Meet the Experts DIA Summit 2022 hailed a success

The Meet the Experts DIA Summit 2022 saw several Jamaican entrepreneurs receive firsthand advice from business experts on navigating the entrepreneurial landscape.

The DIA Summit is a yearly event that brings together members of the Democratizing Innovation in the Americas (DIA) community and other stakeholders to celebrate the DIA programme while presenting attendees with insightful discussions, training workshops, and featured speakers. In Jamaica, the DIA programme is a partnership of the Trust of the Americas, the Organization of American States and the Institute of Law and Economics.

Kemal Brown, CEO of Digital Global Marketing and a member of the Forbes Business Council, was a key panellist and shared thoughtful insights on building an innovative, sustainable and scalable business. An attentive audience listened as Brown shared stories from his journey and the lessons learned therein.

DIA programme hailed

Brown highlighted the shift in the funding landscape and its expansion from the genesis of his entrepreneurial journey to now. He commended DIA, the JET Programme and their partners for a programme rich in mentorship, training and an emphasis on more future-focused business models.

Brown implored the young entrepreneurs in the room not to focus solely on an idea but on one with the potential to generate sustainable revenue.

“Several factors must be considered when scaling a business. When I started DGM in 2016, we had one customer, one computer and a dash of ingenuity. We took on no debt or investments. I used half of the capital from our first project to register the company and focused on scaling organically through customer-oriented growth. The type of business you select is important. Some are easier to start, some more capital intensive, some are easier to scale,” Brown shared.

Key tenet DGM growth

“Remaining committed to building my company first and rewarding myself later was a key tenet in our growth. Consider this, delayed gratification is still gratification, and in many ways, can be more gratifying because you can retrace the actions and sacrifices that led to your eventual triumph,” he continued. While coaching the entrepreneurs in the room, Brown emphasized the importance of organizational alignment, research and intellectual humility.

He spoke of having the right persons on your team aligned with your company’s vision and mission, stating that it is imperative to work with high-quality people. Brown encouraged entrepreneurs to utilize the wealth of information in today’s digital world to expand their skill sets and evolve.

Sequencing and Systems were important considerations shared by Brown that deeply resonated with the audience of young business owners.

“Having standard operating systems and procedures are essential to the life of your business, ensuring repeatable results,” the DGM CEO declared.

He cautioned: “Don’t spend too much time on non-revenue generation tasks. Protect your intellectual property with systems. There is no secret to success; there are systems to success.”

The summit also featured talks from other panellists, providing a fulsome discussion on all things business. The full complement of panellists – Nashauna Lalah, general manager for the Honey Bun Foundation; Randy Makk, CEO of Bresheh; Dr Rosalea Hamilton, CEO of Lasco Chin Foundation and CEO of Digital Global Marketing, Kemal Brown – spoke to managing finances, structuring company culture, the importance of human capital and balancing the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.