Hundreds Attend 2018 Alpharetta Business Expo

From Alpharetta Business Association: The 2018 Alpharetta Business Association Expo held on Friday, August 24 attracted hundreds of attendees who experienced North Fulton’s only business expo this year. Approximately 100 exhibitors participated as well as local restaurants, tech startups, and a healthcare panel.

The day began with Tech Alpharetta’s Technology Showcase featuring five startups. Each startup had a few minutes to present their technology to three expert panelists – David Lightburn, Stephanie Diaz, and Kavitha Palani who provided feedback. Dale Sizemore, Director of Operations for Tech Alpharetta was the moderator and introduced the startups including:

 Wyman Best’s “Clear That Deck” tool was described as the best low-tech tool from a high-tech incubator. The tool provides a better way to get debris out of deck spaces to improve cleaning and have less deck rot.
 Go WP is a rapidly expanding startup that provides WordPress support including software updates, offsite backup, security/malware scans, and trouble-shooting services for agencies, small businesses and non-profits.
 Data Seekers offers a unique data appliance that helps financial institutions take in data and unify it into one format.
 MSI Positioning Systems has created an application that makes GPS more precise down to 1- centimeter accuracy (less than the size of a dime) that land surveyors and civil engineers can use on their mobile device.
 Sign Stream helps companies create their own TV channel and run it anywhere with a Smart TV or Amazon Firestick that can run in their store, restaurant, or waiting area.

After the Tech Showcase, the ABA Expo was officially opened by Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin, Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausman, and Alpharetta City Councilman Dan Merkel with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The national anthem was sung by Cinnamon Denise from the I Am Free music festival and the colors were presented by the Johns Creek Color Guard.

New this year was a healthcare panel discussion presented by HIPnation entitled “A Doctor’s View to Control Healthcare Costs.” The panel included: Dr. Robert Herrera, a practicing physician with HIPnation, Bill Neglia, a licensed independent health insurance broker, Kimberly Richards, a physical therapist with A Step Ahead Physical Therapy, and William York, a pharmacist with Concord Pharmacy. The panelists discussed the reasons why the current state of healthcare insurance isn’t working and offered solutions, including: re-establishing the doctor-patient relationship by “lifting the curtain” that now exists as a result of insurance company requirements, considering cash payments for direct primary care that could be far less than insurance costs, and researching alternatives for healthcare. In addition, Dr. Herrera noted that preventive medical care is now losing ground as patients are forced to skip it due to high deductible insurance plans – “episodic care is not the best way to manage your health,” he commented.

Image via Alpharetta Business Association