(Meal provided by Dickey's BBQ)

DON PROUDFOOT

TJC Small Business Development Center

Donald Proudfoot is the director of the Tyler Small Business Development Center (TylerSBDC).  He was born and raised in Rochester, NY.  He holds a marketing degree from West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV, and an accounting degree from the University of Texas at Tyler.

Prior to working with the Tyler SBDC, Don spent over eleven years with a Fortune 500 company working in various capacities of accounting, marketing, and finance.  Prior to that time, he spent four years selling building materials and fourteen years managing retail properties.  Don has also owned several diverse businesses, such as a New York Deli, a Jazz Night Club, and a Water Store.

Don started as a counselor at the Tyler SBDC in 1996 and after one year became the Director.  He currently oversees three advisors.  Since being with the center, the Tyler SBDC has advised 5,263 clients and helped 815 loan clients qualify for a total of $242 million in loans plus their equity contributions.

The Tyler SBDC recently received the 2020 SBDC of the Year Award from the North Texas SBDC Region for achieving and exceeding all goals of the 2018-2019 fiscal year.  It was the only center in the region to achieve all of the goals.  Tyler SBDC also set a new record for a North Texas Region center for the amount of annual capital infusion- $36 million (loans that clients were able to obtain based on our services, plus their own equity contributions).