AmiSights: Financing the Future For Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Matt Grammer, the Founder and CEO of Kentucky Counseling Center on his story, what changed when the pandemic hit and how he pivoted.

KCC was formed in 2014 with a $250 investment and ranked #92 on the Inc. 5000 list in 2019. “I started KCC because I was frustrated with my father’s experience getting treatment for schizophrenia. When he finally found someone that could help, there was a 6 month waiting list and the doctor didn’t accept his insurance. Mental health care should be easy to find and affordable to receive.” - Matt Grammer

Recorded 12/16/2020. 

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Emily Morgan, the founder of Delegate Solutions, on how she gets entrepreneurs comfortable with delegation and how to make delegation effective. 

Emily and her remote team help leaders and their teams to strategically clear their plates so they can focus on higher-impact activities! She is the founder of Delegate Solutions, a Strategic Support(TM) Firm and the designer of the “Delegate Method” which helps leaders identify areas of their work they can delegate or automate for maximum efficiency. She’s helped hundreds of busy entrepreneurial leaders master delegation and design systems to support and grow their awesome businesses! This year alone, her team has cleared nearly 30,000 hours of tasks off the plates of overwhelmed business owners.

Emily speaks nationally on the topic of virtual business, delegation, remote workforces, and flexwork culture. She’s been featured in Forbes, Inc., HuffPo, NY Times, NBC News, and Martha Stewart Radio. She is a Goldman Sachs 10kSB alum and is a graduate of UPenn. Delegate Solutions recently ranked among the top 100 fastest-growing companies in Philly.

Recorded 12/14/2020.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Lynn Ozer, the new President of MultiFunding on her transition from the corporate banking world to the more entrepreneurial MultiFunding. 

Lynn Ozer is a strategic and highly accomplished financial executive with vast expertise in small business lending departments, training existing and aspiring lenders on SBA’s loan origination policies and procedures, and advocating on local and national level for policies that prioritize small business. To this day, she serves on the Small Business Board of The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

As the first woman to chair the board of the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL), Lynn continues to instruct lenders for NAGGL and actively participates by serving on the government relations, technical issues and executive committees. In doing so, she has remained involved at a national level advocating for small businesses and monitoring the issues and trends in the industry.

She has established capabilities in sales, credit, portfolio management, liquidation, and operations. She leverages outstanding leadership and communication skills to present opportunities to executive teams and cultivates relationships with key business partners. Lynn is a driven and focused top-performer who drives the ownership of business results, capitalizes on lucrative new opportunities, and consistently exceeds goals.

Up until now, Lynn’s career, which started with a 5 year stint at the SBA, consisted of managing all aspects of SBA lending departments in community and regional banks. Lynn managed the SBA Lending Departments at Fulton Bank, Bucks County Bank, CoreStates, Jefferson Bank, Hudson United Bank, Patriot Bank and Susquehanna Bank.

Her recent decision to join MultiFunding LLC emanated from a desire to become more personally involved with business owners. Now, she is able to help educate, structure and find creative financing solutions for business owners that extends beyond one banks credit box. Lynn now has the opportunity to help other lenders with loans they may be struggling to find a home for. If you are that lender, or an entrepreneur struggling with financing options, please contact MultiFunding as we would love to work with you.

On today’s episode, Ami Kassar interviews Randy Haykin, Founder and Chief Purpose Officer of The Gratitude Network. Randy explains The Gratitude Network, what is it, and how we can get involved!

Randy is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, philanthropist and educator, and “wine angel” who lives and works in the Bay Area. Randy currently coaches CEOs and is a Vistage Chair, overseeing a peer group of 16 growth-stage CEOs in the Bay Area.

In 2011, Randy founded the philanthropic venture entity The Gratitude Network to mentor social entrepreneurs globally. Today the organization has nearly 70 volunteers and has worked with more than 80 high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. The organization’s focus is on children and education.

In 1997, Randy co-founded Outlook Ventures, a $200MM early-stage tech fund. The fund invested in 32 companies and had more than 20 IPO or A exits. Randy also created Haykin Capital in 2006 to provide “mentor capital” to early stage entrepreneurs and has funded over 30 angel deals to date. Prior to Gratitude and Outlook, Randy served as founding VP of Marketing & Sales at Yahoo and played early roles at Overture, NetChannel, Electric Minds, and AOL’s Greenhouse program, a successful venture incubator. He has also held management roles at Apple Computer, Paramount/Viacom.

