Rural communities need extra love when it comes to additional business resources, says Kathy Deacon, vice president of business and resource development for the Vinton-based Advancement Foundation.
The foundation has been running “The Gauntlet,” a business program and pitch competition, since 2015, expanding it into Southwest Virginia this year.
Since the program is run online, it has had participants from all over the country, as well as overseas, Deacon says. While the class portion is online, it also hosts in-person stakeholder meetings and networking events.
The competition’s expanded region adds all counties from Buchanan down to Lee, across to Henry and up to Rockbridge.
“We want to uncover entrepreneurs in areas that are typically underserved. Our focus really is on rural community developments that aren’t typically in line to get lots of additional resources either at the state or the federal circles,” Deacon says.
The program provides entrepreneurs who are looking to start new businesses or expand existing ones with 10 weeks of business planning and development classes, including marketing, e-commerce and financial planning — beginning in February, with an awards ceremony in May. At the end, they turn in a business plan that is judged by a panel, and the highest ranked entrepreneurs compete in a pitch competition.
Each year, the Gauntlet program provides more than $300,000 in cash and in-kind services, including consultations with attorneys, accountants and marketing professionals, as well as website development. A general prize pool is applied to the participants based on business plan and pitch competition judging.
This year, over 100 entrepreneurs participated.
The program helped 2023 participant Dirk Moore, owner of Blue Hills Natural Food Market in Abingdon, find support in expanding into a new location. “I think whenever you have business owners who are working together, especially when they’re in proximity with one another, you learn how important it is for everybody to succeed and for your business ecosystem to do well, and that is really reinforced by the Gauntlet program,” Moore says.
Some program participants go on to make moves nationally — like Richard Mansell, a 2019 participant from Covington whose company, IVO Ltd., is valued at $10 million — but most have small Main Street businesses that are succeeding locally, Deacon says: “Once you’ve got a thriving downtown, the growth continues, and it’s creating jobs and opportunities for families to thrive.”
On his 33rd birthday, Brelan Hillman learned that BareSOUL Yoga and Wellness was selected as one of six finalists to compete for $10,000 in a pitch contest for Black-owned businesses in Richmond.
With just a weekend to prepare, Hillman, a business partner and board member for BareSOUL, crafted his three-minute appeal to connect Richmond’s history in the slave trade to how Black business owners now are transforming the city, and the roles that BareSOUL and its brick-and-mortar space, The Well Collective, play in that.
“We thought it was important to kind of ground everyone in that reality,” says Hillman.
BareSOUL walked away with the top prize in Jack Daniel’s “New Beginnings: Make it Count” contest, held Sept. 26 at The Len event space in Shockoe Bottom. Local judges included Melody Short, co-founder of The Jackson Ward Collective; Shane Roberts-Thomas, owner and chef of Southern Kitchen in Jackson Ward; and Metropolitan Business League CEO Floyd E. Miller II.
Jack Daniel’s launched the “New Beginnings” contest in 2020 to support Black businesses and this year expanded it to Richmond, which LendingTree ranked No. 3 on its list of the 50 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Black-owned businesses. Jack Daniel Distillery notes that its namesake founder learned to make whiskey from Nathan “Nearest” Green, who wasborn into slavery and emancipated before becoming the company’s master distiller.
Another of this year’s finalists, Taryn Wynn, opened her ice cream-making workshop business, Sweet Wynns, in a shared kitchen in Midlothian in May. She had hoped the contest would provide money for equipment and furnishings as she prepares to move to a new location in Shockoe Slip in November. Even though she didn’t win, she says, “we’re just still gonna chug along and figure it all out.”
BareSOUL owner Ashley Williams started her business in 2015 and opened The Well Collective in Shockoe Bottom in November 2021 to expand her wellness offerings and provide space for other businesses. With three part-time employees, Williams plans to spend BareSOUL’s pitch contest winnings on training a general manager, website redesign, business strategy and building out space.
“Wellness is foundational to how we do everything — our mental, physical, social and even our financial state is vital to our being,” says Williams. “Wellness isn’t a luxury but a birthright for everyone. I look forward to growing a culturally relevant and inclusive wellness space in Richmond.”
Jonathan Montiel and his business partners, Phillip and Lexi Hughes, bought a building in downtown Hopewell and asked community members what they needed. Their answer: more restaurants.
