We did it friends!! We survived 2020!
While it’s been a wild year and we certainly are missing our in-person events, it has also been a year of immense growth, both in personal life and business.
More than ever, people are jumping into the entrepreneurial journey after quickly discovering the need for self-sufficiency in a crashing economy, and for living a life of purpose!
WELL WE’RE HERE TO HELP!
As entrepreneurs ourselves, we know that starting your own business is not all fun and games (although there is plenty of fun to be had!), and there is a huge learning curve when it comes to business entity formation, accounting, building a team, fundraising, scaling and more of that stuff they didn’t teach us in school.
Whether you’re well on your journey or just starting out, there is a ton of value to be gained from our expert panel.
Join us as we discuss these topics and all things that come with running your own business – the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Let’s kick off this year with a BANG by enabling ourselves to succeed in whatever endeavors we are creating in the new year. RSVP NOW to lock down your spot and join us on the Entrepreneur’s Journey 🙂
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Agenda:
06:30-06:45: JCTM Intro
06:45-07:45: Entrepreneur’s Journey Panel ft:
Clark Smith, Tech Sector Lead @ NJ Economic Development Authority
Lloyd Ortuoste, Co-Founder @ #Baonanas
Megan Eloff, Founder @ Paramour Pursuits
Adam Sternbach, Associate @ McCarter & English
Matthew Barbieri, CPA @ Wiss & Company, LLP
07:45-08:00: Audience Q&A
Clark Smith:
Clark Smith is the NJ Economic Development Authority’s Technology Sector Lead. He oversees a team responsible for growing the State’s innovation economy by implementing focused programs targeting New Jersey’s technology industries. These programs provide financial support and investment to strengthen the business community and to further develop the economic ecosystem.
Clark holds an MBA with concentrations in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Rutgers Business School in Newark, NJ in addition to a BS in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University.
Lloyd Ortuoste:
Lloyd Ortuoste is one half of the Bao Bears that serendipitously created #Baonanas, a Jersey City small business spreading happiness with their take on banana pudding. Founded in 2015 as an Instagram fundraiser to fix his yellow car, #Baonanas has 5 growing business ventures: 2 brick and mortars, Wholesale to cafes and restaurants, Wedding/Corporate Catering, and Markets/Events. He has a degree in Psychology, is a product of County Prep High School, and believes that anyone can start a successful business. His happiest moments are spent adventuring with his fiancé & #Baonanas Co-Founder, Trisha, rolling on the BJJ mats, dancing like no one is watching, and playing tennis with his Dad.
Adam Sternbach:
Adam Sternbach is a member of the venture capital and emerging growth companies practice at McCarter & English, LLP where he works with startup, early-stage, emerging-growth, and middle-market companies in high-growth sectors such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, proptech, cannabis, Internet of Things, fintech/financial services, and life sciences. He advises clients on corporate transactional matters, including entity formation and structuring, debt and equity financing, technology commercialization, corporate governance matters and mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to joining the firm, Adam served as associate counsel to NJ Gov. Philip D. Murphy. In this role, he worked with several independent state authorities, including the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, where he was responsible for overseeing their managerial, fiscal, and policy operations as well as all board governance matters. Adam was a key member of the team that developed the governor’s signature economic plan, The State of Innovation: Building a Stronger and Fairer Economy in New Jersey, as well as other economic development initiatives, including the creation of a state-backed venture capital fund.
Matthew Barbieri:
Matt Barbieri has over 15 years of experience providing accounting and auditing services to some of Wiss’ largest clients. His depth of experience includes audits, reviews, compilations and tax services. He provides business advisory and audit services to individuals, privately held businesses, publicly-traded enterprises and companies pursuing IPO.
As a Partner-in-Charge of the Media, Technology and Life Sciences group, his focus ranges from start-up companies in their inception stages and seed financing to helping developed companies and continuing their organic growth. He stays in touch with important and current issues by regularly attending tech meet-ups.
Megan Eloff:
Megan has been an entrepreneur her whole life. Her vocation, however, is Feminine Empowerment Coach. She relates coaching to yoga. It’s about harnessing the discipline to know your Self. It’s the journey of discovering how to cancel out the external noise, to connect with inner wisdom. Flow requires aligned action.
Unless we are deeply rooted, it can be easy to lose ourselves in the dreams & desires of others. She collaborates with courageous women in cultivating this trust, in themselves and the universe, to confidently embody their business and life.
Megan did not always know her vocation was coaching. She owned a restaurant in Cape Town for 8 years, which she sold out of at the end of 2019. She always loved the leadership aspect of running her biz.
Back in 2016 she did an apprenticeship with the Master, Francis Mallmann, in Argentina and Uruguay. She had the pleasure of spending time on his island in Patagonia. When she sold the restaurant biz, she had a vision for a travel brand, offering immersive packages in remote places, hosted by interesting people. Francis Mallmann being one of them.
She was looking to launch in mid 2020, however now this project is more of a long term goal. She has 2 packages secured in Patagonia and will continue adding more locations as the business grows, down the line. Check out the unfinished project here – www.paramourpursuits.com.