In addition to teaching at Berkeley, as an Educator, Randy has taught courses on innovation, entrepreneurship and finance at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business as well as Cambridge U. Judge School of Business. Randy holds a BA in Organizational Behavior and Management from Brown University, magna cum laude, and an MBA from Harvard. Randy has been singing in local choral groups (bass) since 2001 and enjoys practicing yoga. He and his wife, Patty have raised three girls in Pleasanton, CA, who are now all young adults and unleashed into the wilds…

Recorded 12/11/2021.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council on her efforts in Washington D.C. to help small businesses through the pandemic, the hot issues today, and what's next! 

For twenty-five years Karen Kerrigan’s leadership, advocacy and training work has helped foster U.S. entrepreneurship and global business growth.  She is president & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and is the group’s chief advocate for its members.

Kerrigan regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress on the key issues impacting entrepreneurs, investment and the economy, and has been appointed to numerous federal advisory boards including the National Women’s Business Council, the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialog, the U.S. Treasury’s Taxpayer Advisory Panel, and the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements. Kerrigan regularly engages with the President’s cabinet and key advisors, and has spoken or led roundtables at several White House economic summits, scores of events hosted by the Small Business Administration, U.S. Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal government agencies and departments. Kerrigan is a collaborative and well-respected individual within the business community who has led numerous coalitions and initiatives with diverse partners and organizations.  Kerrigan chairs the newly formed Small Business Roundtable, a coalition of leading small business and entrepreneurship organizations dedicated to advancing policy, securing access and promoting inclusion to benefit the businesses at the heart of the American economy.  She has written hundreds of Op-Eds and newspaper columns, and regularly appears on national television and talk radio programs. Kerrigan regularly appears on Fox Business to provide analysis and commentary on the latest economic data, what’s driving the markets, and the outlook for the economy, entrepreneurship and small business growth.

She lectures frequently at colleges and universities, making appearances at Harvard Business School, Georgetown University, University of Maryland, Ohio State University and many others including institutions outside of the United States.

Kerrigan graduated from SUNY Cortland with a B.A. in Political Science, and resides in Northern Virginia.

Recorded 12/09/2020

On today's episode, Ami Kassar speaks with Eric Keiles, Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Square 2 Marketing, to discuss marketing lessons learned during the pandemic, and what has changed forever. 

Eric Keiles is a leading sales and marketing strategist focused on pioneering a new marketing methodology. Eric, along with his business partner Mike Lieberman, coined the concept, Reality Marketing™ to describe how businesses can utilize cost effective inbound marketing tactics to achieve dramatic revenue growth.  They are leading the revolution in how entrepreneurs change the way they think about marketing their companies.  Marketing Sherpa has called the duo “original and contrarian marketers”.

Their popular first book, Reality Marketing Revolution is a thesis on the changing world of inbound marketing and the dramatic shift in buyer behavior.  It introduces concepts like “The Red & Blue Test”, “Being Remarkable” and the “Cup of Coffee Challenge”.  Verne Harnish, The “Growth Guy”, named the book, the “best how-to marketing book ever”.  Their second book, Fire Your Sales Team Today, is upsetting the traditional sales department by demonstrating through many real life examples how effective marketing makes the “traditional sales guy” obsolete.  It outlines a complete inbound sales process, too.

Eric is also the editor of a weekly e-newsletter reaching almost 20,000 business owners and entrepreneurs focusing on this topic. Eric is also the founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Square 2 Marketing.  Square 2 Marketing was named the “Inbound Agency of the Year” by HubSpot in 2013 and 2015.

A natural entrepreneur himself, Eric has founded and grown eight companies since 1997. Prior to founding Square 2 Marketing, Eric created The Stitches Catalog and The Logo Workshop, two national graphic design and promotional products companies.  He is a former franchisee of a national franchise and currently operates a travel and tourism hospitality group in Philadelphia.

A popular writer and public speaker, Eric has provided expert insight on panels and speaking appearances throughout America’s entrepreneurial community. He also hosts Square 2 Marketing’s monthly workshop and webinar series to help business owners learn effective marketing strategies for their businesses. Eric is also a guest lecturer at several universities.

A graduate of George Washington University (BA) and Temple University (MBA), Eric and his family reside in Center City Philadelphia.

Recorded 01/04/2021. 

