The Social Ground Foundation held the first ever Small Business Expo in Milpitas on Saturday, April 20.
With guest speakers like Vance Roush (CEO of Overflow), Noah Satho (Founder and CEO of Dragon Auto), Elijah Keyes (Founder of Keyes Law Group), and Alex Andrade (Director of Economic Development for the City of Milpitas), the event featured a stellar line-up of presentations. Attendees sat in on sessions that delved into topics such as access to financial resources, venture capital investment, and how to grow and scale a business.
Tim Alcorn, Founder of the Social Ground Foundation, wanted to host the Expo to give business owners an opportunity to network and gain valuable insights into entrepreneurship.
Before starting the Social Ground Foundation, Alcorn had started a couple of other businesses. Both of them flopped.
“I just didn’t have the knowledge and the network to be able to make it happen,” Alcorn told The Beat in an interview. “Now that I have those things and have a business that is thriving, and growing, I want to share that with as many people as I can.”
Alcorn spoke about how all these big companies, like Apple and Amazon, started out as a one-person small business.
“I really came into this event with no expectations because this is the first event of its kind,” said Alcorn. “This was such a successful event. We had so many great sponsors, so many great partners and speakers.”
Andrade gave a presentation at the event, sharing 10 steps to starting a business. He felt that the expo was a “tremendous success.”
“The Small Business Expo resulted in providing value to the small business community through increased visibility for businesses, business-to-business partnerships, lead generation, market research, and developing competitive advantages,” Andrade wrote to The Beat in an email. “Special thanks to the Milpitas Small Business Expo founder, Tim Alcorn, and his team for creating a space for entrepreneurs to learn more about powerful business tools.”
The Social Ground Foundation plans to host another Expo in 2025.
“Small businesses are the backbone of Milpitas, of California, and of the world,” Alcorn said.
