TikTok Small Business Showcase welcomes entrepreneurs from the Bronx and nationwide | amNewYork

Entrepreneurs and content creators from New York City and across the United States gathered at TikTok’s Manhattan headquarters to showcase brands and discuss how social media supports independent business growth. City leaders joined the event to emphasize TikTok’s role in helping entrepreneurs advance despite high operating costs and industry challenges. TikTok faced major uncertainty after a January 2025 shutdown tied to national security concerns about its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and a potential permanent ban. After a change in U.S. leadership, an executive order kept TikTok running while a U.S. sale was pursued, resulting in majority U.S. ownership with partial ByteDance ownership. The app was also banned on city workers’ devices under the prior administration, then reversed after a new council member took office. TikTok’s large U.S. user base and TikTok Shop’s in-app purchasing support social commerce, with research indicating many users buy and discover brands while scrolling.

"A diverse group of entrepreneurs and content creators from New York City and 19 states recently gathered at TikTok's Manhattan headquarters, where they showcased their unique brands and discussed the power of social media in the independent business ecosystem. City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Bronx Council Member Kevin Riley joined the May 19 event in support of TikTok's ability to help entrepreneurs take their brands to the next level despite high operating costs and other industry challenges."

"TikTok, the short-form video creation and sharing app, has survived its own drama. In Jan. 2025, it briefly went dark in the United States under a law passed during the Joe Biden administration that raised national security concerns about TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance. If the company remained Chinese-owned, it faced a permanent ban. But when President Trump took office, he immediately signed an executive order to keep TikTok running while a U.S. sale was worked out. Today, the company is now majority-owned by U.S. firms but remains partially owned by ByteDance."

"At the local level, the app was also banned from city workers' devices under the Eric Adams administration, but Zohran Mamdani reversed the ban after taking office. With TikTok apparently here to stay, more entrepreneurs should jump aboard and the city should help facilitate, Riley said. I have seen firsthand how just a viral video can take a business from point A to point Z."

"For potential new customers, TikTok has numbers on its side. The app is overwhelmingly popular, with close to 200 million United States users, at least half the country's population. At the same time, TikTok Shop, where users make purchases from within the app, is helping drive a boom in social commerce. Company research shows that 3 in 4 users are likely to buy something while scrolling on TikTok, and 70% discover new brands there."

Read at www.amny.com