Pfizer Lunch and LearnAugust 25, 2011

Stacey Gutman

Director, OPEN Forum

Focus on Three Questions:

1. How Did We Get Here?

2. What Kind of Impact Is It Having?

3. Where Are We Going?

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How Did We Get Here?

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Erma Kubin-Clanin and Dr. René ClaninChâteau du SureauOakhurst, CaliforniaMembers since 1985

Helping business

do more business

American Express OPEN’s mission

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OPEN Forum’s mission

Connecting SBOs to their most essential

resources: information, education and each other5

OPEN Forum evolution – 2007

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OPEN Forum launched in 2007 as a digital home for live events where small

business owners gained valuable information while networking with each other.

OPEN Forum evolution – 2008

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In quick response to the economic crisis, OPEN Forum established itself as a blog for

small business topics and began partnering with industry leaders to post expert content.

Guy Kawasaki,

AllTop

Social Media

Scott Belsky,

Behance

Managing

John Jantsch,

Duct Tape Marketing

Marketing

Ann Handley,

Marketing Profs

Marketing

Rohit Bhargava,

360 Digital Influence

Marketing

Steve Strauss,

Mr. AllBiz

General

Matthew May,

In Pursuit of Elegance

General

Chris Brogan,

New Marketing Labs

Marketing

Ed Levine,

Serious Eats

Restaurants

Ramon Ray,

Small Biz Technology

Technology

Mike Periu, EcoFin

Media

Finance/Government

Amber MacArthur,

MGImedia

Social Media

Anita Campbell,

Small Biz Trends

General

Jean Chatzky,

Personal Finance Expert

Finance & Lifestyle

Adam Ostrow, Jennifer van

Grove, and the team from

Mashable

Technology/Social Media

Henry Blodget

and the team from The

Business Insider

Finance

Will Chen

and the team from

Wise Bread

Finance

Gary Vaynerchuk,

VaynerMedia

Social Media

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Expanding expert contributors

We have continued to grow our roster of contributors, providing best-in-class content

across seven topic areas to help business owners run and grow their businesses.

The introduction of Connectodex – 2009

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In 2009, OPEN Forum entered a new phase of growth – as a hub for small business

owners to learn from industry experts, gain exposure and connect with each other.

Giving SBOs a voice – White House Q&A

The platform has enabled us to represent the collective voice and concerns of SBOs.

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What Kind of Impact Is It Having?

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Growth of a small business platform

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2007OPEN starts live

events and a site to house video footage

2008Content from 7 big-name Small

Business writers

2009Site Re-design

and major scale of functionality

and content.

2010 OPEN Forum becomes the

most visited SB site on the web

2011Q1 exceeds entire 2009 annual page

views

425,000 page views

5,100,000 page views

10,500,00 page views

Launch Continued Growth!

Impacting brand perception

Jennifer Behar, Owner, Jennifer’s Homemade

Member Since: 1994

Marketplace recognition

Helping business owners

“OPEN Forum has become a daily stop for

me - even more important than the Wall Street

Journal.”STEVEN MOCHEL

FRESH GREEN LIGHT

MEMBER SINCE: 2002

CHRISTOPHER CLABAUGH

CONSULTING CONCEPTS

MEMBER SINCE: 2004

“The editorial content has proven to be of

high value. Keep it up OPEN!”

“After OPEN Forum shared my story…Excel

Rain Man’s customers and inquiries increased a

tremendous amount.” JENNIFER PORTLAND

Excel Rain Man

MEMBER SINCE: 2003

PAUL ROSENFELD

FANMINDER

MEMBER SINCE: 1999

“We love how OPEN Forum has fueled the

growth of our business.”

Where Are We Going?

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OPEN Forum today – desktop

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OPEN Forum today – mobile

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OPEN Forum today – distribution thru twitter

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OPEN Forum today – distribution thru facebook

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OPEN Forum today – distribution thru publishers

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OPEN Forum today – distribution thru live events

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Opening the platform to our customers

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Thank You

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