Nearly all the cool cred that Brooklyn gets for its food, its fleas, its distilleries, breweries, start-ups, and style, can be traced to the self-starters and small business owners who've turned their passions into their livelihoods. Smallknot, founded by Brooklyintes Ben Rossen and Jay Lee, is one of these creative companies, which helps other local entrepreneurs raise money.

They've just revamped their site and funding platform to make it easier channel your support back into the community, and to celebrate they are throwing a story slam July 10 at DeKalb Market with Brooklyn business owners and visionaries, hosted by comedian Max Silvestri. (If you've never been to this cool open-air shopping and food mecca, it's a great chance to visit before it relocates in October!)

Among the guests are butcher Tom Mylan of The Meat Hook, the soon-to-be proprietor of Royal Palms Shuffleboard Jonathan Schnapp, Rose Red and Lavendar owner Kimberly Sevilla, Realty Collective founder Victoria Hagman, L Magazine and Brooklyn Magazine president and owner Daniel Stedman, theSweeeten.com founder Jean Laurer, serial entrepreneur and product development whiz Jason Fried (Myopenbar, Thunderclap.it), Robicelli's cupcake queen Allison Robicelli and many more. Together they'll be sharing five-minute tales of "lessons learned the hard way"--terrible first jobs that taught them all they know, misguided choices, and other funny, inspiring tales about their work.

Everyone is welcome, and other indie business owners are encouraged to sign up for a storytelling slot on the spot (if you want to practice before you share your tale, each story slot has a five-minute max). Just RSVP here--when you do you'll also be entitled to a 10% discount at select shops at DeKalb Market and two dollars off beer from 6-7pm.