North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Paul Samulski helped organize the Chamber's small business expo on April 29, 2025.Photo courtesy of Paul Samulski
WILLIAMSBURG — The North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is encouraging attendees to bring questions with them to the chamber’s Small Business Expo on Tuesday, April 29. Chamber President Paul Samulski hopes they’ll leave with answers.
From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Arlo Williamsburg Hotel, the North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a free expo where top business experts will be sharing their knowledge.
Samulski said the chamber “tried to come up with themes that are a little different than the standard things you hear at many business expos.”
Panels
The first panel entitled “Whiskey Wednesday” or “Whiskey Helps” — in reference to the eclectic group of entrepreneurs that gather at the chamber’s office on Wednesdays — will be hosted by entrepreneurs Norm Brodsky, Noah Chaimberg and others. Samulski added that, in keeping with the name of the panel, attendees who would like to share a drink of whiskey with the panelists will be offered the opportunity.
The purpose of the panel is to give business owners a chance to hear from and ask seasoned entrepreneurs — such as Brodsky who has launched eight successful businesses — about the successes and failures.
Samulski noted that in addition to mentoring business owners and entrepreneurs, the Whiskey Wednesday group has donated to nonprofits in need of financial assistance.
The following panel will focus on the food and beverage industry. Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife Jeffrey Garcia, Vantage Point Hospitality CEO Raffaello Van Couten and insurance and technology expert Dan Bratshpis will host a workshop on building community to overcome struggles, informing participants about the resources available to them and continuing collaboration between BABAR, the North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife. Local bar owner Megan Rickerson, who also sits on the BABAR Leadership Team, will moderate the panel.
Second to last, VITAL Climbing Gym Co-founder Nam Phan, Bury the Hatchet Founder Matt Sylvester, Goodland Pickleball founder Hemant Chavan and Van Couten, who is also a managing partner at Birdie’s Clubhouse @ X-Golf Brooklyn, will lead a discussion on new trends in recreational sports around North Brooklyn. Eric Samulski of NBC Sports will moderate the panel.
Finally, attendees will get social. Evergreen Executive Director Leah Archibald, Stoneshine Ventures Founder and President Allyson Stone and Business Coach and Strategist Diana Zelvin will host a panel on the importance and ABCs of networking for small business owners. North Brooklyn Chamber Chair Elaine Brodsky will moderate the panel.
Samulski said that many small business owners are so focused on opening their doors at the beginning of the day, closing them at the end, making sure they keep their books in order, their staff happy and properly compensated, and their inventory current, that they don’t have the opportunity to spend time networking. Even if they did, they might not know how to properly use the opportunity. He hopes this panel will set them on the right path.
Each panel will run 45 minutes with time for questions.
Other goodies
Directly after the final panel discussion, attendees will be given a chance to put what they learned to the test at a networking happy hour in the hotel’s lobby bar. Samulski said the first drink is compliments of the North Brooklyn Chamber.
The event will also feature resource tables with information from: NYC Small Business Services, NYC Dept. of Customer & Worker Protection, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Brooklyn Allied Bars & Restaurants, EVERGREEN, Shop Small Greenpoint, the Northside Business District, NYPD 90th & 94th Precincts, along with Apple, Chase, Dime and Kearny Banks, and the North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
Samulski said the Chamber was inspired to produce their hyper-local Small Business Expo after attending the Mayor’s Small Business Month Expo last May. He added that members of the chamber were “pleasantly surprised” with the turn out but “shocked” by the questions attendees asked.
“We were concerned after listening to some of the questions that people were asking, realizing that they needed basic business information,” Samulski said.
“With that in mind, we thought, ‘Hey, let’s try a hyper-local version of it and try to deliver,’ as we are using as our tagline: come with questions, leave with answers,” he concluded.
The event is located at 96 Wythe Ave. Attendees are urged to bring identification, as the event is for those 21 and older.
