Our Full Review of The Small Business Accelerator Event in San Francisco
Last week, Spirit Sox had an incredible opportunity to attend the NBA Take Your Shot Small Business Accelerator Event in San Francisco. Not only did it include exciting contests like the TriNet Small Business Jumpstart Contest and the Hoops & Heritage Showcase, but it was also focused on several other topics regarding small businesses. This exciting event was hosted just ahead of the NBA All-Star Weekend so you can imagine the busyness in the air. The event itself was a gathering not just about business, but also about human connection, empowerment, and how important a strong commitment to supporting diverse and local businesses is for our city. Our CEO and Founder, Lisa Riggs, recaps her personal experience at this event to share all the fun details so you too can feel as if you attended!
“Walking into the event was a surreal experience—especially since it happened alongside newly elected San Francisco Mayor (who, of course, had an impressive security detail). Once inside, the energy was electric.”
To begin this day-long event, the morning kicked off with an intriguing panel featuring large sports network reporters, the CEO of a minority business council, the director of a workforce development initiative, and even the NBA’s head of procurement. The entire conversation was very engaging and left many, including Lisa, motivated to continue pushing forward in their niche. Hearing from industry leaders about the importance of inclusive business partnerships, especially small businesses, set the tone for an inspiring and productive day to come.
From there, everyone was sent straight to the networking and supplier meetings. The first one up was a leading healthcare provider. Lisa was able to talk about Spirit Sox’s ability to create custom socks that align with that brand’s initiatives and share alternative marketing ideas with all the other business owners in the room. Next was another conversation about local supply chains and the logistics behind large and small business partnerships with the City of San Francisco, followed by an incredible opportunity to sit at the official NBA table. Lisa had the privilege of meeting and chatting with NBA’s head of procurement about custom socks and how great they would be as fan giveaways. Her ideas seemed to hit right on the money due to everyone’s feedback, whether they were big wigs at a huge international corporation or another local California business like us. The encouragement was the cherry on top of the entire experience. Lisa couldn’t be more thankful to be in the same room with Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants superiors, especially since those two sports teams are ones that hold a special place in our hearts!
Now, the day didn’t stop there. After the event, we visited a corporate headquarters for lunch with Spirit Sox CEO’s daughter, celebrating her first big corporate job – a true full-circle moment that mirrored a similar experience with Lisa years ago. So, several specific moments carved forever-lasting memories. The afternoon then wrapped up with a meeting at one of Spirit Sox’s amazing partners to discuss an upcoming spring trunk show where our custom socks will be featured. A day chalked full of topics that made this NBA Take Your Shot one for the books.
Despite navigating an atmospheric river (yes, the drive was white-out rainy conditions at times), the day was nothing short of inspiring.
“Huge gratitude to the NBA for championing small businesses and demonstrating that when big organizations commit to working with diverse companies, real impact happens.”
With all these new connections, exciting opportunities, and a renewed sense of purpose, Spirit Sox is ready to “take our shot”—one custom sock at a time! Thank you to everyone at the NBA and all other organizations who organized this wonderful event! The whole Spirit Sox team is excited to see where these newfound relationships and knowledge takes us in 2025.
