Anne Panek
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I moved to southeast Evanston two years ago after living in Chicago for most of my adult life. I worked in marketing prior to getting my MBA from University of Chicago Booth just about five years ago. Currently, I work in brand management for Dairy Farmers of America, which is one of the largest cooperatives in the U.S. but also has its own brands. A lot of my work is focused on the consumer perspective, which I think is the lens I can bring to LEND as well.
How did you first hear about LEND?
I met Mike [Miro] for the first time at Evanston’s Bike the Ridge late this summer. While waiting for the event to start, we began chatting and I expressed an interest in becoming more involved in the community. Being the great ambassador he is for the group, he mentioned LEND and the impact the organization has made over the last decade. I was invited to apply for a board position, which seemed like a great fit. Quite the fortuitous meeting!
What inspired you to join the board?
The simplicity of the LEND mission and its track record was appealing. It’s doing exactly what it was set up for – offering a straightforward process for small business owners to obtain funds for growth. And the idea of helping local, small businesses at the beginning of their life cycles is inspiring. LEND offers a different experience from the very transactional nature of lending with banking institutions for large chains. With LEND, there’s the added element of community involvement with consulting and other support opportunities; there’s a genuine desire to see the business succeed and grow.
What makes LEND unique?
LEND is filling an important gap in funding for small businesses. Companies that are further along in their life cycles are able to obtain more traditional sources of funding, but there’s less opportunity for community startups that may have a really strong business model but just don’t qualify for larger funding yet. LEND allows those smaller businesses to access funds that really make a difference and will provide a return in revenue many times over. We're helping them meet a milestone of profitability rather than just viability.
What is your vision for LEND?
I’d like to see LEND continue to support the local community, not only through financial assistance, but also with training and other non-monetary support. It takes more than a financial infusion for businesses to continue reaching new milestones. Small business owners need a network of support to learn from one another, generate new ideas, discover best practices, and avoid common pitfalls. It would be interesting to develop a set of LEND case studies to inspire and engage other new and future business owners. As our economic environment continues to change, LEND will need to flex to new demands of the market and local community to continue to prove its worth to Evanston and hopefully allow us to have an even larger impact going forward.