Officials with Goldman Sachs award winners (L to R): David Fox, Goldman Sachs managing director; Quincy Roberts, Roberts Trucking; Tom Browning, Foot Cardigan; Neha Kunte, MNK Infotech; Harry Clincy, ACU Construction; and Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor.
Contact: Cesar Canizales
214-378-1859;
ccanizales@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Oct. 28, 2016
(DALLAS) — Since its Dallas launch in May 2014, the Goldman Sachs
10,000 Small Businesses program has helped more than 200 local businesses expand and improve their bottom lines.
As it prepares to launch its eighth class, the Dallas-Fort Worth
10,000 Small Businesses program presented awards to the top graduates from each of its first three cohorts during a Celebration of Success ceremony in Dallas, hosted by the Dallas County Community College District, which is the program’s education partner.
Tom Browning, president of Foot Cardigan and cohort 2 alumnus, won the
10KSB Small Business of the Year award. Browning was a contestant on Mark Cuban’s “Shark Tank” in 2015, and his company’s revenues grew by 374 percent six months after he graduated. Foot Cardigan is a subscription sock company. Its customers pay a monthly subscription, and they get a set of original, creatively designed socks delivered to them.
Quincy Roberts, president of Roberts Trucking and cohort 1 graduate, won the award for Highest Job Growth. Before attending the program, Roberts’ company had 86 employees. Just 18 months after graduating, Roberts’ payroll had grown to 285.
Harry Clincy, president of ACU Construction and cohort 3 alumnus, won the Community Engagement award. Clincy received the award based on his work with local chambers and fellow alumni, as well as his engagement with local education systems. ACU Construction’s revenues grew by almost 35 percent six months after Clincy graduated from the program.
Neha Kunte, CEO of MNK Infotech and cohort 2 alumna, won the Rising Star award. Kunte’s company doubled its revenue six months after she graduated, and MNK went from 12 employees to 29 during that same timeframe. MNK Infotech specializes in global IT management and consulting.
“Dallas-area graduates of the Goldman Sachs
10,000 Small Businesses program continue to set the pace in entrepreneurship and leadership in our business community. They consistently earn honors for their business and community involvement, and the Dallas County Community College District is proud to be their education partner in the program,” said Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor. “Together, we are boosting regional economic development as well as opportunities for more people to earn a living wage. Congratulations from DCCCD to the first three
10,000 Small Businesses cohorts on their success!”
David Fox, managing director of Goldman Sachs and Co., also greeted awardees during the event. Fox serves as the region head for private wealth management in the Southwest and as head of the Dallas and Houston offices.
Toni Portmann, CEO and executive chairman of the board for DHISCO, was the keynote speaker for the celebration. Her company, a carve-out of Pegasus Electronic Distributions Systems Co., is a technology distribution provider that connects the rooms and rates of 100,000 hotels through 10 billion monthly transactions to online, worldwide travel companies. She also has served as CEO of three other companies, including LockIN, CAS Partners/Riverstone and Stream Inc. She has more than 25 years of leadership experience in service, sales and marketing. Prior to her CEO responsibilities, Portmann served as vice president and corporate officer for Diebold Inc., and worked 17 years for the IBM Corp. in sales, marketing and management roles.
Merrimac Dillon, cohort 1 graduate and president of The Pillow Bar, presented the Highest Job Growth award to Roberts. The Pillow Bar makes customized pillows, and its revenues had grown by 94 percent 18 months after Dillon graduated.
“The
10,000 Small Businesses program gave us a lot of guidance and support at a time that we were growing. It helped us grow at an exponential rate and allowed us to have some confidence about what we were doing,” Dillon said. “Feedback is always good, and the program really is all about peer feedback.”
Dillon added that the camaraderie that participants develop with each other is the highlight of the program. “The best part of it is the people. They have been tremendously impactful on our business and to me personally,” she added. “The program is tremendously valuable to young companies in Dallas because it connects you with other like-minded people striving for the same goals.”
In addition to Dillon, the other speakers and award presenters included
Royalyn Reid, president and CEO of Consumer & Markets Insights (CMI), who has won multiple awards; and Liz Moffitt, president of the Christopher Quinn Group, a human resources consulting firm that saw its revenues increase by 27 percent six months after Moffitt graduated.
The
10,000 Small Businesses program was launched by Goldman Sachs in 2009 and has expanded to 31 sites in the U.S. and the U.K. Since then, it has served more than 7,100 businesses worldwide.
According to a report from Babson College, the program’s lead partner, entrepreneurs who graduated from the program have created jobs and grown their revenues at a faster rate compared to all American small businesses in 2015.
Program participants learn financing, marketing, negotiating and leadership skills. In addition, some business owners learn how they can access loans and capital that may not be available to them through traditional channels.
Applicants must be owners or co-owners of a business that has operated for at least two years; have at least $150,000 in revenue; and must employ a minimum of four people. Program participants attend an orientation followed by 10 classes and five clinics. They also attend networking events and develop a growth plan for their companies. Classes are taught at DCCCD’s Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development near downtown Dallas.
Goldman Sachs has committed $20 million to support North Texas entrepreneurs. Since the launch of the program in Dallas, capital partners have made more than 50 loans totaling $5 million.
For more information about the
10,000 Small Businesses program at DCCCD, contact Cristin Thomas, executive director of DCCCD’s 10KSB program, at
cjthomas@dcccd.edu.
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