M/WBE Mentors: From Certified to Contracted-Real Talk on Winning Govt Work

The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) presents this free online M/WBE Mentors program event for our New York City-certified Goods & Services (non-construction) Minority- and/or Woman-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs):

About M/WBE Mentors Program

The M/WBE Mentors program, provided by the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), is the first peer mentorship program for NYC’s certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs).

Through an event series, highly successful entrepreneurs from a variety of industries and backgrounds serve as mentors. By mining their own experience for advice, these mentors provide the insight their peers need to succeed and chart their own path of growth through government contracting.

Join us 30 minutes before the event at 11:30am to network with fellow M/WBE attendees.

Ready to turn your M/WBE certification into real opportunities?

Join us for an exclusive NYC M/WBE Mentors event, From Certified to Contracted - Real Talk on Winning Government Work, where seasoned M/WBE mentors share the unfiltered truth about what it really takes to succeed in government contracting.

Whether you're just getting started or looking to scale your contract wins, M/WBE Mentors will pass along practical insights and proven strategies you won’t find in a manual.

🔹 Learn From Experience: “What I Wish I Knew” Mentors share the hard-won lessons that helped them avoid pitfalls and stay the course.

🔹 Get Your Foot in the Door Discover the outreach, networking, and positioning tactics that helped them land their first government contracts.

🔹 Build Relationships With City Agency Procurement Officers Learn how to make meaningful connections that go beyond a single bid.

🔹 Leverage Certification Strategically Understand how to make your M/WBE certification work for you—not define you.

🔹 Move From Certification to Reputation Grow your business by becoming a go-to vendor and building a strong track record.

Learn from our featured Mentors during a panel discussion that starts the event:

• Srini Penumella, CEO, Spruce Technology Inc
• Maureen Fairlie, President, Snappy Solutions Inc.
• Love Malone, CEO and Founder, Malone Creative Group LLC

After the panel discussion, stay on for breakout sessions with each of the Mentors where you can direct specific questions to them.

Moderator:

Geri Stengel, president of Ventureneer, has become a thought leader by conducting research that defines and eliminates the problems that underestimated entrepreneurs face. Often cited in the media, she is a frequent speaker at events on financing for startups and small businesses, and she is a contributor to Forbes on success factors for women entrepreneurs. She has been on the boards of several organizations, including the NYC chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Join us 30 minutes before the event at 11:30am to network with fellow M/WBE attendees.

Who should attend:

• NYC-certified M/WBEs or eligible to apply to be certified M/WBEs
• Goods & Services M/WBEs interested in pursuing NYC contracting opportunities.

This event focuses on information for goods & (non-construction) services industry firms

PLEASE NOTE: We use the AirMeet platform for this event. AirMeet works best using MS Edge or Google Chrome internet browsers. Closer to the date of the event, you will receive a separate email containing your AirMeet event access link. This will be sent to the email address you supply on the Eventbrite registration. We will open the platform 30 minutes before the start of the event to allow attendees to network with each other.

To maximize the event’s value, attend the pre-event networking session and the post-panel breakout sessions with individual panelists and a Small Business Services (SBS) representative, an expert in NYC SBS offerings, who will provide guidance on SBS' free services and NYC procurement.

EVENT PLATFORM: We are using Airmeet as our event platform. Airmeet works best using MS Edge or Google Chrome internet browsers. If you are unfamiliar with Airmeet, here are instructions for how to use it.