GOOD SOIL
FORUM 2026
Prepared for VISA
2026 Theme

Creating
Proximity

An invitation to put Visa in the room with the entrepreneurs building the next decade of the American small business economy. For Adrienne Trimble, SVP and Global Chief Inclusion Officer.

October 8 to 10, 2026Three days
Irving Convention CenterDallas, Texas
Presented byWells FargoA Good Soil Movement event, by T.D. Jakes Enterprises
What Good Soil is

A movement, a marketplace, and a main stage.

The Movement

Good Soil is a year round platform built by T.D. Jakes Enterprises to move entrepreneurs from idea to enterprise. The Forum is its flagship moment, presented by Wells Fargo.

The Forum

Three days in Dallas where founders come to get capital ready, sharpen the business, and meet the partners who can accelerate them. Curriculum, pitch, and real deal flow, not a conference of panels.

The Audience

Operators, not spectators. People who sign payroll, chase capital, and make buying decisions for their companies. The exact business owners a brand wants to be early with.

The room you would be standing in

This is not an audience you advertise to. It is one you build with.

Every number below is a Visa customer or a future one. Founders deciding where capital, payments, and trust come from for the life of their business.

1,500+
Entrepreneurs in the room across three days
30K
App users inside the Good Soil platform year round
42/50
States represented. A national footprint, not a regional one
+49
Net Promoter Score. They come back and they bring people
73%
Are actively seeking capital to grow right now
93%
Make the payroll and purchasing decisions for their company
70%
Women, primarily ages 35 to 60. The core small business builder
1,829
Applications to the $500K Fast Pitch competition
The strategic fit

Why this is a Visa room, not just a good one.

Good Soil sits exactly where Visa is trying to grow: small business owners deciding who they bank with, pay with, and trust for the long run. Proximity here is not sponsorship. It is customer acquisition with a relationship attached.

01

Capital and payments, at the decision moment

73 percent are seeking capital and 93 percent control spend. They are choosing financial partners in real time. Visa shows up as the brand that backed them before they were big.

02

The inclusion mandate, made tangible

This is supplier diversity and economic access in living color, the work you have led for twenty years. Good Soil turns the mandate into a room full of names, deals, and outcomes you can point to.

03

A national, multicultural founder base

42 states, 70 percent women, a community that returns. This is the multicultural small business segment Visa wants proximity to, gathered in one place for three days.

Three ways to partner

Pick where you want to stand. We build around it.

Three clean options so you can find the level that fits this fiscal year. Start where you are comfortable, and we add on from there as the relationship grows.

Tier 1

Category Anchor

$300,000
Indicative. Final scope built with you
  • Exclusive financial services category ownership across the Forum
  • Presenting position on a named stage or the Fast Pitch competition
  • A speaking platform for Visa leadership on the main stage
  • Top billing across event, app, and year round Good Soil channels
  • Hosted founder activation and curated executive introductions
Tier 2

Track Activation

$225,000
Indicative. Final scope built with you
  • Ownership of a programming track aligned to capital and growth
  • Branded activation space on the Forum floor
  • Visa voice inside a session or workshop in your track
  • Logo and content placement across event and app
  • Founder data capture from your owned activation
Tier 3

App Entry

$150,000
Indicative. Final scope built with you
  • Presence inside the Good Soil app reaching 30K users year round
  • Sponsored content and offers to the founder community
  • On site brand presence during the Forum
  • A clean, lower commitment way to test the room this year
  • First right to scale up next cycle
Build on

These are starting points, not ceilings. Land at the level that works for this fiscal year and we layer in additional moments, the Fast Pitch, a founder dinner, or a speaking slot, as the partnership earns its way up. The goal is a relationship that grows, not a one time logo.

The stage is yours

You did not just fund Elevate Her. You spoke.

The strongest partnerships here come with a voice, not just a logo. We would build a main stage moment for you, the same way Elevate Her did, so Visa shows up as a point of view on access and growth, not a banner on the wall.

If Visa wants to bring a second senior voice to the table, there is room to make that happen too.

People do not remember the sponsor. They remember who got on stage and said something true to them.

The case for a speaking partner, not a passive one
The next step

The door is open.

Wherever Visa would like to begin, we would be glad to shape a partnership around your goals and your timeline. If any of this resonates, I would welcome a short conversation whenever it suits you. There is no rush. We would simply love to have Visa as part of this.

Lincoln Stephens
Good Soil Forum 2026 | Creating Proximity October 8 to 10 | Irving Convention Center | Dallas