That’s how City Point Ice Cream & Burgers was born, and the trio think it’s also why they won the $15,000 first prize in the Homegrown for Hopewell business pitch competition — because they showed up to the competition with a solution to a community problem. They plan to use the prize money to purchase some much-needed kitchen equipment.
City Point and three other businesses won the pitch competition, the Downtown Hopewell Partnership announced in late June. Studio One Salon won a $12,000 prize and leasing incentives; Brain to Box won $10,000 and a property stipulation; and Box 5 Cabaret Theatre, a community dinner theater troupe, won $3,000. Winners also received a yearlong free membership to the Hopewell-Prince George Chamber of Commerce, and ongoing business counseling and technical support from the Hopewell Downtown Partnership.
Funding for the program came from a community business launch grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the city of Hopewell.
The competition attracted 109 applicants — half of which completed a virtual business boot camp held at Virginia State University. Twelve ultimately were chosen to compete in the pitch contest, which was held in late May.
Floyd Simmons launched Brain to Box after running into problems accessing an affordable commercial kitchen while trying to scale up his granola-making business. Now, instead of renting a commercial kitchen, he is opening one up and offering access to it to other growing small businesses. He hopes Brain to Box will serve as an incubator for similar businesses.
“I want people to get access to the information I got, so they can begin that journey instead of the four years it took me,” he said. The 4,000-square-foot kitchen building will have room for about four businesses to work simultaneously, and he hopes to rent it to approximately 30 businesses each month.
Heather Lyne, executive director of the Downtown Hopewell Partnership, wants to make the Homegrown program sustainable. “Our board hopes to find innovative ways to build on the Community Business Launch Grant with our partners and keep startup resources flowing into the business community in Hopewell.”
Assistant Editor Katherine Schulte contributed to this story.
Jonathan Montiel and his business partners Phillip and Lexi Hughes bought a building in downtown Hopewell and then asked community members what they needed. Their answer: more restaurants.
That’s how City Point Ice Cream & Burgers was born, and it’s why the trio think they won the $15,000 first prize in the Homegrown for Hopewell business pitch competition this spring.
Rather than asking the judges to buy into a personal dream, Montiel and Phillip Hughes said their business showed up to the May 26 pitch competition with a solution to a community problem. They plan to use the prize money to purchase some much-needed kitchen equipment.
City Point Ice Cream & Burgers and two other businesses were the winners of the HomeGrown for Hopewell competition, the Downtown Hopewell Partnership announced in late June. The other winners were: Studio One Salon, which won a $12,000 prize and leasing incentives; Brain to Box, which won $10,000 and a property stipulation; and Box 5 Cabaret Theatre, a community dinner theater troupe, won $3,000. Winners also received a yearlong free membership to the Hopewell-Prince George Chamber of Commerce, and ongoing business counseling and technical support from the Hopewell Downtown Partnership.
Funding for the program came from a community business launch grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the city of Hopewell. The city was one of seven recipients to receive grant funding from DHCD’s community business launch grant, which aims to spur economic development and job creation efforts around the state.
The competition attracted 109 applicants — half of which completed a virtual business boot camp held at Virginia State University. Of those, 30 businesses chose to continue to the pitch competition. They were advised by existing area small business owners and professional consultants. Then, 12 of those competed for funding in the pitch contest in front of a panel of judges.
Floyd Simmons launched Brain to Box after running into problems accessing an affordable commercial kitchen while trying to scale up his granola-making business. Now, instead of renting a commercial kitchen, he is opening one up and offering access to it to other growing small businesses, while also sharing what he’s learned from his own experiences. He hopes Brain to Box will serve as an incubator for similar businesses. With his $10,000 prize, Simmons plans to make a down payment on the kitchen property, freeing up money for other expenses such as kitchen equipment.
“I want people to get access to the information I got, so they can begin that journey instead of the four years it took me,” he said. The 4,000-square-foot kitchen building will have room for about four businesses to work simultaneously, and he hopes to rent it to approximately 30 businesses each month.
Heather Lyne, executive director of the Downtown Hopewell Partnership, wants to find a way to make the Homegrown for Hopewell program sustainable. There’s a need for it, she said, because downtown Hopewell has open storefronts and the program can help entrepreneurs fill those spaces with their fledgling businesses.
“Homegrown for Hopewell is proving that there is an immense amount of creative energy in the area, as well as a need for additional programming and access for capital,” she said. “Our board hopes to find innovative ways to build on the Community Business Launch Grant with our partners and keep startup resources flowing into the business community in Hopewell.”
