Washington, DC – The Internet Association today partnered with U.S. Senator Cory Booker to host a forum focused on using the Internet to grow small businesses in New Jersey. The panel discussion, “Small Business Tech and Social Innovation Forum,” was held at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. Michael Beckerman, President and CEO of the Internet Association, led the discussion along with Carley Graham Garcia, Head of Global Industry Relations at Google, Bess Yount, Facebook’s Small Business Partner Manager, Darnell Holloway, Senior Manager of Local Business Outreach at Yelp, CEO and founder of Cardcash.com, Elliot Bohm, and CEO/Innovator and Chief of websignia, Steve Jones. Other Internet companies like Huffington Post,were also in attendance to help small business owners in the breakout sessions.
“Technology has proven time and again to be a ladder for social and economic mobility,” said Sen. Booker. “That is particularly true for new businesses trying to put their name on the map. The Internet is an indispensable tool enabling companies to compete in a global economy, grow their businesses, and expand their reach in New Jersey and across the country.”
“Small businesses that use the Internet are twice as likely to create jobs,” said Michael Beckerman, President and CEO of the Internet Association. “Today’s event will help New Jersey’s small business owners and entrepreneurs better use the Internet to innovate, increase revenues, create jobs, and grow the economy.”
The panel of industry experts from Google, Facebook, and Yelp discussed the tools and tactics that small businesses and entrepreneurs can use to grow their businesses. The panel also fielded questions from the audience and from online participants. Following the Q&A session, small business owners and entrepreneurs joined breakout sessions with Internet companies Huffington Post, Uber, Google, Facebook, and Yelp there to answer questions and help identify opportunities to use the Internet to grow their businesses.
