Are you ready to debunk myths, clear the smoke and understand your financing options?Â
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Join BEACON: The DC Women Founders Initiative, capital providers and entrepreneurs to break down the funding landscape, connect with experts, and improve your understanding of the fundraising options that best fit your business. Through this three-part track series, entrepreneurs and small business owners will (1) understand the funding landscape, (2) identify the funding source they need, and (3) work directly with experts and resource providers to address personalized needs through January 2019.
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For the first part of the series, experts will provide TED-style talks and an interactive discussion answering your questions on DC's fundraising landscape. 20 participants will be selected to advance to the second and third workshops, taking place between October 2018 and January 2019.Â
Topics discussed will include:
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-What financing options exist?
- What should entrepreneurs ask themselves before seeking a financing option?Â
- How do companies/organizations provide funding for early-stage companies?
- How can entrepreneurs plan ahead?
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Penny Lee is the Chief Strategy Officer for 1776, the largest network of entrepreneurial incubators in the Northeastern Corridor. She is also an active angel investor and currently serves on the Executive Committee of K Street Capital, the Advisory Board of the Vinetta Project, as well as the Advisory Board of the Center for American Entrepreneurship.
Dr. Ximena Hartsock is the Founder and President of Phone2Action, a venture-backed, award-winning civic engagement and communications technology company that has helped the American Heart Association, The Recording Industry, Lyft, Ben & Jerry's, Tesla, Airbnb and others run public policy campaigns. Among many others, Phone2Action received he SXSW Interactive Accelerator Award and Reed Awards in 2015, 2016, and 2018.Â
Danielle Tate is the Founder an CEO of MissNowMrs.com, a multimillion dollar online name-change company. She is the best-selling author of "Elegant Entrepreneur: The Female Founders Guide to Starting and Growing Your First Company," an entrepreneur, speaker, wife, mother, Pilates devotee, and the spokeswoman for Empowered Women International.
Deborah Owens is a financial expert, author, media personality and nationally recognized public speaker. She is the author of multiple books including, A Purse of Your Own: An Easy Guide to Financial Security, and Nickel and Dime Your Way to Wealth and Confident Investing. She is a 20-year financial services industry veteran and former Vice President with Fidelity Investments.
Diana's career in banking spans thirteen years, eight of which have serviced the needs of small businesses. Her expertise includes strategic planning, small business lending, credit analysis, portfolio and risk management, and business development. Diana also serves on the advisory board of Social Impact Movement (SIM) and a mentor at Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab Miami.
Fonta has over ten years of experience working as a Diplomat for the U.S. State Department and a Management Consultant for Deloitte Emerging Markets Practice. She served as the U.S. State Department African Bureau Entrepreneurship Advisor, managing small business programs for over 1,000 African millennial and women entrepreneurs. Over the course of her career, Fonta has personally raised over $62 million in public-private partnerships for the U.S. Government.
William's role at the Office of Capital Access helps make funding available through banks and other lending partners to small businesses that can otherwise not obtain loans. Specifically, his portfolio oversees the SBA's loan program policy, technology, operations and oversight, including SBA's flagship 7(a) and 504 loan programs, the microloan program and the surety bond program. Previously, William served as Managing Director at Brock Capital Group, a boutique investment bank in NYC where he advised small-to-medium sized enterprises in their efforts to raise capital and expand their businesses.