In addition to the exhibit hall, the expo will feature 16 new and established businesses making brief, formal pitches to the investors on hand. We want to make sure investors understand exactly how much is going on here. The expo now includes exhibitors from throughout the Triad, not just Winston-Salem. The companies making presentations and setting up displays in the convention center also come from throughout the Triad. Moskowitz pushed the idea of broadening the reach of the expo this year, and he says he encountered no opposition at all.
Technology is a regional commodity.
Incorporating the entire region gives us much more of a competitive advantage when dealing with northern Virginia, Atlanta and such. The Connectivity Expo's primary organizer is the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce Technology Council, a group that might reasonably prefer to keep the focus on its own city. Not so, said Peggy Low, the chamber's vice president of economic development. I don't remember anyone objecting. When it comes down to it, expanding participation beyond just Winston-Salem is a simple matter of survival, according to Tuttle.