Main Street Rising Tour Logo

Where Small Business Meets AI

presented by

REGISTER FOR AN EVENT

Register NOW for an event near you and join the tour!

Join a Main Street Rising Tour stop near you! We will visit Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, New York, and Washington D.C.. Beyond the events, this national tour offers so much more.

When you attend an event, you will receive:

  • Exclusive training on how to grow your business faster utilizing AI, from improving cash flow to acquiring customers faster
  • A digital badge signifying you are a Main Street Riser for your website
  • Live coaching from AI and small business experts from Google, PayPal and Hello Alice
  • Professional headshot and our exclusive gifting suite (you can market your goods too!)
  • Personalized AI advisory tools built for your business
  • 6-Week AI-Powered Virtual Accelerator
  • Personalized AI advisory tools built for your business
  • Exclusive peer networking in your city
  • Able to nominate your business for the "Main Street Rising Awards”- and invited to pitch live at the event and potentially win thousands of dollars

This is not theory.
 This is the upgrade that moves your business forward now.

*Must be present at event for all of the above


Register now to join us in Houston at The ION. The ION is a renovated former Sears building in Midtown that now serves as a sleek, modern hub for tech, startups, and innovation in Houston.

It anchors the broader Ion District, bringing together entrepreneurs, community programs, and corporate partners under one dynamic, flexible campus.

Come join other creators and small businesses looking to innovate!

Countdown to Houston begins!


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In Houston, you will be joined by the following founders, leaders and thought partners.


  • Come back soon to see who will be in Houston!

5 Cities: One Goal

Main Street is rising, and you could be leading it.
Small business has always been the heart of America, but the tools that drive modern growth haven’t always been built for Main Street.

The Main Street Rising Tour changes that.

We’re bringing the next generation of AI-enabled business tools, insider tips, and insights to the people who actually build the economy: founders, owners, doers, grinders, and dreamers like you.

Because when Main Street rises, we all rise.

Los Angeles • Houston • Miami • New York • Washington, DC

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

FEBRUARY 25, 2026

LA is where creativity collides with hustle. Founders don’t just build companies here, they build movements. From Hollywood storytellers to next-gen tech innovators, the city thrives on reinvention and rewards anyone bold enough to think bigger than the 405. Join our ecosystem partners which include NAACP and others.

Houston

Houston

APRIL 29, 2026

Houston is the city of moonshots: scrappy, resilient, wildly diverse, and obsessed with solving real problems. It’s a city where founders bootstrap, experiment, and scale without the ego, backed by one of the strongest small-business ecosystems in the country.

Miami

Miami

JUNE 2026

Miami is a heat-seeking missile for innovation. It's fast, global, and unapologetically ambitious. With its Latin heartbeat and fintech-meets-culture vibe, it’s become a launchpad where entrepreneurs grow quickly and go international even faster.

NYC

New York City

OCTOBER 2026

New York runs on founder energy, and the city rewards grit, speed, and ideas that dare to take up space. Every block is its own ecosystem, and entrepreneurs here shape culture as much as they shape companies.

DC

Washington, DC

NOVEMBER 2026

DC is where mission-driven founders thrive—policy, innovation, and community converge in a way no other city can match. Entrepreneurs here build with purpose, tapping into a civic-minded ecosystem that turns ideas into impact.

Register and Join the Tour

Each tour stop lays the foundation for how to grow your business faster utilizing AI, from improving cash flow to acquiring customers faster.

Learn how to:

  • Use AI prompts to simplify daily decisions
  • Create marketing that actually converts
  • Make smarter financial moves with confidence
  • Automate time-wasting tasks, so you can grow
  • Build systems that scale your business (not your stress)


No tech jargon.
 No overwhelm.
 Just tools that work.

MODERN TOOLS FOR MAIN STREET

PayPal Pay Later

In support of Main Street modernization, PayPal is offering small businesses with revenue-boosting tools like PayPal Pay Later. Help boost sales and average order values when you offer the flexibility of PayPal Pay Later installment payments everywhere shoppers browse, shop, and check out.

GET THE OFFER

What Businesses Qualify for the

Main Street Rising Awards?

The Main Street Rising Tour is for the builders. Apply for your business if it is:

  • Based in the United States
  • For profit business with $250K+ in revenue
  • Fully operational with 2+ employees
  • Positioned for scalable growth by being tech enabled

Meet the Leaders

Carolyn Rodz

"When you put AI in the hands of Main Street, you don’t just level the playing field; you hand every entrepreneur the megaphone they’ve deserved all along."

Carolyn Rodz:
CEO, Hello Alice

“AI on Main Street gives every small business a team of advocates, advisors and barrier-breakers in their back pocket.”

Elizabeth Gore:
President, Hello Alice

“For decades, Main Street had the ideas but not the tools. Now the tools are here. The small businesses who know their customers best are about to build things we've never seen.”

Kelsey Ruger:
Chief Product and Technology Officer, Hello Alice

Join the Movement

AI isn’t here to replace the heart of Main Street.
 It’s here to protect it. To give owners back their time, grow their margins, protect their peace of mind, and turn uncertainty into clarity.



This is the beginning of a new era of Main Street.
 One where small does not mean limited.
 One where local does not mean left behind.
 One where the everyday entrepreneur finally has the tools of the giant.

And if you’re on this journey, part of this community, then you aren’t just preparing for the future.
You’re building it.

Main Street is rising.
 And we rise together.