At our virtual 2020 Elevate NW Conference, we brought together speakers on a variety of different topics aimed at the growth and success of small businesses in the Seattle metro region. Especially in a year like 2020, it was motivating to hear what a variety of local business leaders are able to accomplish with flexibility, ingenuity, perseverance, and working together.

Conference Highlights

Monday’s sessions focused on the important discussion of Access to Capital and featured Craft 3’s Walter Acuna, Business Impact NW’s Roland Chaiton, U.S. Small Business Administration’s Cathy Griffith, and Bank of America’s Aaron Stuesser. They explored the different funding options available to small businesses to help keep business thriving. Listen to the full recording of this session.

Tuesday’s session centred around the timely discussion of Pivoting & Future Proofing Your Business. Our panellists, Piroshky Piroshky Bakery’s Olga Sagan, UW Foster School of Business, Consulting & Business Development Center’s Kenny Shelton, and Armoire’s Ambika Singh discussed rapidly pivoting your business while creating an environment where flexibility and innovation can flourish.
On Wednesday, we heard from our final panel about Best Practices for Reopening. We heard from Madrona Venture’s Katie Drucker, Challenge Seattle’s Mamie Marcuss, and Woodland Park Zoo’s Michele Smith. They covered what their organizations and their partners are doing to tailor and implement safety measures to their unique business environments.
We wrapped up our 2020 Elevate NW Conference with an inspiring keynote address from Savor Seattle’s Angela Shen. She shared how they were able to pivot from food tours to the sustainable and profitable Iconic Market Boxes, all while helping Pike Place small businesses stay open during the pandemic.You can find a Twitter stream of our conference highlights here.

Going Forward

Thanks to our presenting sponsor:

Thanks to our featured sponsors:

Thanks to our event sponsors:

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