Accion, NYSE Euronext and Yelp Bring Online Marketing Insight and Financing Program to Bay Area Entrepreneurs on November 5

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Nov. 5, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: NYX), Accion and Yelp will be teaming up with the Northern California Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) to bring the NYSE Big Start Up Small Business Connections workshop tour to San Francisco.

“Working capital and securing financing are difficult for any business, but particularly for startups navigating the world of lending for the first time”

The event was created to give local entrepreneurs a leg up through their startup phase with insider tips and tricks on the effective use of social media marketing and accessing capital. San Francisco is the tenth stop of the Small Business Connections tour and the program’s West Coast debut, with Los Angeles and San Diego to follow. The free evening program will be held at the New York Stock Exchange San Francisco in the Mills Building at 220 Montgomery St., from 6 to 8 p.m.

The workshop will include presentations from industry experts, followed by an opportunity for the audience to get answers to important questions that apply to their business as well as a networking session with experts and participants. Yelp’s Manager of Local Business Outreach, Darnell Holloway, will highlight important topics marketing topics like how entrepreneurs can work with major social media platforms to engage customers online and navigate online reviews. Yelp, which was founded in San Francisco in 2004, continues to grow as a trusted resource for consumers, with a monthly average of 78 million unique visitors in the second quarter of this year and more than 30 million reviews on the site worldwide.

Continuing the conversation on to financing, an SBDC financial expert will provide an insider’s prospective on what lenders are looking for, what an entrepreneur needs to prepare before they approach a lender and how the SBDC can help.

“Working capital and securing financing are difficult for any business, but particularly for startups navigating the world of lending for the first time,” said Al Dixon, director of the San Francisco Small Business Development Center. “Our financial business advisors have been through that themselves and work one-on-one to help both new and existing small businesses navigate the process and avoid unnecessary pitfalls.”

Nationwide micro-lender Accion, the SBDC and Yelp staff will be present throughout the workshop to answer questions and offer personalized consultations to participants.

“Small Business Connections” is the first small business event tour from the NYSE Big StartUp, and was launched by Yelp, Accion and NYSE in June 2012. The Big StartUp is a nationwide job creation and business growth initiative that connects small businesses with corporations, such as Yelp and also integrates the Accion-NYSE Job Growth Fund. This program was started with a $1.5 million commitment by NYSE Euronext, to provide small businesses and startups with the capital and support they need to grow.

The Small Business Connections tour has been a high-impact resource for local small business owners. So far tour attendees have reported learning an average of three new marketing techniques and meeting an average of three other entrepreneurs who could help them expand through new channels.

About the NorCal SBDC Program: Small Business Development Centers of the Northern California (NorCal SBDC) help individuals manage the growth of their businesses. Our sole focus is on helping entrepreneurs improve their bottom line. Our expertise can help take the mystery out of business management and allow companies to focus on the issues most critical to their success. Our Business Advisors have years of experience and know what it takes to operate profitably and grow a business in Northern California. SBDC services address: business plans, financial projections and budgeting, operating challenges, purchase or sale of a business, funding your venture, loan packaging, and more. All private coaching/advising services are offered at no cost to the client.

About Yelp: Yelp (NYSE: YELP) connects people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken root in major metros across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Singapore and Poland. Yelp had a monthly average of 78 million unique visitors in Q2 2012 (source: Google Analytics). By the end of Q2 2012, Yelpers had written more than 30 million rich, local reviews, making Yelp the leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists. Yelp's mobile application was used on 7.2 million unique mobile devices on a monthly average basis during Q2 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.yelp.com or send an email to press@yelp.com.

About Accion: As the largest and only nationwide micro- and small business lending network in the United States, Accion businesses. Accion serving the East Coast and Online lends in Miami and offers business loans between $500 and $50,000 along with training, networking and other support services to hardworking entrepreneurs. Historically, Accion serving the East Coast and Online has lent over $132 million.

Since 1991, the five members of Accion’s U.S. Network have collectively made over 44,000 loans, totaling over $320 million. Additionally, over 400,000 business owners across the nation have turned to Accion for financial and business advice via workshops, online tools, and one-on-one consultations. Globally, Accion (www.accion.org) is a pioneer in microfinance, reaching millions of individuals through its international network of partners. For more information on Accion in Miami, please visit www.accionusa.org or call 646-535-2254.

About NYSE Euronext: NYSE Euronext (NYX) is a leading global operator of financial markets and provider of innovative trading technologies. The company's exchanges in Europe and the United States trade equities, futures, options, fixed-income and exchange-traded products. With approximately 8,000 listed issues (excluding European Structured Products), NYSE Euronext's equities markets - the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, NYSE MKT, NYSE Alternext and NYSE Arca - represent one-third of the world’s equities trading, the most liquidity of any global exchange group. NYSE Euronext also operates NYSE Liffe, one of the leading European derivatives businesses and the world's second-largest derivatives business by value of trading. The company offers comprehensive commercial technology, connectivity and market data products and services through NYSE Technologies. NYSE Euronext is in the S&P 500 index. For more information, please visit: http://www.nyx.com.