Clinton Foundation, Inc. Expand Mentoring Program

The program, championed by former President Bill Clinton at the Inc. 500 Conference, pairs inner-city start-ups with successful entrepreneurs.

Speaking before a crowd of more than 1,000 at the Inc. 500 Conference in Chicago, former President Bill Clinton on Friday announced plans to expand an inner-city mentorship program to entrepreneurs across the nation.

The Inner City Entrepreneur Initiative, a partnership between the William J. Clinton Foundation and Inc., pairs inner-city business owners with successful entrepreneurs in order to foster their professional growth and help them gain a competitive edge in their communities. The business owners work with their assigned mentors over the course of a year to identify areas for growth and to develop new business strategies.

Clinton said the initiative, which began in 2006 as a pilot program with entrepreneurs in Harlem and the Bronx, has seen such success in New York that he is working to take it to other cities across the nation, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. With the right kind of mentoring, Clinton said, these entrepreneurs can help transform their local economies. "Business-to-business giving is increasingly important in our world and to solving some of our biggest problems," he said. 

Two of the program's first participants took the stage earlier in the conference to talk about their experience working together and the benefits of the initiative. Jay Goltz, CEO and founder of The Goltz Group, which includes four separate businesses in the custom framing and home and garden industries, was paired up with Rich Dennis, who worked as a vendor selling oils and incense on the streets of Harlem.

As a result of the mentoring program, Dennis said he was able to rapidly grow his business into a successful retailer called Nubian Heritage, which manufactures beauty products for African-American skin types. His products can now be found on the shelves of Whole Foods stores as well as online.

During his speech, the former president also called on entrepreneurs to find creative ways to address the health-care crisis and to help the nation's businesses become more energy efficient. "We need to find ways to overcome these problems that don't depend entirely on government policies," Clinton said. 

The speech came during the 26th Inc. 500 conference, which was held Sept. 6-8 in Chicago and saw a record number of attendees, including 450 CEOs from both the Inc. 500 and inaugural Inc. 5,000 lists of the nation's fastest-growing private companies.

The three-day event featured several prominent business leaders who shared their success stories, dispensed advice and provided inspirational insights.

Scott Cook, founder and chairman of the executive committee at Intuit, kicked off Friday morning's session by talking about how to maintain a positive workforce and continue to delight customers even as the game of business is changing. Cook argued that while technology may be accelerating and the art of marketing may be shifting, a company's core values should remain the same. Cook also spoke about why business owners should treat their employees as a volunteer workforce and the importance of nurturing employees as entrepreneurs.

Business coach Marshall Goldsmith led a motivational session encouraging entrepreneurs to make positive changes in their personal and professional lives. His interactive session had the audience on their feet exchanging advice and practicing how to coach one another. Not only did Goldsmith solicit quite a few laughs, he also empowered the entrepreneurial group with the gift of self-help.

Chip and Dan Heath, marketing experts and co-authors of the bestselling book Made to Stick, also took the stage and talked about their six principles for creating a lasting idea. Whether the idea is part of a marketing campaign for customers or a pitch to investors, the Heath brothers sold the audience on the value of "sticky" ideas.

This year's Inc. 500 attendees also had a chance to attend breakout sessions on at least 15 different topics, which were designed to give entrepreneurs a forum for more intimate discussions. The conference also fostered opportunities for networking. Inc.com debuted a private beta version of its new website, IncBizNet, the first online social networking community exclusively for private companies.

Inc. 500 and Inc. 5,000 companies were able to log on to the site during the conference and add information to their company profiles, join conference communities, and post blog entries about their experience. The IncBizNet is expected to launch publicly in October.

The event concluded with a gala dinner and awards ceremony to applaud the achievements of this year's honorees. The Goldhirsh Awards for lifetime achievement in entrepreneurship, named for Inc.'s late founder Bernie Goldhirsh, were given out for the third time. Dr. Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS, won for Distinguished Alumni; Steve Mariotti, president and founder of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, won for Social Entrepreneurship; and Ping Fu, founder of Geomagic, and Inc. magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005, received the award for Courage.

After the awards were given out and the toasts were made, the nation's celebrated entrepreneurs took to the dance floor for a live performance by the B-52s.

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