Saipan entrepreneur Glen Hunter joins the ranks of business owners graduating from Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses education and mentorship initiative. His graduation makes Hunter the first in the CNMI to have completed and earned a Certificate of Entrepreneurship from the program.
Glen Hunter
"I am so grateful to have been able to complete this program," Hunter said. "To be part of such a prestigious program is such an honor."
Hunter is the lead figure in three local businesses in Saipan. He is the founder and co-owner of The Shack Saipan, a popular beachside café in Oleai that serves island-style bistro cuisine. Hunter additionally co-owns and runs The Airstream Saipan and the recently established GoHydro LLC.
Hunter originally enrolled with the 10KSB@Babson's Fall 2018 batch, selected from a group of more than 800 applicants. However, he could not complete the program on time due to the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Yutu. Hunter got a second chance, though, when he received an invitation to re-enter the program as part of the Spring 2019 batch.
"It was difficult having to pull out after Yutu," Hunter shared. "Although I was stretched pretty thin, I could not pass up the opportunity to start again and complete this program. It was by far one of the most challenging professional development courses I have been part of. And it's definitely the most rewarding."
The 10,000 Small Business initiative, or 10KSB for short, is an education and mentorship program launched in 2009 by Goldman Sachs, a leading organization in the securities and investment industry. The program is based at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, developed under the principle that greater access to education, capital, and support services is the best way to address growth barriers for small businesses. The goal of 10KSB is to help 10,000 small businesses by giving its scholars a condensed and intensive MBA-like training within an 11-week span.