ODU’s Strome Center to host tech entrepreneur weekend
Old Dominion University’s Strome Entrepreneurial Center will hold its 3 Day Startup weekend entrepreneurship program, where participants develop and pitch a product, from Feb. 4 to Feb. 6. ODU previously held the program in 2018, 2019 and 2021. This year’s event is focused on technology solutions. Attendees form groups on Friday afternoon and begin to […]
Startup Virginia to host Idea Factory workshop
Richmond-based nonprofit business incubator Startup Virginia is hosting its fifth Idea Factory — a six-week, largely virtual program to help aspiring entrepreneurs test, improve and validate their business ideas — from Feb. 28 to April 4. The program focuses on technology-driven or manufacturing-based business ideas and starts with an onboarding meeting before moving into five […]
U.Va. alumni make $5M gift to fund professorship
University of Virginia alumni Donna and Richard Tadler made a gift of $5 million that will be used to create a professorship of entrepreneurship at their alma mater, U.Va. President Jim Ryan announced earlier this month. The gift will be matched with $5 million more from the university’s Bicentennial Professorship Fund, for a total investment […]
JMU student and alumni entrepreneurs get boost from program
The James Madison University Bluestone Seed Fund announced Monday that it would provide three startup companies with $5,000 each in its inaugural investment cycle. The Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship manages the donor-backed fund. The three chosen startups are Gewd Botanicals, Handicans and Tow Ninja. Malique Middleton, a 2021 graduate, founded Gewd Botanicals, a shop that […]
Shenandoah Community Capital Fund to get $1M as part of federal program
The Shenandoah Community Capital Fund (SCCF) will receive $1 million in American Rescue Plan funding as part of the Community Navigator Pilot Program, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced Thursday. The program is an initiative meant to reduce barriers that small businesses, especially those owned by veterans, women, people from rural communities and communities of […]
Program aims to boost Latino entrepreneurship
Arlene Guzman had a small restaurant in Puerto Rico, but “I never felt like I had the training” to be an entrepreneur, she says through a bilingual interpreter. “This is why I sought this opportunity.” A mother of two and grandmother of two, the 52-year-old Richmond-area resident is in the inaugural class of Richmond’s Latino […]
JMU entrepreneurship center hires new director
James Madison University announced Thursday that Suzanne Bergmeister has been named the next executive director of its Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship. She comes from the University of Louisville’s Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship in Kentucky, where she has been the full-time entrepreneur in residence for the past 15 years and assistant director for four. Bergmeister, who […]
Freedom Bank, NVTC to seed $50K revolving loan fund for minority entrepreneurs
The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) and Fairfax-based Freedom Bank of Virginia announced Tuesday a $50,000 revolving loan fund for Northern Virginia entrepreneurs of color who have been affected by the pandemic. NVTC and Freedom Bank of Virginia will seed the NOVA Technology Loan Fund, a gap financing program to be administered by the Springfield-based […]
CIT names VP, entrepreneurial ecosystems
The Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced Wednesday that it has hired Sean Mallon as vice president for its Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Division. One of the CIT’s four newly created divisions, the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Division serves as the operating arm for the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA). The division is designed to develop and strengthe[...]
ODU Strome College of Business to host corporate governance conference
Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business will host its sixth annual Conference of the International Corporate Governance Society from Nov. 13 to Nov. 15, its Department of Management and Entrepreneurship announced Tuesday. The conference will include a forum for international academics, practitioners and doctoral students to showcase and discuss corporate governance research find[...]
Va. Beach Economic Development, 1701 Coworking select entrepreneurship program participants
Virginia Beach Economic Development and Virginia Beach-based 1701 Coworking announced Friday it has selected two participants for its three-month Entrepreneur-in Residence (EIR) program. Kate Johnson with Heritage Business Services and freelance educator Meghan Raftery were selected for the program, which provides training in hiring, strategic planning and other business practices. “The entr[...]
Northam recommends $4.2M in funding for SWVA projects
Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday recommended that more than $4.2 million in Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grants be distributed among 17 economic development projects in Southwest Virginia. ARC grants can be used toward infrastructure, entrepreneurship development and workforce development. Northam’s recommended allocations must be approved by the federal commission before being awarded[...]