Danville chamber announces winners of first pitch competition

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.”