The RISE Grapevine Virtual Meetup was hosted on Thursday, October 16, 2023, 12pm-1pm on Zoom.

To recap, during this virtual meetup, we discussed recent events and upcoming opportunities for entrepreneurs who are starting or growing businesses in Southern Virginia. The meetup was hosted by Hope Harris-Gayles of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center and the Longwood SBDC, with support from the SOVA Innovation Hub. 

Our featured resource speaker was Lynne Mann, Director of Procurement Technical Assistance at the Greater Crater APEX Accelerator, formerly known as the Crater Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). The Crater APEX Accelerator serves a large region of Virginia, including Southern Virginia.

Featured Resource: Lynne Mann of the Greater Crater APEX Accelerator (PTAC)

Upcoming Events

RISE Grapevine Monthly Virtual Meetup

Thursday, November 16, 2023  |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Zoom

The RISE Grapevine Monthly Virtual Meetup is a virtual gathering of diverse, creative, and inclusive entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders from across Southern Virginia. During each monthly meeting, we share updates from local and regional entrepreneurs support organizations. 

RISE Business Bootcamp – Application Deadline

This program is ideal for people who are new business owners (started in last 1-3 years), and wanting to get a clear path to accessing capital for growth and scaling. The program is also open to people who are just getting started or have not opened their business yet who are wanting to create a solid business plan before diving in with forming the business. 

Entrepreneurial Energy: Revisiting the Inaugural CO.STARTERS Cohort in Blackstone, Virginia

Historic Southern Virginia Town Reaping Benefits of Entrepreneurship Training Program

 In April 2021, an entrepreneurial movement started in Blackstone, Virginia.

That spring, nine individuals took part in Southern Virginia’s inaugural CO.STARTERS program, a national entrepreneur training curriculum brought to Southern Virginia by the SOVA Innovation Hub and the Longwood Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and funded by a grant from GO Virginia Region 3. Downtown Blackstone Inc. (DBI) also played a prominent role in setting up the inaugural cohort in Blackstone — a town of approximately 3,300 people located in Nottoway County, Va. — and brought in additional funding through a Community Business Launch (CBL) grant.  

Together, those nine participants took part in the 10-week CO.STARTERS course designed to provide current and future business owners with the tools, knowledge and resources to take their ventures from idea to reality.

More than a year later, Blackstone is reaping the benefits with multiple new businesses setting up shop in and around the historic town. 

“We were really the first in the area to engage with it and use that curriculum,” said Justin Sarafin, executive director of DBI. “I had the luxury of sitting through it and getting a firsthand look at exactly what was being taught. It was great. It really energized those folks in the course.”

The curriculum included instruction on topics from creating a business plan to revenue forecasting, accounting and marketing. Each participant applied the lessons to their own ideas and, by the end of the course, constructed an all-encompassing plan to launch their businesses. 

The culmination of the Blackstone CO.STARTERS program featured a pitch competition where the participants — armed with their newfound business sense and entrepreneurial toolkit — shared their plans with a panel of judges. Winners received prize money to establish their businesses, which was provided through the CBL grant that DBI procured.

“Our winners have gone on to do some great things,” Sarafin said.

“You have five established brick-and-mortar businesses. You can point to places that were once unoccupied that are now occupied. It looks good for the town, and these businesses are still operating. That was the start, and now we’re starting to see the longer-term benefits.”

Justin Sarafin

Executive Director, Downtown Blackstone Inc.

Those winners were first-place recipient Jeannie Nelson, who recently moved her Liberty Hollow Sweets chocolaterie to another Blackstone Main Street location, and second-place honoree Carl Bassfield Jr., who went from freelance photographer to owner of his own media company, In-Depth Productions.

Even those who didn’t come away with the grand prize have used the guidance and insight provided by CO.STARTERS to found or grow their own businesses in Blackstone or to fine tune their ideas. Among the newly launched entrepreneurs are artist Ally Barfield, who creates handmade resin products at RV Mom In Pink, and baker Jan Daniel, owner of Taa Daa The Bakery. 

