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Community Corner

'Shark Tank' Mogul Barbara Corcoran to Speak at The Business Council of Westchester's KeyBank Speaker Series at Westchester Community College's GROW 2.0

Conference will inspire, empower entrepreneurs and business owners across the Hudson Valley.

    Barbara Corcoran – one of the country’s most esteemed and revered businesswomen – will kick off this year’s Westchester Community College - Gateway to Entrepreneurship’s GROW Conference as keynote speaker at the Business Council of Westchester’s KeyBank Speaker Series breakfast. “GROW 2.0” is the largest gathering in the region of business owners and professionals for a day-long series on resources and training for small businesses, slated for Friday, May 2 at The Gateway Center, Westchester Community College in Valhalla, NY and will unite local professionals through networking, mentoring, business development and strategy.

    Business Council of Westchester’s KeyBank Speaker’s Series 
    Corcoran will speak at the Business Council of Westchester’s KeyBank Speaker Series from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m. at Academic Arts Building auditorium, Westchester Community College. Her personal saga dovetails with GROW 2.0’s chief philosophy that entrepreneurs and small businesses owners – especially in the bustling New York metro area – have the ability to create game-changing companies and products. With a $1,000 loan in her early 20s, Corcoran launched her real estate empire which she eventually sold for $66 million. She has since asserted herself as a preeminent business expert, author and a “shark” on the hit ABC television show “Shark Tank.”

    “This marks the thirteenth consecutive year that KeyBank and the Business Council of Westchester have partnered to provide Westchester County businesses with access to some of the most engaging, accomplished and respected newsmakers in our region and beyond,” said Ruth Mahoney, president, Hudson Valley/Metro NY Market, KeyBank. “We are passionate to be a part of the expanded format and to have Barbara kick-off Gateway to Entrepreneurship Annual GROW Conference, allowing a wider audience to be able to hear Barbara’s inspiring story.”

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    “We’re excited to have Barbara Corcoran share her insights on building a thriving business in today’s marketplace,” said Dr. Marsha Gordon, President and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester. “Innovation and entrepreneurship are hallmarks of Westchester’s business community and Barbara embodies each of those qualities. We are extremely grateful to KeyBank for their continued support of this highly-regarded series.”

    “We are thrilled to partner with KeyBank and The Business Council of Westchester to host this breakthrough day-long event. We can’t think of a better way to kick-off Grow 2.0 than to have Barbara Corcoran as our keynote,” said Eridania Camacho, Director of Gateway to Entrepreneurship.

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    Entrepreneurs and business owners have an opportunity to register for one or both events. To register for the Business Council of Westchester’s KeyBank Speaker Series breakfast, please visit http://www.westchesterny.org. To register for the Grow 2.0 Conference, visit us at http://www.westchestergrow.com. Tickets to attend the all-day event, including the Business Council of Westchester’s KeyBank Speaker Series breakfast, are $100 per person. Tickets to attend the breakfast are $65 per person; to attend only the Grow 2.0 conference workshops, tickets are $50 per person. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., with the keynote commencing at 8:15 a.m.

    GROW 2.0 Info Sessions 
    Following Corcoran’s keynote is a full day of GROW 2.0 programming. From 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., attendees will have access to a slate of workshops centered on driving revenue, teambuilding, increasing profitability, expanding networks, and more. The sessions include: Ready, Set, Go! What to Consider Before You Start Your Small Business; Show Me the Money; Let’s Get Social: Social Media as a Business Growth Tool; Location, Location, Location: From Site Selection to Regulatory Requirements; and The Unfair Advantage: Driving Sales for Business Growth.

    “Recognizing the important role that Westchester Community College plays in the County as an engine for economic development, we are proud to bring you the Grow Conference again this year,” said Dr. John Flynn, Interim President of Westchester Community College.

    “GROW 2.0 offers the region’s most talented small business owners and entrepreneurs the opportunity to expand their horizons,” said Grow 2.0 co-chair Chris Jones, CFO of Durante Rentals. “It’s a gathering of the region’s best and brightest,” added co-chair Kim Jacobs, Executive Director of Community Capital New York.

    The GROW 2.0 Conference will take place Friday, May 2, 2014 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at The Gateway Center, Westchester Community College, 75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla, NY.

    About GROW 2.0: The annual GROW Conference is Westchester Community College’s Gateway to Entrepreneurship’s signature event and is a breakthrough business conference that inspires and empowers entrepreneurs and business owners across the Hudson Valley. The full-day forum offers the nuts and bolts of starting and growing your business and maximizing success, with a focus on networking, mentoring, business development and driving revenue. Attendees are able to tap into a network of like-minded business leaders, potential partners and resources, and hear from marquee-name professionals and innovators from Westchester and beyond. GROW 2.0 sponsors include G2E, the Westchester County Office of Economic Development, The Business Council of Westchester, Community Capital New York, Durante Rentals and Co-Communications. To register for the Grow 2.0 Conference, visit us at http://www.westchestergrow.com.

    Gateway to Entrepreneurship G2E is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurial education in the community. Through its collaborations with partners in both the public and private sectors, G2E is a resource hub for entrepreneurial development at all stages, facilitating programs that respond to entrepreneurs’ needs and contribute to a vibrant local economy. For more information, email us at g2e(at)sunywcc(dot)edu.        

    About the Business Council of Westchester: The County’s largest and most influential business membership organization, The Business Council of Westchester is committed to helping businesses market, learn, advocate and grow. In addition, The Business Council of Westchester is actively involved in reviewing federal, state and county legislation and regulations in order to assess the potential impact on the business community and to influence the outcomes through advocacy when the business community’s interests may be affected. It also acts as an information resource for the business community and government leaders at all levels.

    About KeyBank (KeyCorp): KeyCorp traces its roots back more than 180 years ago and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, Key has assets of approximately $92.9 billion. The eight-county Hudson Valley/Metro NY Market has 57 branches, 80 ATMs and nearly 400 employees. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals, small and medium sized businesses in 12 states under the name of KeyBank N.A. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. Keybank is member FDIC.

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