Catalyst Santa Barbara : Young Business Professionals
HOW CATALYST BEGAN
In the summer of 2006, the first conception of Catalyst was born through meetings and lectures organized by Chrissy Deferville and Kristin Brown. Chrissy and Kristin envisioned an investment group fueled by inspiring, experienced achievers. The Santa Barbara Young Professionals Club took note of the concept, and suggested holding and expanding the meetings under the umbrella of the SBYPC organization. After several successful events under the brand Big Think, Chrissy began to explore the establishment of a self-sufficient entity to continue and grow the concept. Chrissy turned to new friend and soon to be colleague, Jacques Habra, for guidance on the structure and formation of such an entity. During the ensuing weeks, local financial advisors Brian Wee and Andrew Long contributed to the financial and market positioning to complete the formation of the entity. Several weeks later, in March of 2008, Catalyst held its first formal meeting with the entire group composed of twelve talented team members from various disciplines, each with an entrepreneurial passion.
THE CATALYST PURPOSE
Catalyst seeks to unlock the entrepreneur in each of us. The well-educated and informed entrepreneur possesses the greatest concentration of energy, and ability to promote change. Catalyst events are designed to inform, educate, and inspire. Simply put, we sponsor lectures led by dynamic, successful speakers who share their entrepreneurial insights. What differentiates Catalyst further, is that each dollar of an event ticket is donated to a non-profit partner. We believe in supporting those organizations that make a measurable difference in our community. From this core vision, we formed our tag-line: "Invest in yourself, Invest in your community."
Tags: Business, Entrepreneurs, Trade