SBA Johns, Nelson Highlight Urban League Biz Summit

BrocktonPost
BOSTON--The National Urban League and Small Business Administration will host a free small business summit, Saturday, July 30 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
The summit will include the opportunity to network with industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs while accessing resources to help your business grow.
A featured panelist for the free portion of the conference is SBA’s Massachusetts Director Bob Nelson, who will speak about the state of entrepreneurship and financing programs.
Nelson's discussion will be held from 9:15 to 10:45 a.m.
This session will describe growing trends in the Massachusetts innovation economy and provide financial and technical assistance programs geared toward helping business access capital and new market opportunities.
There will also be a luncheon presentation by SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns. (Pictured above)
Johns joins the summit from SBA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Johns is Deputy Administrator of the US Small Business Administration, where she contributes to management of the agency and development of SBA policy.
Johns was nominated by President Obama on December 17, 2009 and confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate June 22, 2010.
Johns session will take place from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
There is a fee for Johns' presentation.
There will also be a matchmaking session when purchasing representatives from Fortune 500 companies will provide their available contracting opportunities to conference registrants in advance of this session.
Armed with this information business owners will decide which companies they would like to meet with and have five minutes to pitch their ideas.
From 2 to 3:30 p.m. there will be a new entrepreneur "pitch session," when participants that have been in business for under a year or are thinking of starting a business will have the opportunity to enter the pitch competition.
Finalists will be chosen before the conference and will pitch their ideas to a panel live for a chance to win $10,000 towards their new small business venture and admission to 100 Urban Entrepreneur’s eight-week business-mentoring program.
A more complete agenda for this conference can be found at: http://www.nul.org/conference/2011/schedule/free-open-public-small-business-matters-entrepreneurship-summit.