CG Moving’s owner graduates from Stanford SLEI Cohort 7 on July 13, 2019, in Palo Alto.
The Program and What It Took to Get Here
A seven-week immersive program with weekly webinars, Stanford faculty reading, and peer review.
On Saturday, July 13th, 2019, I attended my graduation ceremony for the SLEI-Ed program at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Together with the Latino Business Action Network, Stanford has created the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative Education-Scaling Program. The program’s own description captures it well: “The immersive program provides owners the education, enhanced networks, personal mentorship and a better understanding in accessing capital resources to scale their business, create jobs and build a stronger economy.” The program was both challenging and inspiring. We had weekly webinars, intensive reading of the Wall Street Journal Bestseller “Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less” by Stanford Faculty Professors Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao, peer review of weekly assignments including case study analysis, and video assignments. To view CG Moving‘s LBAN video challenge, click here.
Friday Night at Agave Uptown, Oakland
Cohort 7 kicked off the graduation weekend with dinner at Agave Uptown in Oakland on Friday.
The graduation weekend started on Friday at Agave Uptown in Oakland, owned by Octavio Diaz, who was also a Cohort 7 participant. We tasted delicious Oaxacan mole, wine, and beer brought by Andy Sanchez of Walter’s Brewery from Pueblo, Colorado, also a member of our cohort. Agave Uptown is a great choice for any family or business gathering: BART accessible, plenty of parking nearby, high-scale ambiance, and authentic Oaxacan food. The bar serves spirits, wine, and beer. We wrapped up the evening and headed to Palo Alto for some rest ahead of an 8:30 a.m. start on Saturday.
Saturday: Capital Matchmaking, Roundtables, and Big Ideas
Capital matchmaking, SBA and Merrill Lynch roundtables, and talks by Tom Chavez and Miriam Rivera.
On Saturday, Mark Madrid, CEO of LBAN, welcomed all 75 graduating entrepreneurs and congratulated us on completing the seven-week program. Our in-house “El Chacal,” Elian Savodivker, LBAN’s Director of Engagement, then went over the capital matchmaking logistics.
We each had the chance to meet one on one with bankers, VCs, angel investors, and other financing professionals. We also joined small roundtable sessions. One was with the U.S. Small Business Administration, represented by San Francisco District Director Julie A. Clowes, who walked through the programs and ways the SBA can help us scale. Another was led by Noreen L. Gillen of Merrill Lynch, also a program mentor. Her session covered key management insurance, private family business partnership gifting, installment sales, C Corp long-term capital gains, and other tax-advantage strategies.
After lunch, we heard from Tom Chavez, a Latino entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chavez is the current CEO and founder of super{set}. He was previously CEO of Krux, a martech platform acquired by Salesforce in 2016 for $700 million, and Rapt, a media monetization software provider acquired by Microsoft in 2007. Mr. Chavez spoke about what he calls the “Temple of Entrepreneurship,” three traps of entrepreneurship, self-care, and the stress-performance parabola.
We then heard from Miriam Rivera, a Latina tech leader with multiple undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University. She joined Google in 2001 as the number two attorney and helped streamline sales contracts, contributing to revenue growth from $85 million to $10 billion in five years. She is now co-founder and CEO of Ulu Ventures, an early-stage angel tech fund that has raised $66 million and invested in diverse companies. Miriam spoke about adverse childhood experience, resilience, focusing on gains rather than gaps, “stacking the deck” to improve your chances, building relationships instead of just doing transactions, being role models, and claiming your own power.
The Graduation Ceremony and Mentor Appreciation
The CEMEX Auditorium ceremony honored mentors and recognized Benjamin Weeda for his guidance.
The graduation ceremony was held at the CEMEX Auditorium. Victor Arias Jr., LBAN Board Chairman, and Jennifer Garcia, Director of Programs, led the Mentor Appreciation. A key component of the Scaling Program is the mentor match. I was paired with Benjamin Weeda, a Denver, Colorado-based expert in the nonprofit sector with a focus on self-sufficiency and economic mobility. He has 13 years of experience advising micro businesses on access to capital, operations, and finance, and is co-founder of the Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute. Benjamin was generous with his time and deeply committed to walking with me on this journey toward scaling our commercial moving business. Week after week, we talked about growth strategies, hiring and employee development, and customer acquisition and retention practices. I am forever grateful for the chance to meet and work with Benjamin.
Video Challenge Winners
Rosa Saldana won first place; Denise Tijerina second; George Fernandez and Yaeli Merenfeld third.
Before the graduation procession, the three winners of the video challenge were announced. Congratulations to Rosa Saldana, CEO of Promecin Inc. in Park Ridge, New Jersey, who took first place; Denise Tijerina, Founder of TQ Customs Brokerage in Laredo, Texas, who took second; and George Fernandez, CEO of Latino Connection in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Yaeli Merenfeld, CEO of Anny’s Bread Factory in Miami, Florida, who tied for third. Their 2:30-minute videos captured their experience with the program, inspired us to follow our North Star, and challenged us to keep applying what we learned.
Dinner, Dancing, and Closing Thoughts
Cohort 7 celebrated at the Stanford Faculty Club and Alberto’s salsa club in Mountain View.
After the ceremony, we gathered for dinner at the Stanford Faculty Club. We heard from Mark Madrid, Elian Savodivker, and Jennifer, as well as from class speakers Yaeli Merenfeld, CEO of Anny’s Bread Factory in Miami, Florida, and Javier Diaz, President of OSI Engineering in Campbell, California. Both spoke about how the program has pushed them toward continued growth and about the real impact mentorship has had on their personal and professional lives.
The night closed at Alberto’s, a Latino-owned salsa nightclub and bar in Mountain View, California. We enjoyed live music by “Ruido Azul,” including rock en español and DJ sets. Even finance and tech innovator Beto Pallares, Ph.D., a New Mexico State University finance professor, was out on the floor celebrating with us.
To LBAN and Stanford’s SLEI-Ed program: thank you for letting me be part of this. To my fellow entrepreneurs of Cohort 7, you are my inspiration to keep growing, and I look up to each of you as leaders in your communities. And as Ico Serrano, CEO of 121 in Bethesda, Maryland, now says: #letsgodo
