The Entrepreneurs Across Borders: Beyond the Beach was a remarkable event. The opening reception on Friday, April 28, 2023, allowed for meaningful conversations with key potential partners for CARAIA such as Greg Moran – Founder, Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners, Exited Entrepreneur and Melissa Pegus - Managing Director, Tech Stars Atlanta, Leighton McKnight – Executive-in-Residence, Mona School of Business and Management and Sharon Roper – Angel Investor, among others.
The evening’s conversation with the Entrepreneurs Across Borders’ team, namely Martin Babinec - Founder TriNet & Founder Entrepreneurs Across Borders (EAB) and Chris Cochran - Executive Director, EAB, allowed for an understanding of our unified mission to fuel the growth of our regional entrepreneurs, investors and key players in the alternative investment ecosystem.
The continuation of the invitation-only event on Saturday, April 29, 2023, was a day of learning, deepened connections, and information sharing. Greg Moran’s presentation was packed with lessons learned and directions for entrepreneurs to follow. The biggest takeaway was that it is easy to fall into the trap of the stereotypical founder, so it is important that founders have a willingness to listen and be coached.
Melissa Pegus’ discussion offered an interesting angle on leadership and the importance of considering the well-being of founders. One of the key takeaways was her advice to leaders and founders which was to define what success looks like and recognize that every start-up community is different.
Founder Black Angels Miami, Kevin Cadette’s conversation was very practical and had lots of takeaways. He gave advice from both the founder’s and investor’s point of view and highlighted what works such as exposing angels and founders through talks, venture programmes and the use of interns and databases to enrich the connection experience over time.
Partner, StartFast Ventures Nasir Ali knowledgeably gave us an insightful overview of the transformation journey of Upstate NY. He opined that Jamaica is way ahead of where they started in 2004 and his assessment was that there is more expertise now in the region than before-- this certainly signaled we are off to something great! With information for everyone, it was no surprise that Nasir also gave critical lessons to founders, including emphasizing good corporate governance and bringing together all the other elements of a fund such as a repository for company data and investor engagement, online platforms, understanding of the tax implications, etc.
Martin Babinec’s presentation gave an inspiring yet thought-provoking look at his own journey and risk capital investing, especially in the existing financial and institutional contexts in Jamaica and the Caribbean region.
Finally, the presentation by Audrey Richards, Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and Director of CARAIA gave participants a synopsis of Jamaica's experience with developing the eco-system for entrepreneurial growth through private equity. Participants left with an appreciation of the various interventions being spearheaded both by the DBJ and CARAIA to develop and propel entrepreneurs and investors.
Among the most rewarding parts of the weekend was being approached by entrepreneurs and other local interests who were desirous of partnering with CARAIA and receiving support through our association. The connections started will be sustained and CARAIA looks forward to greater collaborators with the EAB team.