Small Business Growth Funding

EARLY BIRD RATE EXTENDED $95/person to May 5 Registration includes FREE breakfast, lunch & drinks.

REGULAR RATE: $125/person after May 5

If you have questions, contact Whitney Hildebran at (919) 962-0389 or unc@sbtdc.org.

Michael Beggan SweetWater Ices

Michael Beggan started his career as a High School Social Studies Teacher in Farmingdale, NY. In 2011, he was laid off after 7 years of teaching due to the recession and failing school budgets. Unable to get another teaching job, he drove a delivery truck into NYC for almost a year with his business partner. They followed friends to Raleigh-Durham, and started SweetWater Ices in June 2012. After 5 years of being in business, Michael says starting the business is one of his best accomplishments in life.

Leo John NC Department of Secretary

Leo John is Investor and Business Outreach Legal Specialist at N.C. Department of Secretary of State, Securities Division. The state agency registers legal entities, administers and enforces state securities laws, administers the state trademarks database and performs various other functions that intersect with business and commerce. An attorney and a former business journalist, Leo closely tracks the state’s business climate and in particular entrepreneurial activity to ensure businesses are forewarned and forearmed about the legal landscape in which they operate.

Rich McGivney Rankin McKenzie

Richard (Rich) McGivney, CPA, CGMA is a results-oriented financial executive with more than 30 years of public accounting, corporate finance, and leadership experience. He has a proven track record in building and managing high-growth research and technical services organizations, from entrepreneurial startups to companies with more than 1,000 employees.  More +

Morgan McVane BB&T

Morgen McVane is a Market Leader and Small Business Lender with BB&T in Durham. She has been with BB&T for 5 years, working in the Cary, Raleigh and Durham markets. Morgen is also a Sterling Performance award winner.

As a Small Business Administration (SBA) Preferred Lender, BB&T has lending programs that extend beyond the scope of standard financing by providing flexible terms to improve repayment ability and preserve working capital. SBA loans can be a useful source of needed capital for many small businesses. Interest rates are generally a couple or percentage points over prime, and repayment terms can be negotiated.

Erica Pittman BB&T

Erica Pittman is a Market Leader and Small Business Lender with BB&T at the Capital Blvd branch in Raleigh. She has been with BB&T for 12 years, working in the Durham, Wake Forest, Raleigh markets, with a focus on small business lending. Erica graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as the BB&T Leadership Development Program. She is also a two time winner of BB&T’s Sterling Performance award.

As a Small Business Administration (SBA) Preferred Lender, BB&T has lending programs that extend beyond the scope of standard financing by providing flexible terms to improve repayment ability and preserve working capital. SBA loans can be a useful source of needed capital for many small businesses. Interest rates are generally a couple or percentage points over prime, and repayment terms can be negotiated.

Patrick Rodriguez U.S. Small Business Administration

Patrick Rodriguez is based at Wake Technical Community College’s Cary campus and serves as a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) resource for business owners, lenders and government contracting entities. Rodriguez worked more than six years in the SBA Los Angeles district office as an economic development specialist, public information officer and veteran outreach coordinator.

Jon Spinney Malartu Funds

Jon Spinney is the CEO and Co-founder at Malartu Funds, the first online investment platform to take advantage of Title II of the Federal JOBS Act in the Southeast. Launching in 2015, Malartu has already invested close to $500,000 in 11 companies in North Carolina.   More +

Heather Splawn Kyma Technologies

Heather Splawn was awarded a Corporate Research Postdoctoral Fellowship for Engineers sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the American Society for Engineering Education just before she joined Kyma Technologies where she is currently the COO & VP of Finance. She received her Ph.D. in EE from Duke University where she served as the President of the Engineering Graduate Student Council. More +

Kim Steffan Attorney

Kim Steffan has been in general practice since 1986, most of that time in Hillsborough, NC. She has spoken to various groups on estate planning, business law, family law, and other topics. Ms. Steffan writes the monthly “Ask the Lawyer” legal column for the News of Orange County. More +