“The WBDC’s Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference offered me and my business the incredible opportunity to meet supplier diversity managers and other corporate buyers face to face,” states Cassandra Sanford, CEO of the KellyMitchell Groups, an information technology consulting business based in St. Louis, Missouri, and a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) through the WBDC.
At the 2003 Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference after being certified as a WBE for just two short months, Sanford met the buyer from Target Corporation and that introduction has proved invaluable. Two years later, the KellyMitchell Group, Inc. has just won a major contract from Target to assist with their technology needs.
Founded in 1998 with a $10,000 investment and three employees, the KellyMitchell Group has projected revenues in 2005 of $30 million and about 300 employees in St. Louis, Chicago and San Ramon, California. The company is sixth on the St. Louis Business Journal’s 2005 list of fastest-growing private companies.
“Securing WBE status from the WBDC and nationally has provided us access – access to the right people in Fortune 500 companies who want to do business with women business owners,” comments Sanford. “The WBDC and the WBE certification jumpstarted all the kinds of opportunities for us and truly helped us grow the business.” |
