The PennWest Clarion Small Business Development Center, in partnership with Ben Franklin Technology Partners, is hosting a powerful new speaker series led by entrepreneur and investor Brian Slawin. This monthly runs through March 2026, offering real-world insights, hard-earned lessons, and actionable strategies for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Each session—ranging from topics like challenging industry norms, raising capital, and scaling innovation to lessons learned from the startup journey—is filled with practical tools and interactive discussions.

Each event is scheduled as a one-hour webinar, except for the final networking-focused master class taking place in person on March 19, 2026, from 12:00–1:30 p.m. in Oil City, Venango County. 

In this Real Talk Series for Small Business on Commercializing Ideas for Growth, we will discuss eight Questions Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know the Answers To. Whether you’re launching your first business or looking to take your company to the next level, this series is designed to spark new ideas, build confidence, and provide clarity for your entrepreneurial path.

Before an entrepreneur seeks an investment in their company, a potential investor is going to ask them 8 essential, fundamental questions that need to be answered quickly and with conviction. Know them and you’re on a path to capital. Falter and well, it’s on to the next.

Participants in this session will:

• Understand how to quickly discover the core areas of interest an investor has.
• How to ‘Go for the No’ when responding to questions from investors.
• More than answering a series of questions, how an entrepreneur should look at the due diligence process.
• How to better manage the expectations of an investor and give them confidence in their investment in you and your team.
• How investors look at financial proformas and what the secret behind them really is.

Future sessions include: 

Thursday, October 23, 2025 – My Dad Stole My Startup’s Money (Webinar)

Thursday, November 20, 2025 – How to Start Your Startup as a Non-Technical Founder (Webinar)

Thursday, January 22, 2026 – How to Hook Investors to WIN (Webinar)

Thursday, February 26, 2026 – Don’t Quit Your Daydream (Webinar)

Thursday, March 19, 2026 – NETWORKING (In person – Oil City, PA)