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  • DOMINATE Entrepreneurial Summit Aims To Help Small Businesses Thrive In A Tough Economy
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DOMINATE Entrepreneurial Summit Aims To Help Small Businesses Thrive In A Tough Economy

Lucinda Honeycutt September 30, 2025

A new business event is coming to the Tampa Bay area with a simple goal: help entrepreneurs learn what works in today’s business environment. 

The DOMINATE Entrepreneurial Summit will bring together nine business leaders to share practical advice on marketing, artificial intelligence, and mindset. 

Small businesses are still a major force in the economy. The U.S. has about 36.2 million small businesses, accounting for nearly 46% of private-sector jobs, according to the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. New companies are still forming at a rapid pace too. 

Yet business owners say they face real challenges in today’s tougher economic conditions. Spending is down, credit availability has tightened, and costs are up and still rising.

The event’s creator, Jeremy Knauff, frames the summit as a way to give entrepreneurs a competitive edge in today’s fragile economic conditions. 

He says, “History has shown us that while economic slowdowns may close doors for scared, hesitant, and rigid entrepreneurs, they also unlock massive opportunities for the bold. Every single previous recession gave rise to industry leaders who reshaped entire markets, and today’s fragile and declining economy offers the same opportunities for those willing to think bigger, move faster, and dominate their space.” Knauff explains, “But in order to capitalize on these opportunities, entrepreneurs need to make the right connections, and know what strategies are working today, as well as which tools, platforms, and resources will give them a competitive advantage.”

This is exactly what the DOMINATE Entrepreneurial Summit was created for. The panels will be hosted by notable experts who have earned their status in the trenches of entrepreneurship.

This summit is scheduled for October 14, 2025, and begins with networking, followed by three 40-minute panels and Q&A sessions where attendees can get personalized advice, before closing the event with another round of networking. Both in-person and virtual options are available. 

Throughout the summit, these nine experts will answer a series of questions on three key topics critical to entrepreneurial success—marketing, AI, and mindset, presented by a moderator, followed by questions from the audience.

Bridgette Bello says, “I’ve made plenty of mistakes and faced more than my share of challenges in business, and I always love to share my stories on that because it can help newer entrepreneurs avoid making the same mistakes.”

Bello grew TBBW into a media powerhouse within the first year and has continued growing the brand ever since then—all at a time when countless other media outlets had gone out of business, and prior to this, led another prominent media outlet during the 2008 recession, returning it to pre-crisis revenues faster than any other market in the country.

Francis Ablola says, “I’m excited to share how to use AI in business because I know how much of a game changer it can be. This budding technology can give entrepreneurs a massive competitive advantage that helps them to outperform much larger competitors.” 

Ablola is one of the top authorities on AI today, frequently shares his expertise on stage and in the media, and runs a community on the topic with over 47,000 active members.

David Bell, CEO of USA Mobile Drug Testing, says, “When I first became an entrepreneur, I had to figure it all out on my own, and I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Now that I’ve built two successful companies, I always look for ways to share my experience to help other entrepreneurs avoid mistakes and build more successful companies. That’s why I was so excited to be asked to speak at this summit.”

Bell’s most recent accomplishment includes building a company that provides workplace drug testing to clients nationwide, 24/7, through a network of over 2,000 certified collectors. The company serves small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, major sports teams, and government organizations. His leadership and mindset have guided USA Mobile Drug Testing through several crises and helped turn it into an industry powerhouse.

Tatiana Zagorovski, CEO of Trio Realty Partners, says, “Shortly after transitioning from my previous software development career into real estate investing, I was conned for over $100,000 and that almost destroyed my business. Since then, I’ve been committed to not only building a successful business, but also teaching other entrepreneurs how to identify and avoid costly mistakes like the one that nearly derailed my own business.”

Zagorovski built her real estate investing firm through education, partnerships, and resilience. As her track record grew, she quickly became a nationally recognized authority on real estate investing and is regularly featured in the media sharing deep insights on the industry.

Bob McIntosh, CEO of 3 Degrees Consulting, says, “Technology is moving faster than ever, and the entrepreneurs who adapt and stay ahead of the curve will thrive, while those who don’t will fade away into obscurity. This has been the case with every new technology that’s been used in business, and AI will have an even greater impact than any other previous technology.”

