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GREAT BAY, St. Maarten – Close to 100 aspiring leaders came to the POWER HOUR: Boss Edition on May 27, 2015. Held at the University of St. Martin for the first time, the quarterly networking event for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial professionals, attracted a variety of participants at different stages of their career.

In the accompanied booklet for the evening, INFOBIZZ defined BOSS to mean Building Others' Success Stories and encouraged all participants to help others to achieve success by becoming extraordinary leaders and by staying innovative.
With a focus on innovative leadership, the program of Boss Edition of POWER HOUR consisted of three main activities: 1) a networking activity facilitated by the founder and director of INFOBIZZ, Ms. Ife Badejo, 2) a keynote address on being an Innovative Leader by Mr. Imran Amjad, Chairman of NAGICO group with over 30 years of experience and recently decorated for his contribution to business, sports, and the community, and 3) Pitch Itâ„¢- sales pitch activity inspired by ABC's hit show Shark Tank.
The evening started with a network activity, which was prefaced with a TED Talk by Brazilian entrepreneur Bel Pesce entitled, "5 Ways to Kill Your Dreams". TED is an international non-profit organization where some of the greatest thought leaders share "ideas worth sharing" on any topic. The networking activity encouraged the participants to connect with someone they did not know and share a specific goal that they would like to achieve in one year's time.
Mr. Amjad, Chairman of NAGICO Group, gave a dynamic keynote address filled with anecdotes and practical tips from over 30 years of experience building a company from the ground up, which is now the largest insurance company in the English speaking Caribbean and worth $230 million. He spoke with charisma, injected humor and was refreshingly honest about the various challenges he encountered in building NAGICO to be a multinational enterprise based on St. Maarten from its very humble beginnings.
Not only did Mr. Amjad defined what a true leader is and emphasized the importance of being a leader first, he generously expounded on the qualities of an innovative leader, the topic of POWER HOUR: Boss Edition. He explained the importance of being passionate, persuasive, a team builder, a strategist, a people person, student and master of change, fearless, decisive, and most importantly, a hard-worker.
Lastly, in Pitch Itâ„¢ two entrepreneurs volunteered to 'pitch' their business ideas to Mr. Amjad, who acted as the 'investor' for the pitch and had to choose which business he would refer to invest in and why. The two volunteers were Chaendro Bute and Sheldon Ellis. These two entrepreneurs had technical businesses that would transform the quality of life for businesses and direct customers alike.
This was a unique opportunity for them to get feedback on their specific business ideas as well as for the audience to get a sneak peak on what investors are interested in and their thinking process. The focus was not for anyone to walk away with start-up capital, but to get valuable information to help them take their business ideas to another level.
Ife Badejo, founder and director of Foundation INFOBIZZ, participated in similar activities during her studies in the Netherlands and was inspired to introduce this segment upon her return from Entrepreneur Magazine's Growth Conference in Miami, FL on February 4, 2015.
"Earlier in the year, I went to the Growth Conference in Miami. Barbara Corcoran, a real estate tycoon, multimillionaire, and an investor on ABC's hit show "Shark Tank" was the keynote speaker. After her speech, three entrepreneurs pitched their business ideas to her as if she was on the show (Shark Tank). What I found extremely valuable was her questions and feedback on their sales pitch and their business concepts. It gave me an opportunity to see what an investor and entrepreneur on her level of success is looking for and what excites them about upcoming businesses. I decided that I would include it into the POWER HOUR and the Boss Edition was ideal since we had such a notably successful entrepreneur as part of the POWER HOUR." Ms. Badejo stated.
All participants were greeted with complimentary welcome mixed drinks from Lazy Lizard, which soft launched their infused rum at the Boss Edition of POWER HOUR. Snacks and other refreshments were provided by Maranatha Cuisine, whose chef, Maranatha Leconte launched her catering business shortly after the first POWER HOUR in November 2013 and has grown her business tremendously since focusing on healthy foods which do not have damaging preservatives.
INFOBIZZ has two more POWER HOUR sessions scheduled for the year. The next one will take place on September 2, 2015 and the last one will be part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) during November 16-22, 2015. During GEW 2015, Dr. Will Moreland, #1 Leadership Life Trainer in the US, is already confirmed to be a part of the various activities during that week. INFOBIZZ is also negotiating with local, regional, and other international trainers and entrepreneurs to make the most transformative and dynamic experience for those that want to achieve extraordinary levels of success.
For more information or to partner with INFOBIZZ on the Global Entrepreneurship Week, please contact them at foundation.infobizz@gmail.com or call them at +1-721-523-1842. To get a glimpse of POWER HOUR: Boss Edition, visit www.facebook.com/powerhoursxm.