Brightest minds in business gather under one roof | Business

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - The best and brightest of the local business world gathered Thursday to exchange ideas, names and numbers.

The Wilmington Biz Tech Expo and Conference, put on by the Wilmington Business Journal, attracted hundreds of businesses from New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick counties.

Publisher/Owner of the Journal and Wilma, Rob Kaiser, appeared on WECT's Carolina in the Morning show, along with account executive Maggi Apel, and shared was in store for attendees this year.

The all-day event was comprised of two main parts: the conferences, where experts addressed crowds about successful business techniques and how to grow their business, and the expo, where all the businesses set up booths to talk to people about what they do.

Local business owners say
the expo was the perfect opportunity to get their names out to the public.

"I think the economy has
affected everyone," said Sam Shelby at the expo. "It's affected us and probably
affected everyone in this building, but this brings everybody together and
there's good energy. It's a cost efficient event. We're glad the business
journal is doing this and it's a good way for everyone to connect within a
matter of hours."

The event was held at Wilmington's Convention Center, which is the only venue in town large enough to accommodate the hundreds of people who are attending.

Keynote speakers included Fred Eshelman and former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt.

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