Albany is one of only 75 cities around the country to host a national program that brings veteran business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs together. In this week's Capital Region Business Beat, Jon Dougherty tells us more about the weekly meeting 1 Million Cups Albany.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Saratoga's Chris Thompson is in the start-up phase of his tech company, WorkOrder.es.

"We make a mobile work order ticketing service for landlords and property managers," he said.

To take his company to the next level, he turned to a group of his peers for advice.

Thompson was the latest presenter at 1 Million Cups Albany.

"Think of it like a Shark Tank, but a Shark Tank without asking for money," said organizer Dave Borland.

Every Wednesday morning local business leaders to those hoping to one day start their own companies gather over a cup of coffee inside the Albany Barn. Albany is one of 75 cities across the country with the program that allows start-ups to present, take questionsand network with other business leaders.

"We're all volunteers," Borland said. "What we do is we help people who want to do that start-up and actually have a business in the area and stay in the area."

1 Million Cups Albany isn't just about drumming up new business, it helps start-up companies and by providing resources needed to succeed.

"There's people in the audience who are very skilled, knowledgeable. Attorneys, CPAs, people who have been in business a long time. They get real-time feedback in an environment that's friendly," said Borland.

"You have a huge sounding board of people who have gone through these challenges and being able to answer those questions and give them a direction to go towards," said attendee Michael Testa.

Phillips Lytle LLP partner Jeff Schwartz attends regularly. His firm represents a number of local start-up companies. He said the exposure they get is priceless.

"There's a value to being out there. There's nothing like face time," Schwartz said. "Everything is talking, texting, email, even from someone five feet away. There's no substitute for face time and this is an opportunity to get it."

Schwartz said 1 Million Cups offers a business-friendly location to network.

"Here's kind of a friendly venue for entrepreneurs to speak and get some feedback and it's a way for some people with expertise, and a pretty diverse skill-set to kind of share that with the entrepreneurs," he said.

1 Million Cups Albany is looking for entrepreneurs to present their companies at upcoming meetings. They meet every Wednesday from 8-9 a.m. at the Albany Barn at 56 2nd Street in Albany.

If you know a business that should be featured on the Capital Region Business Beat, submit an email to Jon.Dougherty@twcnews.com. For more local business news follow Jon on Twitter: @JonDTWCNews.