This week, Ami sits down with James Beckwith, President & CEO of Five Star Bank, to discuss what his bank has done during the pandemic, lessons learned, and opportunities that have arisen.

James Beckwith is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Five Star Bank and its holding company, Five Star Bancorp.  With more than 20 years of experience, James joined Five Star Bank in 2003 after serving as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at National Bank of the Redwoods, in Santa Rosa, California.  James works with those who share his mission to improve the Capital Region and was a driving force behind the creation of the Five Pillar Program, an economic development initiative where cities, counties, and districts direct funds to local community banks for the purpose of reinvesting that money into local small-to-medium-sized businesses.

James is a Private Sector Director with the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, a Board member and Chair Elect of Western Bankers Association, a Board member of the California Community Banking Network, a Board member of Crocker Art Museum, and a member of the Sacramento State University College of Business Advisory Council.  James is the past Board Chair of KVIE, Past Board Chair of Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Past Board Chair of Valley Vision.

James' professional leadership and extensive community outreach includes support of numerous organizations, and especially, the vision and mission of Cristo Rey High School Sacramento and Make-A-Wish, among many others.  James graduated from San Francisco State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting.  He is also a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

James was recognized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce as the Businessman of the Year in 2020.  He was also named among the Most Admired CEO's of 2020 by the Sacramento Business Journal.

Recorded 12/07/2020. 

On today’s episode, Ami interviews JeVon "JT" McCormick, discussing the impact of the pandemic on his business, and how his life lessons have pushed him through. JeVon was born the son of a black pimp father and a white orphan mother. Today, he’s the CEO of a multi-million dollar publishing company that was recently ranked the #1 Top Company Culture in America by Entrepreneur Magazine.

He’s made millions in the stock market (even though he didn’t go to college), he was the President of a software company (even though he can’t code) and he’s currently the CEO of a publishing company (even though he can’t spell).

JeVon is the President and CEO of Scribe Media, a publishing company that helps individuals from a variety of backgrounds write, publish, and market their books. Scribe Media has worked with more than 1700 authors, including members of The Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Nassim Taleb, and David Goggins, whose blockbuster book Can’t Hurt Me has sold over 2 million copies.

In addition to his role at Scribe, JeVon is an author and highly sought after keynote speaker, delivering the message that “Everyone Has A Story” to enthusiastic audiences across the country. His book, I Got There: How a Mixed-Race Kid Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Achieve the American Dream, tells the harrowing story of his struggle to succeed despite the overwhelming odds stacked against him.

JeVon is passionate about conscious entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for at-risk youth. He has mentored young men and women in the juvenile justice system, as well as those in lower economic communities.

JeVon currently serves as a board member for Conscious Capitalism and the StartEdUp  Foundation. His story and work have been featured on CNBC, and in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and  Inc. magazines. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Megan, and their four children Ava, Jaxon, Elle, and Jace.

Recorded 12/04/2020.

It’s already February 1st, 2021 and you’ve guessed it! We’ve pivoted yet again and are excited to launch our new AmiSights Podcast.  This week’s special guest is Bob Coleman, Editor of the Coleman Report, a trade newsletter for small business bankers and a nationally recognized expert on small business financing. In our inaugural podcast, Ami sits down with Bob and discusses what the SBA has done during the pandemic, the differences compared to the Great Recession, the PPP, the EIDL, and their thoughts on what’s to come.

The weekly AmiSights Podcast will feature dynamic interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders, various industry CEOs, industry professionals, public speakers, and more about their unique insights, practices, and valuable life experiences. Join Ami Kassar, CEO of MultiFunding, and his unique humor as we embark on this new adventure together.

In our inaugural podcast, Ami sits down with Bob Coleman, Editor of the Coleman Report, to discuss the PPP first and second round, the EIDL, what the SBA did from the start of the pandemic, and their thoughts on what’s next! 

Author of “Money Money Everywhere and Not a Drop for Main Street“. Coleman is the Editor of the Coleman Report, a trade newsletter for small business bankers. He is the nationally recognized expert on small business financing. He has appeared on Fox Business News and CNN and has been quoted by all major financial media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Bloomberg. He has spoken at numerous small business banking events across the United States, including international engagements in the U.K. and Germany. Coleman has a B.A. in Medieval History from the University of California Santa Barbara and a M.B.A. in Real Estate Finance from the University of Southern California.

Recorded on 12/02/2020.