
