Join us at Helen for an exciting in-person event that brings together alumni of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. This luncheon offers a unique opportunity to learn, network, and get inspired from fellow entrepreneurs who have successfully completed the program.
At this event, you'll have the chance to gain valuable insights and hear inspiring success stories from fellow alumni: Darlene Wilson (Relay Accounting Management), Jessica Watts (House Plant Collective), Autumn Sanders (Quire Consulting), and Jacquie Fazekas (Bama Wellness Advocacy).
Whether you're looking to expand your business, learn new strategies, or simply connect with like-minded individuals, this luncheon is the perfect platform to do so.
Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn from the best and expand your network. Mark your calendars and join us at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Alumni Learning and Networking Luncheon at Helen.
About Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is an investment to help small businesses grow and create jobs by providing them with greater access to education, capital, and business support services. To date, more than 12,800 business owners have graduated from the program across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Through the program, participants gain practical skills across topics such as financial statement negotiation, marketing, and employee management, and gain the tools to develop a customized business plan for growth.
Learn more about the program: https://www.10ksbapply.com/
About Autumn Sanders
Since 2010, Autumn Sanders has worked with Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, and nonprofits, helping them grow their businesses by understanding their customers. She launched Quire in 2017 to bring design thinking and human-centered design to leaders working to transform their corners of the world. Quire uses the tools of Design Thinking to guide clients through strategic planning, product and service definition, and leadership development.
Throughout her career, Autumn has worked with social innovators and change makers including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Chicago Public Education Fund, the YMCA of Greater Birmingham and many others. Autumn serves on the City of Birmingham (AL) Small Business Council. She coaches entrepreneurs with Create Birmingham and the Birmingham Business Alliance. She has served on a number of non-profit boards focusing on the arts and design and was honored by the Birmingham Business Journal as a 2023 Woman to Watch. Autumn holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University (Athens, OH) and a master’s degree in design management from the Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA).
Website: www.quireconsulting.com
About Darlene Wilson
She is the Founder and Managing Principal of Relay Accounting Management and Founder and Director of Classic Business Connect. Relay Accounting Management (RAM Firm) specializes in outsourced accounting management services. At Classic Business Connect, we work with businesses that are certified to qualify for opportunities with corporate, government and federal contracts through creating platforms for the businesses and industry contractors, procurement, and supplier diversity leaders to connect.
Darlene received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Montevallo. She is honored for being selected the past 3 years as Birmingham’s Top 60 that features the top 60 influencers across a broad range of industries and Darlene was recognized the past 3 years as Who’s Who in Accounting. In 2019 she was included in the Top 100 National Influential Execs in Finance. Her accounting firm was also nominated for ICIC’s 2019 Inner City 100 Award. The Inner City 100 is a national ranking of America’s fastest-growing urban businesses in inner cities. Darlene is a member of the Class of 2022 – Leadership Birmingham. She completed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program at Babson College in the Fall of 2018 and Emerging Leaders through the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2017. She serves on several boards including the Birmingham Airport Authority and Regions Bank Birmingham Market Board.
Darlene is the mother of one son, Christian who is a Spring 2021 graduate from MSU in Denver, CO with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and works as a Lead Accountant at RAM Firm. Family brings her the most joy! She is a native of Lake Charles, LA and enjoys cooking, wine tasting, traveling the world, flower/vegetable gardening and reading. She simply loves life!
Website: www.RAMFirm.com
About Jacquie Fazekas
Jacquie Fazekas, owner of Bama Health Foods in Birmingham, AL, an independent natural health food store that caters to the under-resourced communities around Birmingham. She runs her nonprofit 501C3 Bama Wellness Advocacy, focused experiential wellness education for under-resourced communities. She is a certified health coach, speaker, trainer, and best-selling author. She is an alumni from Goldman Sachs small business program and has been certified as a Women-Owned Business through NAWBO.
As a former senior executive and a single mother of 2 boys, Jacquie brings a strong and diverse perspective on how to live and lead well by improving your health & wellness – mind, body and spirit. She knows firsthand the struggles in life -- Work-life balance, mind-set barriers, prioritization, self-esteem issues, relationship struggles, health & wellness concerns and much more. Having survived 3 near-death experiences, Jacquie loves to share with others her experiences, tools, and successful techniques for healing, feeling, and discovering your best self. She provides a loving, judgement-free zone wherever she goes. She believes everyone is worthy of good health. This the core value that she runs her operations under. If you ask her what she does, she simply says, “we nourish lives.”.
Website: www.BamaHealthFoods.com
About Jessica Watts
Jessica Watts, owner of House Plant Collective (HPC), has a passion for plants, small business, and all things Birmingham!
With undergraduate degrees in Mathematics & Secondary Education and a Masters degree in Counseling from UAB (Go Blazers!), she began her career as a high school mathematics teacher in Birmingham City Schools then into a position as the Program Manager of UAB's Graduate Biomedical Sciences program.
Jessica started HPC as a home-based passion project in 2020 to share her joy for plants and tap into her creative entrepreneurial side. She had the dream and planned in 2019, and just before launching the business, Covid hit. After starting by selling online, HPC shifted into pop-up events in a converted school bus, which you can still see traveling the state. By the end of 2020, Jessica expanded into HPC's first brick and mortar store in the Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham where they have been growing and thriving ever since!
Jessica lives in Birmingham with her husband, baby girl Emma, pet cat and dog. When not working, she spends time exploring local events, markets, festivals, attending live concerts, and visiting local breweries.
Website: https://houseplantcollective.com/