South Florida
Small Business
Summit
Bringing South Florida's business owners together to network, learn, and grow with like-minded entrepreneurs.
A small-room, high-signal gathering. Once these seats are claimed, registration closes.
Small businesses are the backbone of South Florida's economy.
Build generational wealth through
business ownership.
Small & mid-sized business owners
Operators ready to scale, refinance, or unlock equity from what you've already built.
Acquisition entrepreneurs
Searchers and ETA buyers actively pursuing their first or next acquisition with SBA leverage.
Franchisees
Multi-unit operators and emerging franchisees expanding their territory and footprint.
Three hours.
Zero fluff.
- 11:30Session 01
Start, Expand & Acquire with SBA Financing
The capital stack every owner should understand — from working capital to 7(a) acquisition financing.
- 12:00Session 02
The State of M&A
A working session on the small-business M&A market, valuations, and where the deals are.
- 12:30Session 03
Networking Lunch
Catered lunch and intentional introductions across the room.
- 1:15Session 04
CEO Roundtable
Open conversation with operators in the room — what's working, what isn't, what's next.
Joining Ray on stage
Featured Speaker
Title · Company
Bio coming soon. We'll be announcing our featured guest in the coming weeks — an operator who has built, scaled, and exited at the level our room is working toward.
Ray Drew
Founder, SBA Collective · Host, The Art of SBA Lending
The #1 podcast in SBA lending. Featured on Forbes, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX. 15 years building national SBA lending platforms.
Network, learn,
and grow.
Complimentary admission. By application. We curate this room intentionally to keep conversations small, candid, and useful.
A career spent helping small businesses get to the next level.
Ray Drew has spent his career doing one thing: helping small businesses get the capital they need to reach the next level.
Early in his career as a top-producing SBA lender, he helped hundreds of small business owners access financing before shifting into leadership — where he scaled SBA lending departments from the ground up to over $300 million annually at some of the most recognized institutions in the country.
He's the host of The Art of SBA Lending, the #1 podcast in SBA lending, a nationally recognized speaker at MALC and NAGGL, and has been featured on Forbes, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX.
After 15 years building national SBA lending platforms, Ray is bringing his focus back home. A 33-year South Florida resident, he now leads SBA Collective — a boutique firm helping community banks and credit unions build world-class SBA lending programs. His priority remains unchanged: helping small business owners navigate SBA financing to start, grow, and acquire small businesses.
Questions? Email Ray at ray@artofsba.com.