“I didn’t realize that I had good ideas or that my ideas were valid until I started taking the classes,” Barfield said. “I didn’t know anything about starting a business. The program gave me the tools I needed to make an actual business work. The instructors helped me figure out the financial side of it like pricing products, balancing a checkbook and figuring out taxes.”

All four businesses launched by the initial cohort are still in operation. According to Brandon Hennessey, the director of innovation, research and entrepreneurship at the Longwood SBDC, that’s no small feat.

Entrepreneurial collaboration is a tenant woven into the CO.STARTERS curriculum by design. This is further strengthened by the ongoing work of RISE Collaborative, the Longwood SBDC and — specifically for the South Boston cohort — community economic organizations like DBI and the South Boston Chamber of Commerce. That spirit of cooperation is especially important in the small Southern Virginia communities that are the targets of RISE and the Longwood SBDC’s revitalization efforts, says Lauren Mathena, director of economic development and community engagement at the SOVA Innovation Hub.

“Each of these communities — from Blackstone to Brunswick, Halifax, Farmville, Mecklenburg and beyond — is unique in their economic needs, goals and backgrounds,” Mathena said. “However, they all share a cohesiveness and pride in the success of their communities.

“The CO.STARTERS program provides the tools and knowledge to help individual entrepreneurs take their passions and share them with the world. Something we’ve seen in every cohort is that the individuals truly cheer each other on, and business building becomes a genuine group effort.”

As further evidence of that communal effort, three Blackstone businesses launched from the inaugural CO.STARTERS — and another, Beyond the Plant, which launched in the follow-up fall 2021 cohort — operate within a quarter-mile of each other on Blackstone’s Main Street. Says Sarafin, the economic revitalization of the town’s Main Street has long been a goal of Blackstone and its inhabitants, and CO.STARTERS is helping make that vision a reality.

“Trying to fill vacancies in the district is huge,” Sarafin said. “It is a major goal of the town’s, and we’re part of the process for helping to make that happen. The Blackstone Business Launch, the grant that funded our CO.STARTERS cohort, DBI and all the town’s efforts to increase tourism — it’s all to increase activity and visitation to our community.”

To view the impact CO.STARTERS can have on a community, one needn’t look any further than Main Street in Blackstone. 

“Now you fast forward, and what came out of the program? You have five established brick-and-mortar businesses. You can point to places that were once unoccupied that are now occupied. It looks good for the town, and these businesses are still operating. That was the start, and now we’re starting to see the longer-term benefits.”

Businesses in Brunswick County are gaining momentum.

Over the past several years, partnerships with RISE Collaborative, the SOVA Innovation Hub and the Longwood Small Business Development Center (SBDC) have spurred entrepreneurship and development in a county that had previously been known mainly for timber harvesting.

Brunswick’s Director of Economic Development and GO Virginia Region 3 Council Member Alfreda Reynolds has worked hard to build these partnerships alongside her colleagues at the Brunswick County Industrial Development Authority (IDA), Executive Director Mike Dotti and Administrative Services Coordinator LaVern Dillard.

“We have good relationships. Everyone is rowing in the same direction. We’ve worked hard to increase and improve communication.”

Mike Dotti

Executive Director, Brunswick County Industrial Development Authority (IDA)

In fact, Brunswick’s value extends into many areas, including unmanned systems, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. However, in order to bring these industries to Brunswick, Reynolds, Dotti and Dillard have had to push for programming to support both new startups and existing business owners who are reeling from the after-effects of the global pandemic. That programming includes sharing grant opportunities, offering certifications and training and creating safe spaces for entrepreneurs to network.

Both Reynolds and Dotti emphasized the importance they place on “legitimizing the hustle” and helping people create real businesses that will support them – not just hobbies.

In pursuit of this goal, Brunswick County and the IDA developed a Merchant’s Assistance Program funded by an $88,000 Resurgence Grant from Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). This program assists underserved businesses, advising on website design, SWaM certification and more. It has also garnered support services from Richmond’s Metropolitan Business League (MBL), which now travels to Brunswick regularly, offering networking opportunities, weekly office hours and monthly classes covering everything from marketing and branding to designing a business plan. Alongside MBL, RISE Collaborative has played a leading role in helping small-business owners create an energy for innovation, build networks, and connect with resources at regional events, such as the monthly Rise & Shine morning meetups.