Assistant Editor Katherine Schulte contributed to this story.
While pitching to the sharks, entrepreneur Alec Brewer told them, “I do have white powder in my pocket,” before quickly clarifying that it wasn’t an illicit substance: “It’s PHB! It’s PHB!”
The co-founder and CEO of Charlottesville-based biodegradable plastics manufacturer Ourobio, Brewer explained that his company makes PHB, or polyhydroxybutyrate, from waste in order to reduce microplastics pollution. Ourobio converts whey into PHB through a biochemical process.
Ourobio was voted “shark favorite” out of nine entrepreneurs in Richmond business accelerator Lighthouse Labs’ 2022 spring cohort that pitched to four business leaders as part of the accelerator’s biannual Demo Day competition May 24. Ourobio received $1,500 from sponsor ThinkNimble and will have naming rights to a tagged great white shark that Lighthouse Labs is sponsoring.
Founded in 2012, Lighthouse Labs is a mentor-driven nonprofit accelerator that runs two, 12-week cohort sessions each year, investing $20,000 equity-free in six to 10 early-stage startups. Entrepreneurs accepted into the program receive mentorship and education on scaling up their businesses. Lighthouse Labs has accelerated more than 80 companies during the last 10 years, providing more than $1.6 million in equity-free funding. The Demo Day pitch contest is the grand finale event for each cohort.
Llamawood CEO Hunter Garen won the audience vote in the Demo Day competition; for his prize, he was given the privilege of throwing the first pitch at a Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball game.
While the same may not be true for his throwing arm,Garen started his business pitch with a flourish, tossing postcards with coupon codes into the first few rows. Llamawood connects firewood suppliers and purchasers.
“I designed for a woman … because, as they say, women’s standards are much higher than men’s, so if you design for a woman, you’ll make every man happy,” Garen joked when telling the sharks about his customer demographics.
Sharks judging the competition were: Ajay Kori of UrbanStems and Novilla Pharmaceuticals; Claire Herring of Blue Ocean Brain; Richard Wintsch of Startup Virginia; and Joy Polefrone with VCU Health.
Also pitching at the competition were founders of Richmond-based beauty company LipLoveLine; Philadelphia-based software manufacturer Viora Health; Fort Belvoir-based health tech company Kinometrix Inc.; Philadelphia-based health care tech firm Hoth Intelligence; Richmond-based Nessle, which operates an online platform for expectantparents; Austin, Texas-based tech firm On-Time Trials; and Houston-based health care tech company CaseCTRL.
While pitching to the sharks, entrepreneur Alec Brewer told them, “I do have white powder in my pocket,” before quickly clarifying that it wasn’t an illicit substance: “It’s PHB! It’s PHB!”
Brewer passed the vial over for the sharks’ inspection during his Lighthouse Labs Demo Day pitch Thursday for his company, Ourobio, of which he is co-founder and CEO. Formerly Transfoam LLC, the Charlottesville-based company makes biodegradable plastics — polyhydroxybutyrate, or PHB — from waste, in an effort to reduce microplastic pollution by creating a biodegradable option. Ourobio uses whey, a byproduct of cheese and yogurt manufacturing, and converts it into PHB through a biochemical process.
“It really didn’t capture all that we’re capable of,” Brewer said of the name change. “We’re trying to be a synthetic biology and circular economy company. We chose ‘Ourobio’ inspired by the ouroboros, which is an ancient symbol represented by a dragon or a snake eating its own tail, and thus circularity.”
Ourobio was voted “shark favorite” out of the nine entrepreneurs in Richmond business accelerator Lighthouse Labs’ 2022 spring cohort who pitched to four business leaders as part of the Demo Day competition Tuesday. As shark favorite, Ourobio received $1,500 in cash from sponsor ThinkNimble, and will get to name a tagged great white shark that Lighthouse Labs is sponsoring.
Founded in 2012, Lighthouse Labs is a mentor-driven nonprofit accelerator that runs two 12-week cohort sessions each year, investing $20,000 equity-free in six to 10 early-stage startups. Entrepreneurs accepted into the program receive mentorship and education on scaling up their businesses. Lighthouse Labs has accelerated more than 80 companies during the last 10 years, providing more than $1.6 million in equity-free funding. The Demo Day pitch contest is the grand finale event for each cohort.
