Mentors: BUSINESS STRATEGY
Summary of Qualifications Rebecca is a veteran entrepreneur with experience in real estate, retail and most recently, restaurants. She is the founder of kybecca, a 150 seat restaurant and was a partner in a real estate firm. Rebecca opened kybecca in 2005 as a small retailer focusing on small production wine and beer. Over the years that expanded into a wine bar, and then a small restaurant. Today, kybecca is 150 seat restaurant with a craft cocktail bar. Through these various incarnations and receiving mentorship of her own, the concept continues to grow and evolve to meet the needs of her clientele and fill a distinctive niche in the market. Restaurants, in particular, are challenging due to the volume of moving parts and decisions that each affect the bottom line. Her experience in building the business from the ground up, sustaining it and evolving it to meet a changing marketplace has enabled her to understand how important it is to set your enterprise up correctly. Structure sets success. She can provide mentorship in all aspects of understanding your business: each component, how they work together and where to focus your efforts to ensure profitability and steady growth. While not a specialist in marketing, working with Rebecca can improve your marketing efforts. Often businesses aren’t sure where profitability lies within their offerings. Narrowing what the customer wants and how to tell them about it has the result of quickly improving the bottom line. Rebecca has developed real estate for specific use both in residential and commercial, worked with cities to secure incentives, scouted locations, created a concept and brought it to...
Summary of Qualifications Robin Green is the owner of Ascend Performance, Inc., an authorized Sandler Training Center. He has led high-performing sales team across multiple industries for more than 20 years. Robin believes that salespeople are not born but made. Regardless of personality or experience, business owners and entrepreneurs need not fear sales activities. Through a systematic approach, any motivated professional can master the science of selling in an authentic, dignified way. Before starting his own company, Robin had a long and successful career with Pfizer. In 2013, he served as the Sales Director at Royall & Company, where new sales grew by 94% during his 3-year tenure. Prior to entering the business world, Robin was a college baseball coach and admissions director. Robin earned the Master of Science degree from the University of Tennessee, where he was named his department’s “Outstanding Graduate Student.” He lives in Chesterfield with his wife and two kids. He likes to read, run and has always enjoyed a good baseball game. Want to meet with this mentor? Talk with your Lead...
Summary of Qualifications Grant is a Fractional Product & Marketing Manager, specializing in small to mid business growth through customer engagement and product innovation. Grant Mizell’s career spans traditional advertising, PR, community management, digital strategy, SEM/PPC and product development. Most recently, acting as Head of Product, he oversaw the transformation of PartyRVA, a successful and award-winning prototype e-marketplace for group planners, into OccasionGenius, overhauling the customer conversion funnel, shifting the business model and repositioning for national scale. A graduate of VCU’s Advertising program, he uses a foundation in conceptual thinking and design as a heightened UX perspective in targeting business growth opportunities through user-centered engagement and innovation. In 2013, he traded in 7 years of Adjunct instruction at VCU Advertising, for a leadership role on the Byrd Theatre Foundation. Grant serves as Vice President and Programming Chair, where he applies lean startup mentality to marketing and new program development, in support of the 87-year-old institution’s evolution into a center for film and film literacy. Want to meet with this mentor? Talk with your Lead...
Summary of Qualifications Mike is an attorney with the law firm of John V. Robinson, P.C. where his practice is focused on intellectual property, small business law, and entrepreneurship. He earned his J.D. from the University of Richmond and an advanced law degree from Duke University’s Law and Entrepreneurship Program where he studied business strategy, corporate counseling and venture capital finance. While in Durham Mike worked with the First Flight Venture Center, a business and technology incubator in the North Carolina’s Research Triangle, providing legal support and guidance to the center’s 30+ biotech and medical device startups. He also served as a coordinator and judge for a multi-state start-up venture/business pitch competition, the Big Launch Challenge. Since returning to Richmond Mike has been working with a wide variety of local corporations, start-up companies and individual entrepreneurs on issues ranging from trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets to contracts, business formation, equity financing and mergers & acquisitions. He also volunteers as a mentor to founders and aspiring entrepreneurs at both VCU, the University of Richmond and Lighthouse Labs. Mike is an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law where he teaches courses on intellectual property transactions and entertainment law. Want to meet with this mentor? Talk with your Lead...
Summary of Qualifications Danielle Gilbert is currently the Administrative Director for St. Francis Medical Center, Healthsource, Rappahannock General Hospital and Shared Services of Bon Secours Health System, Inc. She joined Bon Secours in August 2010. Her experience over the past twelve years in Human Resources has included Consulting, Employee Relations, Compensation, Benefits, and Recruitment. As a leader in Bon Secours Virginia’s Human Resources department, Gilbert helps direct the health system’s efforts in employee engagement, employee training, talent management and organizational development. The department’s primary purpose is to encourage learning and growth within Bon Secours Virginia to strengthen and support the health system’s ability to achieve organizational objectives. In 2015, Bon Secours Virginia was named by the Gallup organization as a Great Workplace, one of only 29 organizations worldwide. Before joining Bon Secours, Gilbert was Human Resources Manager at Lowe’s Home Improvement in Richmond, VA., where she oversaw the implementation, planning, and direction of 200 employees. Gilbert orchestrated the company’s engagement and growth. Her leadership helped build the organization into one of the most successful retail stores within a highly competitive market. Following her undergraduate studies, Gilbert started her career in the retail industry. Gilbert graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. She later continued her education at Strayer University, earning two masters in Human Resources Management and Public Administration. She also became certified by the Human Resources Certification Institute as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) in January 2013 and certified by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) as a SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). Gilbert is currently pursuing her Ph.D. In addition, she is...
