Fifteen new businesses will be making pitches as the Women’s Business Center (WBC) at First State Community Loan Fund hosts its entrepreneurial showcase on Thursday at Opera Delaware.
The event will feature pitches from new business owners to investors and bankers, as well as a keynote speech from Natalia Olson-Urtecho, regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration. The showcase is the culmination of nearly 600 hours of training over the past four months through the WBC’s inaugural Passport to Business Success program.
The weekly program included sessions on a broad range of topics from marketing strategy to operations to protection of intellectual property, taught by business owners, accountants, bankers and attorneys. SCORE volunteers also offered training.
One of the instructors, attorney and WBC Advisory Board Member Matthew Meyer, noted the diversity and the quality of the businesses. “Participants include entrepreneurs in the arts, in innovative foods and events and in nonprofits. You should see these pitches, the creativity of these small business innovators.”
“I am now ready to fly,” said Daya Washington, the creator of Host Helpers of Delaware, after putting the final touches on the elevator pitch she will present at the showcase. Washington said that while participating in the Passport to Business Success program, she refined the business strategy and plan of execution for her launch. “My elevator pitch is 30 seconds you will not want to miss,” Washington stated.
Thursday’s take-off showcase is sponsored by the Castro Law Firm and Primo Hoagies on Kirkwood Highway. For more information about the event, which includes a networking session beginning at 5 pm visit
https://wbc.firststateloan.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=1350070.
