Mentorship and s. T. E. A. M. Opportunities and how to develop opportunities for the work force and leverage the programs that the Small Business administration as well as other Government Agencies have for Small Businesses. Lets talk about what you expect to come from this. Shirley, lets start with you. It is one thing to be on a listening tour. Its another to put it in action. Did you get the sense theres going to be something within this administration to help Small Businesses that is different than what we have seen before . I think, probably, just a greater awareness that we are out there. We are out there doing good work and the women who own them are serious and dedicated to the work we are doing. What do you think . Im very encouraged for two particular reasons. Number one, ivanka trump was also at the table. She said its one of her priorities. I think she is going to work closely with her father to make sure theres a positive impact
on. Shes very well spoken. I appreciated her
kids imaginations, the two came up with a concept for little passports. it started with a simple suitcase, packed with a passport, maps of the world, stickers and activities set by fictional globe trotting pen pals. a bundle of fun continued to arrive every month with a new country featured in each package. we feel like we really innovated within the space. this is before birch box and before subscriptions and the box craze. with endless rejection and not a drop of money, they could have closed shop quickly, but they took every harsh bit of criticism and pushed forward even harder. you have to have that intrinsic plebelief in yourselfd what you re doing to get past them. it required a razor sharp approach to product development and testing. we started a prototype and tested it with 50 families. on the flip side, they believe stand out and memorable packaging was a must. with the help of angel investors