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Connie Garzon - M.B.A. C.B.A 

 

Born and raised in Colombia – South America, Connie attended the University of Polytechnic Grancolombiano in Bogota Colombia and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business, Marketing, and Advertising. In 2000 she left Bogota, Colombia, and came to the United States to study English at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. She attended Ferris State University located in Big Rapids, Michigan in 2002 and earned a degree in International Business. She received her Master’s degree in Business Administration, MBA, from Iberoamericana University in Mexico D.F. in 2007.

 

Some of her notable achievements include a professional background in Banking and Financial Services for one of the largest banks in Colombia. Connie managed a $1 billion bank portfolio. And as a business owner, she previously was an International Business Consultant providing international business consultants to several American, Colombian, and Mexican companies. 

 

In 2008 she was hired by the Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College. One year later, she won the 2009 Florida Small Business Development Center Network’s Certified Business Analyst of the Year Award. In two short years as the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) manager at Daytona State College, she helped the Center achieve top performance in the state. She complimented the services with resources rarely found at a small center. Her job was to coach entrepreneurs to get ready to present their ideas to bankers or investors and succeed in their businesses. 

 

SBDC clients received the highest level of service as evidenced by the Center’s performance records. In one of the worst economic crises of the United States, the economic impact was significant. She helped start more than 50 businesses in Volusia County and contributed to the creation/retention of 300 jobs with a total capital formation of $12 million in small loans.

 

International business has been Connie’s focus for most of her career. She brought to the SBDC Daytona Center her years of experience in export consulting and enhanced local business awareness of how to obtain business overseas. Serving on the Halifax Area Trade Council with area colleges and chambers, she has contributed to export growth in Volusia County to over $500 million annually.

 

Connie was recognized in 2012 for her outstanding support to the Volusia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In 2013, she was selected as one of the 2013 Influential Women in Business Volusia/Flagler Counties by the News Journal Business Report Magazine. She was the recipient of a Statewide Award in 2016 selected as the “Education Partner of the Year” among a group of nominees by CareerSource boards throughout the state who met at the 2016 statewide professional development summit. 

 

In 2011 she was hired by the University of Central Florida (UCF) as Associate Director/Site Manager for the UCF Business Incubator at Daytona Beach International Airport. This Incubator has been one of the top incubators in terms of rapid growth. Currently, the UCF Business Incubator - Daytona has 20 technology companies. A total of 85 companies have participated in the Volusia County incubation program that she manages. Five of them have won outstanding awards in the state of Florida and Boston. The 2017/18 economic impact summary for the Volusia County Business Incubator highlights 900+ total jobs and returned taxes of $1 invested = 6.52 dollars returned to the community.

 

As Associate Director/Site Manager of the Volusia County Business Incubator powered by UCF, clients utilize her expertise in strategic planning, technology transfer, intellectual property, R&D, business plan development/lean methodology, international business, business financing, marketing, and more. In addition, she coaches Lean Startup – Business Model Canvas, investor presentations, marketing plan execution, capital asset oversight, cost containment, budgeting/finance, customer service, staff training, supervision, and mentoring. For Economic Development professionals she coaches how to build outstanding startup ecosystems and technology clusters. While running the Volusia County Incubator, She created and launched the Volusia Tech Hub initiative. Volusia Tech Hub is a tech community based in Volusia County, Florida - USA.  

 

As part of sharing her knowledge, she also lectures as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at different universities and supports and advocates technology education for K-12 children, college students, and job seekers. She is the founder and CEO of My School Tech Hub. A company designed to accelerate technology education for children 7 to 13 years old, and Connie Garzon Healtly Living, which  was designed to help  Latin American women to improve their health and look great!