The thirteenth Annual Bigelow Forum highlighted the lessons we can learn from Entrepreneur Owner-Managers (EOMs)
On Thursday, Rob MacLeod welcomed our guests by discussing Bigelow’s shared purpose and why we choose to work only with EOMs. The 2022 Bigelow Forum was a celebration of these unique individuals who are our heroes. We then spread out on the grounds of the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel in small groups and did a series of facilitated initiatives organized by Outward Bound Professional. Participants had to work together to solve several challenges showcasing the essentials of high-performing teams and critical leadership.
We then heard from our Keynote Speaker, Guy Raz, journalist, podcaster and author, best known for his work as the host and creator of the popular NPR podcast “How I Built This.” He discussed the stories of entrepreneurs and their journey of building successful companies and how they overcome obstacles and challenges to reach their goals. His talk focused on the importance of resilience, adaptability and taking risks in achieving success and how these qualities can help individuals navigate the rapidly changing landscape of the 21st century.
On Friday we featured two panels, one featuring 4 EOMs who had completed a capital gain event and the lessons learned around the theme of “How I Sustained This”.
Panelists included:
- Cary Corkin (The Entwistle Company)
- Lisa Allen (The Ziegenfelder Company)
- Brendan Ready (Ready Seafood)
- John Ready (Ready Seafood)
Our second panel was titled “The Story Behind the Story” and featured 3 spouses of EOMs who had completed a capital gain event. We were able to hear from their perspective as the closest and most trusted confident / advisor to the EOM what the journey of leading up to a transaction and ultimately completing a capital gain event was like.
Panelists included:
- Barry Allen (The Ziegenfelder Company)
- Ed Wilson (Wilson Language Training Corporation)
- Kim Bergeron (Marco Rubber)
