North Miami Teach to Fish Business Summit Awards $100K to Entrepreneurs
Originally published by South Florida Caribbean News Read the original
Teach to Fish Business Summit gives 20 small-business owners $5,000 grants and features entrepreneur Kandi Burruss.
NORTH MIAMI, Fla. — Twenty entrepreneurs received $5,000 grants at the fifth annual Teach to Fish North Miami Business Summit. This capped the three-day event with $100,000 in small-business funding.
North Miami Vice Mayor Kassandra Timothe founded the summit to connect entrepreneurs with education, capital and professional networks that can help them build sustainable businesses.
The grants were awarded through the summit’s second annual pitch competition. The 20 recipients can use the money for equipment, marketing, operations or other growth needs.
Presented with the city of North Miami and the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency, the summit ran Oct. 4-6 and included workshops, panels and networking for aspiring and established business owners.
Business Growth, AI and Access to Capital
Sessions focused on marketing, branding, artificial intelligence, government contracting, access to capital, business operations and strategies for scaling a company.
The program addressed common challenges at different stages of entrepreneurship, from launching a business and attracting customers to improving internal systems and preparing for larger contracts.
Kandi Burruss Talks Business and Reinvention
Grammy Award-winning entertainer and entrepreneur Kandi Burruss joined Timothe for “Power & Purpose: A Kandid Konversation.” This was a discussion about ownership, longevity and reinvention.
Burruss drew on her experience in music, television and business to discuss the decisions, setbacks and strategies that shaped her entrepreneurial career.
She recalled a former publicist telling her that she was conducting “million-dollar business on a bootleg budget.” The comment pushed her to professionalize her operations, open an office and expand her team.
Burruss also stressed financial accountability, saying an early loss involving an accountant changed how she manages and protects business assets.
During an audience question-and-answer session, she advised business owners to reassess their strategy before abandoning an idea.
“Sometimes it’s just more of a pivot versus a quit,” Burruss said.
She also encouraged a ninth-grade student interested in starting a jewelry business to research startup costs, use social media and show initiative when seeking support.
“You can get other people to invest in you, but you’re only going to do it if you show initiative,” Burruss said.
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