“Rise & Shine made the small businesses here come out and network with others to find out what some of their needs and concerns are and what we can help them with,” said Dillard. “We also reached out to the high school and invited students and listened to what entrepreneurship means to them and what they want to do.”

Engagement of Brunswick’s youth has been integral in growing enthusiasm. Reynolds shared that she hopes to host a CO.STARTERS Generator group in the future, bringing entrepreneurial training to middle school, high school and college students. These exciting events have led to impressive publicity, both for Brunswick’s entrepreneurs and the community itself. The first ever Brunswick Business Summit was recorded by Mike King Biz, radio host of On the Mic with Mike RVA, a show that features local businesses and game-changers in Central Virginia. The summit also drew the attention of Natalie Hodge, owner of Rudy’s Girl Media and producer of the Hometown Hustle YouTube series, who recently kicked off filming for her second season in Brunswick.

However, alongside the publicity runs substantial growth and development. Over the last year, the U.S. Small Business Administration has loaned $2.5 million for business owners investing in Brunswick projects. This was the second largest amount in the region, following only Prince Edward County.  In another example, the IDA just applied for a grant of over $2 million to restore Lawrenceville’s Sledge and Barkley building, a key asset for revitalizing the town’s historic district. Plans for the renovation include creating a “one-stop shop” on the first floor for business support services, which will feature an incubator space for small businesses and meeting space for partner events.

Brunswick County Rise & Shine Event

Entrepreneur Spotlight: Ally Barfield

From Artist to Entrepreneur

“It only takes one percent of action to start turning a dream into a reality,” Ally Barfield, the owner of RV Mom in Pink, explains as she reflects on her own growth over the last year.

The artist-turned-entrepreneur sells handmade resin products ranging from candle holders to runes, as well as custom dominoes and chess sets.

With a strong work ethic, taught by her mother, Barfield displayed the entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. She and her brother created their own business opportunities by knocking on neighbors’ doors and offering to mow their lawns or weed their gardens for extra money. Today, with the support and strategy provided through RISE Collaborative’s CO.STARTERS program, Barfield is a full-fledged businesswoman selling her handcrafted goods through a virtual storefront and at local venues.

“I started my own business because it’s an opportunity for me to be transparent with my customers and it allows me to be my authentic self,” she says. “I try to be a safe space for diversity by creating custom products for people with unique interests or different religious backgrounds.”

So what’s next for the pink-haired businesswoman?

Barfield is ready to diversify her products and sell in more stores and markets. She recently purchased furniture so she can blend her love of resin art with home decor. She wants to create entire scenes made of resin on tabletops and is still growing her skillset as an artist, including her recent mastery of a new smoke effect for her products. She is even considering scaling up her product line to include full-size countertops made of resin, which can be produced at a fraction of the cost of granite or quartz.

“I didn’t realize that I had good ideas or that my ideas were valid until I started taking the classes. I didn’t know anything about starting a business. The program gave me the tools I needed to make an actual business work. The instructors helped me figure out the financial side of it like pricing products, balancing a checkbook, and figuring out taxes.” 

Ally Barfield

Owner, RV Mom in Pink

Giving back to the community is also a priority in the upcoming year. Barfield offers training courses on how to safely handle resin and avoid toxic reactions.

Armed with supportive family and friends and foundational knowledge of business management, Barfield is ready to take RV Mom in Pink to the next level.

“There are a lot of critics in the world,” Barfield says. “Do what you love, and there will be enough people to see your talent and worth.”

Entrepreneur Spotlight: Jan Daniel

Turning a Lifelong Passion into a Full-Fledged Business

If experience is the best teacher, Jan Daniel is well-schooled.

The self-made entrepreneur and owner of Taa Daa the Bakery in Blackstone, Va., spent decades treating her passion for cake design as a side project alongside a successful professional career in various sectors, from the Navy to graphic design and floristry. When the opportunity to open her own business presented itself late in her career, Daniel proved that great things can happen when passion meets experience.

“I was in the Navy for 10 years, and doing cakes was kind of a creative release,” said Daniel, who, among many other duties, was a supply manager of more than $20 million in goods during her service. “I had the government/corporate side of things, and I enjoyed it and excelled at it, but I also needed the creative release.”

