1. Gregory Hill of Child N' Play, left, decided to start his franchise after the child-care center for the players' children in St. Louis turned out to be a winner. "We did this in St. Louis and I said, 'I can make a business of it,'" he says. Here he's showing his marketing materials to a fellow athlete.

2. J.R. Robinson, retired wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints, already owns a construction company out of Houston.

3. Ken Lucas, left, of the Carolina Panthers catches up with a former teammate.

4. Bob McQuillan of Tan World talks with Eric Henderson of the Cincinnati Bengals and a former Georgia Tech gridiron star.

5. Brad St. Louis of the Cincinnati Bengals and his wife Michelle were looking for a franchise they could operate together.

6. Tiffany Jones and her fiancéDrayton Florence, who currently plays with the Jaguars

7. Alex Lawrence, president and chief development officer of Five Star Painting, sits back and waits for his next "speed date." This was Lawrence's second time attending the conference.

8. Jim Nelson, a former Green Bay Packer and Minnesota Viking, talks with Anthony Bucci of Sarcone's deli.

9. SF Giants' Leger Douzable tests out the services from Massage Envy before talking "shop."