It may be difficult to believe that a frum community Expo went from a Lakewood school hall to the largest general B2B event in the United States within a span of two years, but that precisely sums up the story of the Parnassah Network organization’s Parnassah Expo.
Turnout at the inaugural 2012 Expo, the brainchild of the Parnassah Network and its founder Reb Duvi Honig, astounded organizers. The event was held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center last year, with both exhibitors and attendees filling the 60,000 square foot floor to capacity. The upcoming Parnassah Expo will iy”H be well over double in size – encompassing a full 150,000 square feet at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, New Jersey, near the Outerbridge Crossing. It will also be double in duration – held over two days, on March 25th and 26th.
Already last year, Parnassah Network made history by successfully organizing the largest frum community event of its kind. Newcomers to the business world, startups, small businesses and established large corporations alike made invaluable contacts and found an array of useful resources. Businesses launched, revenue doubling, employees hired, customers lists mushroomed, multimillion dollar deals sealed, investment capital secured – you name it – are “everyday” stories experienced by Expo attendees.
As the positive ripple effect continues, the upcoming Expo promises to put yet more ventures – and the individuals and families they support – in positive territory, b’ezras Hashem.
A full 110,000 square feet will be dedicated to the event’s flagship B2B Expo, where businesses and vendors in a cross section of industries will showcase their products and services, and meet-and-greet any attendee of interest, as well as host industry-specific structured networking sessions. Organizers expect the number of exhibitors to be double or more of last year’s 250 booths, which was sold out weeks before the event.
In addition, 25,000 square feet of floor space will be dedicated to a job fair, academic and vocational courses, and career counseling. An adjacent 15,000 square foot Convention Center will host seminars and workshops from key experts in a variety of business related areas, as well as several private networking areas.
The energy is already in the air, with a variety of businesses already signing for up coveted floor space and sponsorship opportunities.
With nearly a year of advance planning, every detail of the massive operation will be coordinated to a tee, leading to easier registration, virtually no wait time to enter the hall, and a clear understanding of how the Expo works. Yet, with all this expansion and innovation, admission costs will remain extremely affordable, and attendance will remain highly diverse. “Parnassah Expo does not cater to any particular segment of klal Yisroel at the exclusion of others,” says Reb Duvi Honig. “We can only help some if we are ready to help all.”
(Shimmy Blum – YWN )
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One Response
I can’t believe so much money is being wasted for no reason. Anymore who saw their site can clearly see 10-15 jobs per month that they post on their site. Why make a big expo without jobs? Isn’t it false advertisement?
On top of it all the unemployed, poor people are expected to pay for a ride plus entrance fee.