Bizzed.com Creates New Learning and Mentoring Tools for the Nation's Small Business Owners; Entrepreneur Portal Launches Innovative Partnership with U.S. Small Business Administration.

Business & Internet Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2000

Citigroup's small business enterprise web portal, Bizzed.com, announced the design and delivery of new on-line training courses intended to accelerate the knowledge, planning skills and overall effectiveness of entrepreneurs.

The Bizzed.com (www.bizzed.com) curriculum will first be developed and presented through a creative new partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration through its Online Classroom (http://classroom.sba.gov), and will be aimed at small business owners throughout the U.S. to assure them the competitive edge they need to thrive. The joint effort will formally begin during the first quarter of 2000, with coursework on-line in March 2000.

Karen Sokota, CEO of Bizzed.com, championed this public-private initiative as an "important step for both organizations to create a platform of entrepreneurial knowledge truly accessible to all. Bizzed.com's vision from the start is to strengthen relationships, build an on-line community, and most of all to create real solutions for small business owners to drive their success on-line and off. We congratulate our partners at the SBA for sharing our imagination, and helping to launch an original, interactive and content-rich tool kit for 25 million small business owners in the U.S."

"The SBA's co-sponsorship with Bizzed.com is part of our ongoing effort to provide the best information and resources to small business owners through our online Small Business Classroom," said Aida Alvarez, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. "This new course, rich in content, will be an excellent tool to help SBA clients learn about ways to improve their business."

Although final decisions on content are not yet firm, the Bizzed.com partnership with SBA envisions specialized course content on topics such as:

--   What Is An IPO and Is It Right for You?

--   How Do You Get Your Business Online: For the Non-Technical
     Entrepreneur

--   How to Run Your Online Business: From Successful Inventory/Order
     Management to Customer Fulfillment.

--   How to Provide Health and Compensation (401K) Benefits To Your
     Employees.

One of the new courses will be presented through a live cybercast streamed on the Internet through the Bizzed.com site - the first of its kind performed with participation by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

In addition to content aimed to improve business knowledge gaps, Bizzed.com will design mentoring and interactive tools that actually take entrepreneurs step-by-step through planning disciplines. For example, for this SBA initiative, Bizzed.com envisions an intelligent tool entitled "How To Write an 'e-Business' Business Plan" that asks the visitor a series of questions, that, when answered, will create a baseline business plan.

Karen Sokota, CEO of Bizzed.com added, "Bizzed.com's mission is to be a resource for every entrepreneur. By serving as the first stop for cutting edge tools, and delivering a portal with high quality knowledge on-line, we are convinced that these partnerships will be the competitive difference for many enterprises - with or without technical savvy."

According to Sokota, "What inspires us most is the fact that Bizzed.com will work with the Small Business Administration on and offline to achieve our communal learning goals. We will sponsor a series of workshops with SBA regions, dedicated to our training materials and providing on-going knowledge links for SBA content on our site."

"Through these leadership programs, we intend to be a valuable partner for the SBA to meet the needs of underserved entrepreneurs and all who are most challenged by accessibility to technology. If we succeed, we will make a major contribution to bridging the digital divide in our economy - and to making the Internet a meaningful tool for empowerment for every business owner."

Created by Citigroup, Bizzed.com is designed for entrepreneurs and small businesses of 100 employees or fewer, helping them to define and attain their own success by putting big business and other information resources at their disposal. Bizzed.com provides best-in-class information, capabilities, connections and integrated business services to meet a full range of everyday needs and long-term opportunities. The portal was officially launched in September 1999.

In its latest release, Bizzed.com delivers the power and depth of Citigroup by providing existing Citigroup products from its trusted brands, including Salomon Smith Barney, Citibank, Travelers, Citicorp Leasing Inc., Citibank Consumer Finance, AT&T Universal Card and Diners Club International, with the safety and security that is guaranteed by Citigroup. Moving forward, Bizzed.com will build the brand by expanding its product and service offerings and by personalizing business web pages.

Bizzed.com has established relationships with carefully selected world class business organizations that growing businesses can trust to help develop their enterprises. In its current release, Bizzed.com has teamed with the U.S. Postal Service, as well as ADP, Beyond.com, biztravel.com, Boise Cascade Office Products, DigitalWork, Netopia, Network Solutions, Pandesic and World's Easiest Printing Center.

About Citigroup

Citigroup (NYSE:C), the most global financial services company, provides some 100 million consumers, corporations, governments and institutions in 100 countries with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage and asset management. The 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group brought together such brand names as Citibank, Travelers, Salomon Smith Barney, Commercial Credit (now named CitiFinancial), and Primerica under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.

About the SBA

The U.S. Small Business Administration, established in 1953, provides financial, technical and management assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their businesses. With a portfolio of business loans, loan guarantees and disaster loans worth more than $45 billion, the SBA is the nation's largest single financial backer of small businesses. Last year, the SBA offered management and technical assistance to more than one million small business owners. The SBA also plays a major role in the government's disaster relief efforts by making low-interest recovery loans to both homeowners and businesses. America's 25 million small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the private workforce, generate more than half of the nation's gross domestic product, and are the principal source of new jobs in the U.S. economy. Additional information may be found at www.sba.gov.