Helping Businesses Grow & Succeed
By Ellen Forman Back in 2015, Richard Laviña (MAcc ‘13) was rising through the ranks at accounting giant PwC. He was offered a job at the firm’s national headquarters in New Jersey, required for all partnership candidates, which meant leaving his Miami home and family. Hitting what he called “a fork in […]
It’s been nearly three years since Florida International University launched StartUP FIU Procurement to help minority-led small businesses grow and navigate the world of government and anchor institution contracting. Let’s check in with StartUP FIU Procurement Director Barbara Cotto and see how they are doing. The small business incubator was […]
Knowledge is power. With that in mind, GrowBiz tuned into the second of a series of panel discussions hosted by Florida SBDC at FIU and StartUP FIU Food in which small business owners and branding experts shared their advice about starting an F&B business. (You can read about the first […]
“Entrepreneurship — it’s not for everybody. You have to be able to weather uncertainties, and you have to fail your way to the top.” That’s according to George Ray III, a consultant for Florida SBDC at FIU, who specializes in assisting startup entrepreneurs and franchisees. Some pretty famous entrepreneurs had […]
On Growbiz we talk alot about growing your business, but what about if you are just starting out on your entrepreneurial journey? What if you have a great idea? The real question to be answered is, can it be a great business? First, you have to really understand and evaluate […]
By Dileep Rao – Guest Contributor Shark Tank has taken the entrepreneurial world by storm. Many of my students are eagerly devouring every episode. I tell them that they are wasting their time or worse, headed in the wrong direction. Based on an analysis of 122 billion-dollar entrepreneurs and hundred-million-dollar […]
By Dileep Rao – Guest Contributor Has Airbnb succeeded because of its terrific idea? Or is it because of the entrepreneur’s ability to encapsulate his idea in a fantastic pitch and attract VCs? Or is it because of the entrepreneur’s skills in finding the right strategy and executing it to […]
By Dileep Rao – Guest Contributor I know the word you are thinking of. But, actually, the word is ‘exit.’ Many have tried to explain venture capital (VC). For entrepreneurs, VC is hope in a check. They hope that VCs like their idea (hence the fascination with Shark Tank) and […]
By Dileep Rao – Guest Contributor There will never be enough new business financing to satisfy all the world’s entrepreneurial hopes. Having been to many venture-development conferences, I have found that one theme remains constant – entrepreneurs everywhere, and the venture developers who promote them, seem to constantly complain about […]
In launching or growing a startup, there’s one tool every entrepreneur needs in their startup toolbox: A knowledgeable, honest and trusted advisory board. Startup expert Ricardo Weizs, a consultant at Florida SBDC at FIU that specializes in startup growth and access to capital, believes many startups lack industry expertise – […]