Please return to this page regularly to view the most up-to-date information.
Get Your Early Bird Tickets Today!
Adriana Vaccaro, CEO, Culture Redesign
As organizations grow, what once made them exceptional often gets diluted, communication slows, values become posters, and excellence becomes inconsistent.
The FARTHER Model offers a practical framework for scaling mindset, culture, and performance simultaneously. Instead of focusing only on revenue or headcount growth, this approach helps leaders scale what drives sustainable success: aligned people, shared behaviors, feedback loops, and systems that reinforce excellence.
In this session, participants will explore how to intentionally scale using the FARTHER framework ensuring growth strengthens, rather than fractures, organizational identity, and performance.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Zuhaly Ramon, Founder, The Chronicles Collective
Unlock the power of your personal narratives in this engaging workshop designed for leaders and communicators. Discover how to harness your lived experiences to enhance your influence and leadership.
What You’ll Gain:
Are you an entrepreneur ready to unlock financing for your business? Join us for an interactive workshop designed to build your confidence and skills to engage effectively with lenders.
In this hands-on session, you will work directly with essential financial documents such as cash flow statements, income statements, and balance sheets. You'll learn to create a compelling financial package that meets lenders' expectations while gaining strategies to address their concerns and clearly present your business's potential.
By the end of the workshop, you'll leave with a complete financial package and the confidence needed to approach bank meetings successfully.
Get ready to take your business to the next level!If you're WBENC-certified, a certified veteran-owned business, or a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, this is your golden opportunity to connect with leading corporations and organizations like never before.
During the Roundtable Engagement, you’ll enjoy 20-minute sessions where you can meet with corporations of your choice across six rotating sessions. Each corporation will host a table, introducing itself and sharing insights about its procurement processes and upcoming opportunities. You'll have the perfect chance to introduce yourself and pitch your business. Make sure your capability statement is ready! Plus, a Q&A session at the end means you’ll leave with even more insight.
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to meet with corporations with whom you did not match in the afternoon’s 1-1 sessions!
Use our capability statement builder to prepare effectively and enhance your chances for success in these invaluable matchmaking encounters.
Cvic Innocent, General Partner, Frankenbuild Ventures
This session delves into the intricacies of capital allocation within venture ecosystems, challenging the common belief that funding is solely based on merit. We will explore key factors such as incentives, information asymmetries, and institutional risk frameworks, revealing how they influence which projects receive financing and which are often overlooked.
By unpacking these dynamics, we aim to provide practical insights for founders and operators, especially those leading revenue-generating or technically complex businesses that deviate from traditional venture models. Our goal is to offer a clearer understanding of capital markets as they operate today, rather than how they are often portrayed. This knowledge will empower founders to make informed decisions about whether to align with venture expectations or explore alternative financing options, ultimately helping them navigate their unique entrepreneurial journeys more effectively.
Maria Gonzalez, Founder and Principal, M&A Supplier Diversity Consultants (M&A SDC)
Are you a woman-owned business eager to transform your certification into real contracting opportunities? Join us for an actionable workshop that reveals how certifications from WBENC and the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) unlock doors to procurement—not just recognition. Discover how these credentials become your strategic advantage in the marketplace.
You’ll learn how to position your business for procurement success: align your strengths with market needs, choose the right industry codes, and stand out to buyers. The workshop includes practical guidance for navigating COMMBUYS, so you can confidently find and respond to real contracting opportunities.
By the end, you will walk away with actionable steps to confidently pursue contracts and compete in Massachusetts’ public procurement marketplace.
Colleen DelVecchio, Chief Maximizer, Maxady
Making the move from employee to manager (or owner!) is one of the biggest and most challenging transitions in a professional career. The skills that helped someone succeed as an individual contributor are usually not the same skills needed to effectively lead others. New managers must learn how to shift from “doing the work” to "executing through others". Explore the common challenges that come with managing former peers, setting boundaries, delegating effectively, giving feedback, communicating with clarity, and leading through uncertainty and change.
Are you WBENC-certified, a certified veteran-owned business, or a service-disabled veteran-owned small business? Don’t miss your chance to engage with leading corporations and organizations like never before!
Join us for this year’s Summit, One-on-One Matchmaker event! This exclusive, by-appointment-only experience runs concurrently with our main programming and is a unique opportunity you won't want to pass up. When you secure your ticket, be sure to highlight your certification(s) and express interest in participating in the Matchmaker. We’ll reach out to you directly to help facilitate valuable connections!
During registration, submit your NAICS codes so we can pair your certified business with corporations actively seeking to source services in your expertise. These brief 10-minute one-on-one meetings could be the stepping stone to more significant discussions down the line!
Leverage the capability statement builder to enhance your preparations for successful matchmaking and effective networking opportunities.
Certified businesses interested in potentially securing a one-on-one matchmaking session have until September 7th to register for The Business Summit. After that date, you are welcome to join the roundtable sessions, but you will not be considered for one-on-one matches.
Join us for an exclusive workshop designed specifically for supplier engagement professionals looking to enhance their impact and foster meaningful connections. This facilitated interactive session will provide a unique opportunity to network with peers, share best practices, and explore innovative strategies to empower your supplier engagement programs.
This is your chance to revitalize your supplier engagement strategies and ensure you’re equipped to navigate the evolving landscape. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to elevate your program and benefit from the collective knowledge of your peers.
$1,000 Grand Prize | $500 Runner-Up Award
Experience six emerging entrepreneurs as they step into the spotlight to pitch their businesses live before a panel of judges and a room full of fellow entrepreneurs, business leaders, and supporters.
As each founder has just 90 seconds to make their case, you'll have the chance to think like a judge. Which pitch grabs your attention? Which business solves a real problem? Which entrepreneur leaves you wanting to learn more? Then see if your picks match the judges.
Expect bold ideas, inspiring stories, and the kind of entrepreneurial energy that reminds us why we do this work. You might discover your next collaborator, future client, or simply leave motivated to take your own business to the next level.
Are you ready to take the stage at the 2026 Business Summit and pitch your business to a live audience of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and an experienced panel of judges?
We're looking for six entrepreneurs ready to showcase their business, gain valuable exposure, receive expert feedback, and compete for a $1,000 Grand Prize and a $500 Runner-Up Award.
The six selected entrepreneurs will:
Important Dates
Questions or looking for prep assistance? Contact info.Regional@CWEonline.org.
The Summit
Special thanks to our sponsors.
Silver
Bronze
