New Waynesboro program boosts budding entrepreneurs

Avid rock climbers Sophie and Ross Elliott were researching how to start Shenandoah Bouldering, an indoor climbing gym, when they heard about the Grow Waynesboro Rockfish Gateway program for budding entrepreneurs.

They applied and were among 21 candidates selected for a free, seven-week business bootcamp that started Feb. 3 and a chance to participate in an April 28 pitch competition for funding.

Residing in Charlottesville, Sophie Elliott is an operations coordinator for the Rivanna Conservation Alliance, while Ross Elliott is a physical therapist.

“This is a new thing for us, starting up a business,” says Ross Elliott. “The opportunity to get connected to the City of Waynesboro and to get some help with funding our business [was] pretty enticing.”

Grow Waynesboro, launched in 2016, supports new and expanding businesses through periodic grant programs targeting specific areas of the city. This year’s focus is the Rockfish Gateway corridor, which runs from the Blue Ridge Tunnel to the Virginia Metalcrafters Marketplace.

“The goal is to have at least five new employees in three businesses there,” says Greg Hitchin, Waynesboro’s director of economic development and tourism.

The Shenandoah Community Capital Fund led the bootcamp at Virginia Metalcrafters Marketplace. It covered fundamentals such as marketing, financial management and business planning and included coaching and connections to local resources.

As of mid-April, the Elliotts were planning to lease space in the Metalcrafters building and open this fall. Shenandoah Bouldering was the biggest winner at the program’s pitch night, earning a $25,000 grant.
The other winners were bowling alley Valley Alley with $22,000; Passerine Market, a food market and wine bar that received $12,000; Waynesboro Inspiration Station, a studio and children’s boutique, with $3,000; and Trellis Art Collective, which won $3,000.

Funding was provided by a $50,000 Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development grant and donations from local sponsors.

Not all participants pursued Pitch Night. Brooke Haynie, a Waynesboro High School teacher, joined the Go Waynesboro program to explore launching an outdoor education venture inspired by programs he and his wife previously operated in Charleston, South Carolina.

He says the bootcamp provided insight into the realities of starting a business locally while fostering connections among entrepreneurs. He connected program classmates interested in opening a skating rink and bowling alley with WHS physical education teachers.

“I’m a big believer that the more connected a community is, the stronger it becomes,” Haynie says.