Crowd-funding is an important part of the Valley Ventures Entrepreneur Café. Be a part of the crowd by donating $15 cash to be awarded to the winning entrepreneur. A delicious dinner and the opportunity to select the most deserving need to be funded will be yours. One thousand dollars of seed funding has been donated by BB&T, New River Community and Technical College, New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, First Community Bank and Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Authority.
On Dec. 4, five contestants representing different communities in our region will vie for seed funding and crowd funding at the Erma Byrd Center at the Beaver exit of I-64. The event will begin at 5:30, with seating available on a first come basis. Those competing include Kim Ross of Socially Savvy West Virginians, Lesa Spears of L3-Lifelong Learning, Lisa Stansell of Daytripper travel publication for the Virginias, Tammy Jordan with Fruits of Labor’s Seed of Recovery program and Yolanda Lane of the Doggie Park and Café.
This café has been organized through a collaborative effort of many economic development entities in Southern West Virginia including Generation West Virginia, the advocate for keeping and attracting young innovators to our state. The new Executive Director Natalie Roper will be available prior to the Café at 4:30 to gain insights and share ideas. Two teams of students from Bluefield State College under the direction of Professor Geoff Hunter will be sharing the opportunities they see to create jobs for themselves in our state during a brief contest after the Café competition. Other stakeholders partnering to make the event successful include the previously mentioned funders and Region 1 Workforce Investment Board and the Beckley Raleigh, Fayette, Greater Bluefield, Greater Greenbrier, Princeton-Mercer, Summersville and Pocahontas Chambers of Commerce, as well as Sam’s Club of Beckley.
