This winter and spring, the New River Valley will host two new small business development programs in Giles and Montgomery counties, with both the Giles County Tourism Office and the Millstone Kitchen at Price’s Fork school developing business plan ‘pitch’ competitions. The two new programs join the Floyd C4 program, which has been offered annually for 5+ years to Floyd County businesses. The programs provide training and resources to help entrepreneurs develop their business ideas into a viable company and provide launch funding to the businesses with the best plans and sales pitch. Applicants to the program must complete six weeks of coursework on ‘business basics’ such as marketing, financing, legal requirements, etc., before competing for cash prizes that can be used to launch their business. A panel of judges will award various prizes to businesses that score highest on written business plans as well as a ‘shark tank’ style pitch presentation. The participants with the best new business idea could receive over $10,000 to purchase equipment or cover other costs to launch or expand their business in the New River Valley. The rules and details about participation, prize amounts, etc. can be found at the websites for each program, listed below. JumpStart Giles Business Plan Competition is funded through a Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Community Business Launch (CBL) grant. More information at: https://virginiasmtnplayground.com/jumpstart-giles/ ‘From Scratch’ a food based business development program is funded through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Old Prices Fork School project. Hosted by Millstone Kitchen, a shared-use industrial kitchen facility for food businesses located at the school. More information at: https://www.millstonekitchen.org/ Floyd C4 program, funded by Floyd County Economic Development Authority and local donors, held annually in the fall. More information at: https://yesfloydva.org/floyd-c4/ For further information, please contact Patrick O'Brien (pobrien@nrvrc.org), 540-639-9313, ext. 206.
