ATTENDEES | Narra Collective Small Business Week: Small Business Growth & Innovation Day
May 8 @ 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Free
DAY 3 – Small Business Growth & Innovation Day
Features expert business consulting, speed networking, tactical bootcamps on funding and global opportunities, and NARRATIVE IRL — a raw, TED-style storytelling series by small business owners. Cap the day with a live pitch competition for a chance to win a 6-month desk membership at Narra Collective!
What’s Happening?
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Business Services Consulting Corners
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | 2:30 – 4:00 PM NARRAtive IRL – Narra’s reimagines format inspired by TED-style storytelling – real, raw and rooted in the unfiltered experiences of small business owners
11:00 AM – 12:00 NN Speed Networking – Quick, high-impact rounds of connection designed to spark new partnerships, referrals, and collabs with fellow founders and creatives.
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM Bootcamp
- Funding and Grants 101 – A tactical bootcamp on how to actually find, apply for, and win the funding opportunities built for small business owners.
- Getting Ready for the World: How Small Businesses Can Prepare for the World Cup
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Pitch Competition – Small businesses and founders present 5-minute pitches to a panel of industry judges. Prize include a 4-month reserved desk membership at Narra
NARRAtive irl: FROM THE GROUND UP
Small Business Growth & Innovation Day
Live, unfiltered stories from entrepreneurs who built from grit, clarity, and conviction.
AM SESSION
Starting When Nothing Felt Ready
the stories of survival mode, slow beginnings, and saying yes—even when nothing around you said it would work.
- “Nobody’s Coming—So I Built It Anyway” – Starting when there’s no roadmap, no backing, and no safety net.
- “They Said It Wouldn’t Work Here” – A founder’s experience building something that felt “too niche,” “too risky,” or “too different” for their city or community.
- “From Side Hustle to Real Deal” – What it actually took to grow your idea into a business—and the moment you realized it had legs.
- “Rejection Was the Redirection” – A story of hearing ‘no’—and how it rerouted you to something better (even if it didn’t feel like it at first).
- “Bootstrapped, Burned Out, but Still Betting on Myself” – The emotional rollercoaster of building with your own money, your own energy, and zero backup plan.
PM SESSION
The Future We’re Building
stories of quiet resilience, internal wins, boundary-setting, and redefining growth on your own terms.
- “What They Don’t Tell You About ‘Making It’” – The truth behind hitting your revenue goal, getting the press feature, or opening the storefront—and what still feels hard.
- “What It Cost Me to Stay in the Room” – Navigating being the only woman, person of color, parent, or first-timer in spaces not designed for you—and choosing to stay anyway.
- “Scaling Small (On Purpose)” – Choosing a path that prioritizes values over venture capital—and how to grow sustainably, not just fast.
- “My Business, My Boundaries” – The unglamorous work of protecting your peace, not burning or selling out.
- “The Day I Almost Quit” – A deeply personal moment when walking away seemed like the only option—and what made you stay.
- “I Built the Business I Needed at Rock Bottom” – A powerful closing story of creation, survival, and healing through business.