More than 110 of Utah’s small business owners
attended the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Summit in Washington DC. As graduates of the small business-training
program, run by Salt Lake Community College, business leaders heard from the
‘who’s who’ of entrepreneurism and government leadership such as Tyler Perry,
Senator Marco Rubio and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The summit, titled The
Big Power of Small Business, showcased speakers like Richard Branson of
Virgin Group who said ‘in order to be a good leader, you have to be a good listener.’Sara Blakely, Founder and CEO of Spanx, a billion dollar
brand, told her story of starting her business with grit and determination. Warren Buffett received a standing ovation as he spoke about
the remarkable things small business leaders do and how they impact the economy
and lives in every community.
Business leaders received great advice from Michael Porter
and Adam Grant of The Wharton School and numerous instructors from Babson
College who created the 10KSB curriculum. Chairman & CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Chief of Staff John
Rogers spoke on behalf of Goldman Sachs about how proud they are of the program
and the success the graduates have had.
“The power is with you.
Collectively. You are the backbone of America”, said Goldman Sachs
Foundation EVP, John Rogers.
Goldman Sachs 10KSB graduates and Utah Sen. Mike Lee (center)
Business leaders went to Capitol Hill and met with
individual state leaders. Utah’s
delegation shared the 10KSB Utah pin with Senator Hatch and expressed their
collective passion for small business as a loud voice for ensuring smart tax
regulations and removing barriers to start and operate small businesses.
They shared with newly-elected Congressman, John Curtis,
what the GS10KSB program is all about and how it’s helping elevate Utah
businesses. Graduate and successful business owner Amelia Wilcox told congresswoman Mia Love that collectively the 10KSB alumni represent more than
$9 billion in revenue generated from alumni alone.
GS10KSB has graduated more than 6,500 small businesses and
the summit drew more than 2,220 to Washington. A
product expo and marketplace showcased small business owners’ products in
Union Square during the course of the event. David Skaggs of Utah featured his SumBlox at the event. Morning Joe anchors Joe Scarborough and Mika
Brzezinski broadcast from the Summit and entertained the crowd with their band.
