The 'Trep Beat

A look at our 2011 annual Growth Conference.

March 22, 2011

This story appears in the April 2011 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Entrepreneur magazine's third annual Growth Conference took place Jan. 20 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The daylong event, sponsored by The UPS Store, included an awards luncheon honoring the winners of Entrepreneur magazine's Entrepreneur of 2010 contest.

In one breakout session, online advertising expert Perry Marshall spoke to the crowd about Google AdWords.

Asheesh Advani, founder and former CEO of peer-to-peer loan management firm CircleLending, shared some tips on how to raise capital: "Friends, family and crowdfunding sites are good places to look."

The UPS Store president Stuart Mathis (far left) posed with the winners (left to right)--Allen Kim, Daniel Lubetzky and Derek Zobrist--and Amy C. Cosper, Entrepreneur's editor in chief. In his speech, Bebarang co-founder and College Entrepreneur of 2010 Kim spoke about entrepreneurial passion and dedication--and doing an elevator pitch in his sleep.

The free seminars were attended by 650 entrepreneurs and small-business owners, including Derek Zobrist, founder of Enovative Kontrol Systems and the Emerging Entrepreneur of 2010. "I met with a potential client and plan on incorporating some of the selling techniques I learned here," he said. "And it was the biggest crowd I've ever spoken in front of."

Entrepreneur's editor in chief, Amy C. Cosper, introduced Entrepreneur of 2010 Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks. "When I was starting out, I devoured Entrepreneur magazine," he said. "And these kinds of conferences are a great experience--humbling, energizing."

Serial entrepreneur and sales expert Tom Black talked about building a selling "system" and developing sales leadership. "There's one common denominator for success," he declared: hard work.

The keynote was presented by restaurant pioneer and former Kentucky governor John Brown, who purchased the Kentucky Fried Chicken corporation from founder Colonel Harland Sanders. Brown, a poker fan, said the key to success was "knowing when to hold 'em and knowing when to fold 'em." He added: "Don't be afraid to keep changing until you get it right. If everybody goes right, I go left, because that's where the opportunity is. And that's where the fun in life is."