That creative release was one that Daniel began before she got to high school, designing her first cakes at age 12.

“I’m self-taught, and I learned through trial and error,” she said. “I didn’t go to school for it, YouTube was not a thing, and Google wasn’t in existence. Everything I learned, I read. I started doing cakes just for fun, just wondering if something would work and then trying it. That’s how I got into it. It’s something that I always did, and it followed me.”

That outlet became a lasting one for Daniel throughout a professional journey that has been as successful as it is diverse. Even as her career path wound from food and beverage, to floral design, to communications and marketing, she continued to design cakes on the side. And when Virginia’s “Cottage Law” passed in 1999 – allowing for the sale of prepared foods made in-home – she turned her baking hobby into a baking business.

“There’s a risk if you don’t pursue your passion. If you don’t try it, you’re going to beat yourself up for the rest of your life going, ‘I wonder what would have been.’ Now I don’t have to wonder. That’s how I ended up where I am.”

Jan Daniel

Owner, Taa Daa the Bakery

“That’s when Taa Daa really launched,” Daniel said. “I baked for years, though it was still on the side, but it got to the point where I was in the kitchen anywhere from 35 to 40 hours a week in addition to working full time.”

However, after splitting 75-hour weeks between her day job and her kitchen, a friend suggested she commit full-time to her baking business and bring it to Blackstone. At the time, the Southside Virginia town of 3,300 didn’t have a bakery, and Daniel’s friend worked to convince her that her talents would be a good fit.

“I said no for two years, because I was living in North Chesterfield and I didn’t feel that Nottoway could support what I was doing,” Daniel said. “Then we finally came out to take a look [at where my building is now]. I looked in the window, and I said I could open a grab-and-go bakery here and still do cakes. I thought, I’ll try that – and that’s how I landed here.”

Four years later, Taa Daa the Bakery is booming. With Facebook as her primary marketing hub, Daniel crafts custom cakes, cupcakes, pies and other baked goods for all manner of celebrations and events, and even just the occasional cravings. She still does it all by herself, and she says the autonomy in owning her own business has been an added perk of taking the entrepreneurial leap.

“Plus, my employee meetings are fun,” she quipped.

Daniel’s one-woman show should not be underestimated, though. Her various career pursuits provide her with the experience and wisdom to manage all facets of her business. In addition to baking, she runs Taa Daa’s social media and marketing, keeps her books and makes her own deliveries. However, even with her skills and expertise, Daniel saw the opportunity to grow when she found out about RISE Collaborative’s CO.STARTERS program in 2020.

“It sounded more like it was for folks who hadn’t started the process yet. I was already paying meals tax, but still, I wanted to go network and I wanted validation I was doing the right thing,” she said.

Daniel signed up for the inaugural CO.STARTERS program in Blackstone in 2021, and while she was the only one in the cohort with an established brick-and-mortar location, the 10-week program provided her with ample networking opportunities with her fellow entrepreneurs. It also led to an opportunity for grant funding, which she used to purchase an additional mixer for her bakery.

Now a proud, if not atypical, member of the Blackstone CO.STARTERS cohort, Daniel remains active in her community’s entrepreneur scene. She is a regular participant in the locality’s monthly Rise & Shine meetups and has even brought along freshly baked goodies to the meetings. It’s part of a lifestyle that took several decades and several careers for Daniel to find, but it’s one she has no regrets in pursuing.

“There’s a risk if you don’t pursue your passion,” she said. “If you don’t try it, you’re going to beat yourself up for the rest of your life going, ‘I wonder what would have been.’ Now I don’t have to wonder. That’s how I ended up where I am.”

Interview with Warren Reid, Owner of The Reid Executive Group

Not everyone has the privilege to travel the world so it is even more important for the ones that can to bring some of that knowledge and perspective back to their small towns for the greater benefit. This week, episode 8 of Entrepreneurship on the RISE Podcast is about present, community-centered leadership! 

CO.STARTERS Generator is a modular self-paced program that helps middle school, high school, and college students explore their passions through generating, testing, and launching ideas for businesses and social ventures. With the ability to participate individually or with a classroom or community group, CO.STARTERS Generator is a great way to inspire youth with the vision, enthusiasm, and tenacity needed to move from idea to action. 

