2024 Summit Agenda
November 20th
Growth Summit Kick Off Block Party and Bonfire!
November 20th, 5:30 – 7:30pm
Location: SOCO BullStreet – 1721 Saunders Street
THE launch party for this year’s Growth Summit will be at Columbia’s most popular community workspace, SOCO. This is a party you don’t want to miss. In the spirit of our “summit” theme, we’re throwing an outdoor block party at SOCO BullStreet complete with fire pits, a s’mores station, food/beverages and outdoor tunes with DJ Preach Jacobs. Join our organizing team, our speakers and a whole bunch of SC’s movers and shakers for the first event of the summit.
November 21st
8:00 am – Registration & Networking
Kick off the day with a networking session as you register and connect with other attendees.
8:30 am – Welcome
Start the day with an energizing welcome to set the tone for a day of growth and learning.
9:00 am
Kobie “DA WIZ” Wilkerson
Permission Granted
Join L. Kobie “DA WIZ” Wilkerson for the kickoff to Growth Summit 2024. Kobie is an 8X author, nationally recognized speaker, Master Teacher and a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach. Kobie is here to invite you to change, evolve and grow. You will receive 5 key tools you can use to get the most out of this amazing summit experience to impact your life.
9:30 am – Spitfire Session on Culture: Hiring the Dream Team
Jordan Riker
Hiring on Culture Fit
Let’s hire right! Hiring as an early stage or small business founder can be terrifying. How do we vet properly, ensure our team’s values are aligned with our own and not have a revolving door of talent? Jordan Riker is passionate about hiring top talent and has a winning playbook to share. In this session, Jordan will discuss practical ways to use your core values during the interview and vetting process to ensure candidates are in full alignment with your company culture. Getting a perfect match before candidates even walk in the door will not only provide better performance, but higher retention rates as well.
Rhiannon Poore
Using Your Employer Brand to Promote Culture
How can you leverage your culture and employe-first brand to create a competitive hiring advantage? For more than 15 years, Rhiannon Poore has been at the intersection of talent and culture. She’s the founder and CEO of Forge Search. In this session, she’ll provide ways talent attraction teams can use employer branding to not only attract great candidates, but to help current employees promote your company and recruit individuals in their network. A well crafted and communicated employer brand can be every talent attraction team’s secret weapon. And who doesn’t love a secret weapon?
Christina Lock
Maintaining Culture While Scaling
Now that you have a thriving culture and well-defined employer brand, how do you maintain that in the face of rapid scaling? Christina Lock is here to show us the way. As company’s grow, things will inevitably change, and a strong culture and set of core values will ensure the best talent will still come to, and stay, at your company.
10:15 am
Carl Smith
From Collapse to Community: Lessons from a Global Agency’s Downfall
Carl’s journey from running a recognized agency that collapsed to building a thriving creative leadership community reveals the unexpected renewal in failure. Discover the power of letting go, turning setbacks into strengths, and creating lasting impact through resilience and the support of a trusted network.
10:35 am – Trail Mix (Break)
Take a break, recharge, and prepare for the next sessions.
10:45 am
John Barnes
Trailblazers and Treasures: 8 Money Markers On Your Path To Wildly Successful Company
On the perilous journey to the top, smart financial management is your survival kit and your compass. Learn how to treat your business as your biggest investment, navigate cash flow chaos, build a great team and equip yourself to avoid common pitfalls along the way. You CAN do this and fan favorite John Barnes of PST Advisors has your map. Join John as he shares what he’s learned over 20+ years of working with some of the fastest growing companies in South Carolina.
11:15 am
Alan Stein Jr.
High Camp Session: Raise Your Game
Alan Stein, Jr. is an experienced keynote speaker and author. At his core, he’s a performance coach with a passion for helping business leaders change behaviors. He spent 15+ years working with the highest performing basketball players on the planet. He teaches proven principles on how to utilize the same approaches in business that elite athletes use to perform at a world-class level.
Alan has proven that the solution to improving your individual performance is getting back to the basics and working towards mastery of the fundamentals during the unseen hours. Alan will teach you to eliminate the habits that undermine productivity and replace them with disciplines that serve you best.
12:15 pm – High Camp Lunch Break
Enjoy food trucks and a relaxed indoor-outdoor lunch at Junction 800’s pavilion.
12:15 pm – Ask Me Anything Lunch with Alan Stein (VIPs only)
VIP attendees join an exclusive, intimate Q&A with Alan Stein for deeper insights and personal growth.
1:30 pm
Roshanda Pratt
Firebreak Session: The 5 Marketing Stories You Need to Tell: Unlock the Power of Your Brand
Every great brand isn’t built on just one story—it’s powered by five essential narratives that foster connection, trust, and influence. In today’s noisy marketplace, the leaders who thrive aren’t just selling—they’re telling compelling stories that resonate on a personal level. In this session, you’ll uncover the 5 stories every entrepreneur and brand must tell to connect deeply, overcome objections, and inspire action.
2:00 pm – Spitfire Session: Eight-Figure Sales Success Secrets
Derek Tsuboi
Sales Funnels in 2024: How has it changed?
The sales funnel is absolutely essential for lead generation. Funnel “Master” Derek Tsuboi delivers a crash course exclusively for summit attendees. Learn the stages of the sales funnel and how to apply them to your business. You’ll learn how to apply each phase—awareness, consideration, and decision—guiding prospects from initial interest to final conversion for long-term growth.
Ryal Curtis
How to get more people into your funnel with organic social media content
Discover how to grow your business by attracting more leads through organic LinkedIn content. Learn strategies for optimizing your profile, engaging your audience, and building authentic connections that funnel potential clients into your business without paid ads.
Jennifer Frye
Cold Outreach: Your Secret Weapon to Top of Funnel Victory
Matt Vaadi
Close More Deals. Increase Your Close Rate to Grow Faster
3:15 pm – Trail Mix (Break)
3:30 pm – Spitfire Session on Productivity
Shennice Cleckley
IGNITE Your Productivity With AI
High-impact growth today requires you to be highly productive. But as founders and leaders, we’re constantly bombarded with tasks, decisions, and information. How do you plan, strategize, execute, and keep it all together? This Spitfire session will deliver AI-powered tools, tactics and tips world-class leaders use to turn one person into what feels like ten.
Andy Kottage
Mind Your Mentals: Rewiring Your Resilience for Clarity, Connection, and Longevity
Are you wearing your Burnt-Out badge of honor? That’s so 2020. Break free from the stress cycle and discover how to cultivate a healthy and sustainable entrepreneurial journey. Learn the three most common mental health pitfall patterns, how to identify them early, and a simple sequence to reset your system and thrive.
Dave Maxfield
The Fulfillment Formula: Crafting Systems for Meaningful Work
Is there a “secret” to meaningful work and life. No! (That’s the secret). But there ARE principles and systems. In “The Fulfillment Formula” discover how Security, Engagement, and Meaning can transform your approach, challenge productivity myths, and embrace the “left tackle” mindset to make the most of your prime years. Discover a fresh perspective on lasting satisfaction.
4:15 pm – Summit Session (Closing)
Jada Willis
I Shouldn’t Be Here, But I Am
Don’t miss our closing session with the dynamic Jada Willis. She’s a 2X entrepreneur, author, speaker and CEO Growth Coach. She’s lightning in a bottle. But, society and statistics told her she’d never make it and that she shouldn’t be here. She proved them all wrong. Join Jada as she shares some powerful lessons and inspiration on never giving up on your dream.
5:00 pm – After Party at Junction 800
Celebrate the day with networking, insights, and fun at South Carolina’s biggest entrepreneurial after-party.