Summit for entrepreneurs planned for Danville

Two South Boston-based economic development organizations will host a summit for entrepreneurs and business leaders Oct. 19 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville.

Launched by the SOVA Innovation Hub, a nonprofit working to drive economic transformation with digital skills and entrepreneurship, and RISE Collaborative, a regional initiative driven by a mission to build “a more inclusive and vibrant regional economy,” the inaugural Regional Innovation Summit for Entrepreneurs (RISE) Summit will offer skill-building workshops, speakers and networking.

“The biggest benefit of an event like this is really showing up and meeting your peers and finding out that the challenges of entrepreneurship that can be so lonely are really quite common, and there are so many resources available, not just locally but regionally and across the state,” says Lauren Mathena, director of economic development and community engagement for Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities, who helps with managing both the SOVA Innovation Hub and RISE Collaborative.

The roots of SOVA Innovation Hub date back to 2017 and the launch of Microsoft TechSpark, a program developed to provide greater economic opportunities and job creation in rural and small metropolitan communities. Organizers tapped Southern Virginia as one of seven communities across the country to receive help with needs such as job training, using technology to expand businesses, promoting computer science in schools, and expanding broadband.

Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities, a nonprofit middle-mile broadband provider based in South Boston, and Microsoft TechSpark went on to launch the SOVA Innovation Hub, which opened in downtown South Boston in 2021. The building provides space for coworking, training and includes a Microsoft Experience Center where individuals can try out digital equipment like the HoloLens, a mixed-reality device.

In 2021, leaders at the SOVA Innovation Hub and Longwood University worked together to establish the RISE Collaborative to provide training and networking to grow entrepreneurship and innovation in the counties of Halifax, Charlotte, Mecklenburg, Lunenburg, Brunswick, Buckingham, Prince Edward, Cumberland, Amelia, Nottoway, Patrick, Henry, Pittsylvania and the cities of Martinsville and Danville.

“It’s kind of always been part of the vision to host a large gathering, to bring people together in person,” said Mathena. Since both organizations formed during the pandemic, that goal got put on ice for a bit, but “now is the time,”  Mathena added.

Among the speakers at the RISE Summit, Natalie Hodge Davis, founder and CEO of Rudy’s Girl Media, a multimedia company based in Martinsville, will offer tips for finding small business funding. Jenn Kinne of Farmville’s Letterpress Communications, a provider of boutique marketing strategies specializing in serving rural clients, will talk about topics like how to make the most of budgets for social media advertising. Michael Scales, a business analyst for the Longwood Small Business Development Center, will talk about essential financial skills for entrepreneurs. Robin Allen, president of Birdie’s Pimento Cheese, which is based in South Hill, will speak on product development, scaling and expanding into new markets.

“They have multistate distribution,” Mathena said of Birdie’s, “And so trying to encourage more folks to really think bigger and dream bigger in terms of how they can go, for example, from our farmers market to widespread distribution is part of what RISE Collaborative  is all about.”

The RISE Female Founders Fund for Woman-Owned Businesses, which provides microgrant funding to female entrepreneurs in 15 localities in Southern Virginia, will award a $1,000 grant at the summit. Applications to be considered for funding are due Oct. 11.

Tickets to the summit, which can be found at sovarise.com, are $50 through Sept. 30 and then increase to $65. A limited number of student tickets and scholarships are available.

This story has been updated to correct an error about the SOVA Innovation Hub building.