Capital One ranked No. 22 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2022.
Through its Supplier Diversity Development programs, Capital One has helped two Black female small business owners maximize their success.
The company offers three programs that equip and empower diverse business owners to be more competitive in the marketplace:
- Catapult pairs women business owners with mentors from Capital One and the Women’s Business Enterprise Council to provide support
- Sage enables diverse-owned companies to innovate within their industries by developing solutions to their business challenges
- Mentoring provides Black and Hispanic business owners with the tools, resources and mentoring needed to thrive in the marketplace
Theresa Headen, Chef and Owner of Elegant Cuizines, was able to support her business through the Catapult and Mentoring programs.
“The Capital One Supplier Diversity team provided so much knowledge,” Headen said. “Through the two programs, Capital One associates taught me things that I didn’t know how to do myself, like social media marketing and website design. They also taught me how to do a business pitch where I was forced to look at the market solution and my target audience. I also learned to think outside the box through the Design Thinking class. As a business owner, I’m usually stuck on one strategy, but Design Thinking made me think, ‘what if I turn left instead of right?’”
Similarly, Staci Gray-Redmon, Owner and President of Veteran Wood Creations Inc., was able to overcome the challenges of purchasing a long-standing business with the help of Capital One’s Catapult program.
“Just having the resources and reassurance to think through the blind spots I’d miss from going into a different industry was very helpful for me,” said Gray-Redmon. “The Catapult program was transformational in the way it made me look through the process of being a small business owner. Particularly during the pandemic, I knew I wanted to seek out purpose and meaning in my next career.”
Read more at capitalone.com.