Llamawood CEO Hunter Garen won the audience vote in the Demo Day competition; for his prize, he’ll get to throw the first pitch at the Richmond Flying Squirrels game Thursday.
Llamawood founder Hunter Garen pitches his business in the Lighthouse Labs competition.
While it may not apply to his throwing arm, Garen started his business pitch Tuesday with a flourish, tossing postcards with coupon codes into the first few rows. Llamawood connects firewood suppliers and purchasers.
“I designed for a woman in mind because, as they say, women’s standards are much higher than men’s, so if you design for a woman, you’ll make every man happy,” Garen joked when telling the sharks about his customer demographics.
The sharks judging the Lighthouse Labs Demo Day competition were:
Ajay Kori, co-founder of UrbanStems and Novilla Pharmaceuticals
Claire Herring, chief learning officer and co-founder of Blue Ocean Brain
Richard Wintsch, executive director of Startup Virginia
Joy Polefrone, health innovation consultant for VCU Health
Also pitching at the competition were founders of startups LipLoveLine, Viora Health, Kinometrix Inc., Hoth Intelligence, Nessle, On-Time Trials and CaseCTRL.
Richmond-based LipLoveLine is a niche health and beauty company focused on lip care and makeup: “No full face of makeup necessary; we’re focused on the lips,” founder and CEO Briana Williams said.
Philadelphia-based Viora Health has created a software solution to help reduce disease progression in underserved patients. Currently, the company markets its software to health systems, but founder Deboleena Dutta hopes to expand to employers, Medicare Advantage plans and the pharmaceutical industry. The software’s goal is to improve health outcomes and reduce unexpected costs from incidences like trips to the emergency room.
Fort Belvoir-based Kinometrix Inc. uses a machine learning algorithm to assess, in real time, the risk of a hospital patient falling, with the goal of expanding to other hospital-related health conditions. Founder and CEO Devina Desai said Kinometrix beats competitors with its accuracy. “Our module for in-patient falls is greater than 95% accurate,” she said. “The competitors still used by hospitals are somewhere between 54 to 57% accurate.”
Philadelphia-based Hoth Intelligence has created a patented AI and machine learning system to assist providers with bedside procedures, such as inserting catheters. It uses a CT or MRI scan of a patient to map the necessary internal structures through a virtual reality headset. “Running all that out of just the headset, nobody’s doing that just right now,” co-founder and CEO Tyler Alexander said.
Richmond-based Nessle offers a platform to connect new and expecting parents with service providers such as doulas or sleep specialists.
Austin, Texas-based On-Time Trials uses AI algorithms to track clinical trials and alert clinical research associates when trials are in danger of running behind.
Houston-based CaseCTRL co-founder and CEO Pamela Singh worked with her husband, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ashvin Dewan, to create an intelligent surgical scheduling and coordination system after one of Dewan’s patients’ surgeries was canceled due to an administrative oversight. “High-tech surgeries are being supported by low-tech manual paper processes, and it’s harming patient care,” Singh said.
After her husband began using the cloud-based platform in his own practice, he saw a 20% decrease in patient cancellations, she said. When hospital administrators approached him to ask what he was doing right, the couple realized they had a marketable product.
On Monday, the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce announced it had awarded four businesses a total of $50,000 in order to open or expand in Danville and Pittsylvania County as part of the chamber’s new entrepreneurship competition.
Called Rev Up Danville Pittsylvania, the entrepreneurship pitch competition was based on the River District Association’s Dream Launch Program and was held in partnership with the Dan River Region Entrepreneur Ecosystem (DRREE). Funding for the competition was provided by the Dan River Region Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and Danville’s Office of Economic Development.
The businesses and awards were as follows:
BlueRidge Performance Factory LLC was awarded $15,000
Funky Fleece Farm was awarded $10,000
Hawthorne & Jade Design Studio was awarded $15,000
Manifest Your Vision Studio was awarded $10,000.
“One of our three focus areas at the chamber is small business development and entrepreneurship, and we have been a proud partner in the DREEE since its inception in 2014,” said Varun Sadana, chair of the Rev Up Danville Pittsylvania Committee, chamber board member and vice president of venture development organization The Launch Place. “Modeling Rev Up Danville Pittsylvania after Dream Launch allowed us to work with our partners to capitalize on shared resources and provide capacity-building opportunities for our region’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.”
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