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Greg G.
Chase for Business hosted an event in Washington D.C. to help local business owners grow their businesses. The event included workshops, networking opportunities, and talks from business experts. D.C. is a great place for entrepreneurs, with over 1,000 startups in the area. Chase for Business also held similar events in Atlanta and Philadelphia. The event featured giveaways from local businesses like Brix Fitness and Mahogany Books. Chase Business offers personalized services and loans to help business owners succeed. The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, talked about the importance of diversity and innovation in business. Overall, the event was a success in helping local business owners connect and learn valuable tips for growing their businesses. For more information, visit www.chase.com/business.
On May 8, 2024, Chase for Business hosted a successful day-long event titled “The Experience: D.C.” at Dock5 at Union Market District. This complimentary expo provided local business owners with valuable learning and networking opportunities to help them grow their businesses.
The nation’s capital, best known for its historic monuments, museums, and galleries, is also a thriving marketplace for ideas and innovation, making it a popular destination for entrepreneurs. In fact, the D.C. metro area is one of the top 10 best startup ecosystems in the United States with over 1,000 startups and enterprises.
To support these local business owners as they start, run, and grow their businesses, Chase for Business invited D.C.-area business owners to attend a complimentary, all-day expo packed with learning and networking opportunities. The event took place at Dock5 at Union Market District (1309 5th Street, NE) from 2-7:30 p.m. Attendees heard directly from leading business experts and were able to network with other entrepreneurs.
Photo Credit: Karanja Gaçuça
Participants had the opportunity to sign up for personalized marketing workshops with industry experts, network with fellow business owners at The Chase for Business Octagon and hear from local experts and market leaders in insightful talk and panel discussions. Additionally, attendees had the opportunity to snap a professional headshot and stop by the local Chase for Business Marketplace with giveaways from a number of businesses including, Brix Fitness, a personal fitness training business, and Mahogany Books, a bookstore that carries books about and by people of the African diaspora.
“Washington D.C. is home to some of the most creative and inventive business owners in the country,” said Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business.
The Experience: D.C. was the second of three signature events held in major small business markets across the U.S. in 2024. Other cities were Atlanta on May 1 and Philadelphia on May 14. These signature events were intended to bring Chase’s national business resources to select cities in a way that was convenient for business owners, allowing them to learn helpful tips and gain access to the resources they needed for growing their businesses.
“D.C.’s growing business community is the perfect representation of what happens when you mix passion with opportunity,” said Kristina Sicard, Senior Business Consultant at Chase.
The Baltimore Times got a chance to speak with local business owners Ramunda Young of Mahogany Books and Robert Glover of Brix Fitness. Both of them were asked about their experiences with Chase Business.
“I benefited from the services of Chase Business even before I was a client at Chase,” said Young. She reinforced Sicard’s assertions that “You don’t have to be a Chase client to use our business services.” Sicard went on to add: “We build and maintain personal relationships with the clients we serve to offer not just personalized services but also personalized loan products best suited to each individual business owner.”
Glover offered his experience working with Sicard confirming that “she directed me to a personalized business loan, which was much better suited to my personal circumstances.”
Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon and Chase Small Business CEO, Ben Walter were both asked whether JPMorgan Chase is doing anything to find innovative ways to better ensure that deserving businesses are funded given the very blunt tool that is credit scores. Walter asserted that “Chase offers a personalized tool for demonstrating individual financial responsibility including rent payments.”
Dimon commented on innovation around Blockchain and small businesses. He asserted that “we need to separate Blockchain from cryptocurrencies. Blockchain as a technology has been around over 12 years, and is extremely useful technology that we must harness.” When questioned about bitcoin ETFs, Dimon said “I’m not a fan, but we don’t dictate to our clients and some do want to buy the bitcoin ETFs.”
To a question about the political attacks on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion frameworks both Dimon and Walter pointed out that those attacks would have no effect on Chase Bank’s efforts on diversity.
Dimon went on to add, “I’m a full-blooded, free enterprise American, without a single ‘woke’ bone in my body. However, the new DEI rules and laws will have no effect on our business model. Diversity is good for our business.”
For more information, visit www.chase.com/business.
Karanja Gaçuça is a political commentator, geo-political analyst and journalist covering politics, economics and finance and international geopolitics. A former Wall Street analyst, he’s also a tech founder and owner of enkaare LLC, a tech startup.