Designed as a platform for engagement and connection, this series brings together
our valued stakeholders, alumni, students, faculty, donors, and local business community
leaders, for compelling talks, interactive panels, and enriching networking opportunities.
These events highlight SBM’s commitment to thought leadership and the latest in cutting-edge
business practices, offering fresh insights that inspire, inform, and connect. Whether
you want to gain fresh insights or just expand your network, these events offer a
meaningful way to strengthen your knowledge and connection with SBM and NDNU. With 4-6 events planned annually, there’s always something new and exciting on the
horizon.
If you approach your new business with ideas of glamor, ease, and immediate floods
of cash, you're likely to fail. In this session, Feras Alhlou instead highlights core
insights around risk, sacrifice, passion, planning, partnerships, and other internal
and external factors that can position you for success in modern business.
Along the way, Feras Alhlou shares his personal journey from arriving in the US speaking
no English, to working as a dishwasher, to a traumatic layoff that began an entrepreneurial
journey encompassing 7 new businesses, $65M in sales, and an 8-figure acquisition
by a global media giant.
For consulting and service businesses, all sales start with leads who have raised
their hands and expressed interest. If you don't know how to manage and nurture those
leads into paying clients, your business can't succeed.
Feras Alhlou walks through five stages of the sales funnel and shows how to build
the kind of sales "muscle" that helped one of his first businesses grow from serving
the restaurant down the street as their very first client all the way to signing deals
with Google, Salesforce, the US government, and many other high-profile organizations.
Past Webinars & Events:
AI’s Impact on Business and Careers
December 4, 2025 - An engaging panel discussion on “AI’s Impact on Business and Careers”,
where industry leaders will explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the
way organizations operate and the skills professionals need to thrive in a rapidly
evolving marketplace.