McIntosh merges his background in cybersecurity and marketing with AI to create unstoppable leverage for entrepreneurs, and he has worked with some of the largest and most demanding clients in the world to help them develop a powerful competitive advantage by integrating AI into their strategy, marketing, finance, and operations.

Trish Leto, CEO of Press Live with Purpose, says, “Entrepreneurs today have more power in their phone than most Fortune 500 companies had access to just a few years ago, but most don’t use even a fraction of that. My mission is to change that by showing more people how to leverage content creation and social media to reach their ideal audience and convert that into revenue. That’s why I’m so excited to share my knowledge with the audience at this summit.”

Leto is known for her expertise in teaching entrepreneurs how to build and monetize a loyal audience on social media to grow their business. She is regularly invited to share her expertise on podcasts, in articles, and even on stage at prominent events like the Military Influencer Conference, to help entrepreneurs use social media to scale their businesses.

Remso Martinez, CEO of Marketer on the Run, says, “One of the most common marketing problems I see entrepreneurs face is overwhelm. There is so much to do, so many channels we need to use, and that drives many to either stick to one thing or simply stick their head in the sand. That’s why I’m so passionate about showing business owners how to do it all without it becoming overwhelming.”

Martinez is a fractional CMO who serves as a silent strategist and advisor behind the scenes for some of the biggest brands you know, like, and trust. His deep background across multiple industries helps entrepreneurs to build and manage their marketing “dream team” so they can achieve their business goals both more quickly and more effectively.

Adam Peters, CEO of Allset Technologies, says, “AI is leverage, and entrepreneurs who fail to utilize it will be gobbled up by the ones who do. It’s not a decision—it’s a necessity today.”

Peters is an Army veteran turned AI evangelist, and a respected consultant to entrepreneurs in numerous industries all across the country. He has built a powerful AI-driven platform that puts lead generation on autopilot and helps entrepreneurs to scale their businesses far more quickly and effectively than the traditional methods that most people use.

The summit is a great opportunity to gain valuable insight from these entrepreneurs on the strategies that are working today, how to achieve a competitive advantage, and what entrepreneurs need to do to adapt. Attendees will have a chance to ask the speakers questions and receive personalized advice tailored to their unique situation.

The summit schedule is as follows:

Networking

11:30-11:50

Panel: Public relations, branding, & marketing

12:00-12:50

  • Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media
  • Trish Leto, CEO of Press Live with Purpose
  • Remso Martinez, CEO of Marketer on the Run

Panel: Leveraging artificial intelligence

1:00-1:50

  • Francis Ablola, CEO of RealAdvisors
  • Bob McIntosh, CEO of 3 Degrees Consulting
  • Adam Peters, CEO of Allset Technologies

Panel: Mindset, resilience, & overcoming adversity

2:00-2:50

  • Bridgette Bello, CEO of Tampa Bay Business & Wealth
  • David Bell, CEO of USA Mobile Drug Testing
  • Tatiana Zagorovski, CEO of Trio Realty Partners

Networking

3:00-3:30 

How to attend the event

Both in-person and virtual attendance options are available. 

VIP in-person attendance offers the most value, and includes networking, in-studio access, a digital copy of all three panels and Q&A sessions, a list of links to all resources, tools, and platforms mentioned throughout the summit, and a collection of valuable guides, workbooks, and other resources in digital format. The cost is $57 until 10/1/25, and then goes up to $97 after that. Space for in-person attendance is limited. 

VIP virtual attendance offers a bargain price and many of the same bonuses. The obvious exceptions are networking and in-studio access. The cost is $17 until 10/1/25, and then goes up to $27 after that.

And free virtual attendance simply offers the ability to watch the livestream. 

You can register to attend at: https://spartanmedia.com/dominate/

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Tampa Bay Business & Wealth (TBBW) is the leading source of Tampa Bay business news, telling the stories behind the region’s biggest companies and the leaders shaping Tampa Bay’s economy.

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Published daily online and monthly in print, TBBW delivers paywall free coverage with local context and editorial depth.

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