In this episode of Entrepreneurship on the RISE Podcast, Jacob and Lauren, joined by their guest Warren Reid are sharing the ways in which Warren’s life growing up in an entrepreneurship family has led him to become a natural leader himself and the importance of being yourself and following your own path to success.

In this episode, we sat down with Warren Reid, the business owner behind The Reid Executive Group.

Key Takeaways

• How traveling the world has influenced his role as a community leader. 
• What it means to be a present leader and how that impacts the relationships you have with the people you serve.  
• Warren’s vision for what the future of Farmville and surrounding counties could look like if they came together to support one another. 
• Preparing our future leaders to be true to themselves, stand up for themselves, and follow their dreams without walking in someone else’s shadow. 
• Advice for entrepreneurs that isn’t taught in school and how the education system can improve to better prepare our future entrepreneurs.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag us!  And don’t forget to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

CONNECT WITH WARREN REID:

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

Twitter

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

Tabitha Brown

Entrepreneur Spotlight: Carl Bassfield Jr.

From Freelance Photography to Full-Fledged Production Company

Carl Bassfield Jr. established In-Depth Productions in 2019 with an iPhone and a wedding gig. 

“This isn’t the first business I’ve attempted to start,” said Bassfield. “It’s the first successful business.”

Before the idea for In-Depth Productions took root, Bassfield cultivated his love of photography by snapping church photos on Sundays with his pastor’s camera. He searched for creative nature shots in his rural Southern Virginia surroundings and documented his growing son on his iPhone. While working as a military contractor at Fort Pickett, filming and editing simulations, Bassfield connected with an industry mentor from California, who took his talent seriously. 

Shortly thereafter, Bassfield heard about CO.STARTERS, a program for aspiring entrepreneurs that was part of the Downtown Blackstone Inc. (DBI) Community Business Launch (CBL) and is managed by the SOVA Innovation Hub, the Longwood SBDC, and GO Virginia Region 3. The program provides support, skill-building, business ideas, grant opportunities and networking events for individuals interested in starting a business. 

“When you start a business, you want to do everything by yourself and everything right now,” said Bassfield. 

However, CO.STARTERS taught Bassfield an important lesson: You have to take the steps one by one. Or, as he said, you have to “reel it in.” 

Instead of launching photography, videography and music production services right away, Bassfield opened In-Depth Productions with a focus on photography, specializing in weddings. Now with a studio in Blackstone, Va., two employees and a number of subcontractors, Bassfield has grown his business organically, adding videography services by request and, more recently, working with clients on original soundtracks, films, and voiceovers. 

A second lesson from Bassfield’s time in CO.STARTERS emphasized the importance of developing a support network. As a member of CO.STARTERS’s inaugural cohort, Bassfield formed lasting relationships with his peers and instructors.

“The people in the class were very diverse. Everybody was doing something completely different, but there were opportunities for everybody to work together and network,” he said. “You end up keeping in contact with each other and becoming accountability partners.”

Since the program concluded, Bassfield has photographed his peers’ business events and provided editing services. His relationships with instructors Brandon Hennessey and Katherine Beale of the Longwood SBDC have also provided ongoing support. When he opened his studio, Beale offered a number of interior design suggestions, and recently, Bassfield reached out to Hennessey for tax advice.  

As Bassfield scales In-Depth Productions, he returns to the lessons he learned from CO.STARTERS on a daily basis. Identifying his ideal customer and figuring out how to market his business strategically has been a game-changer.

“I know that nine times out of ten, my ideal client isn’t going to pick up a newspaper,” he said. “The majority of my clients are online. They’re social media users. I’ve taken my advertisements out of the newspaper, and I get a newspaper to do my advertisements through their Facebook page.”

In the next five to 10 years, Bassfield has big dreams for his business. He hopes to open multiple locations and employ a regular staff, spending his own time photographing destination weddings. He has already booked an October wedding in Trinidad and Tobago. 

As In-Depth Production grows, Bassfield works to support fellow innovators with business ideas. He recommends CO.STARTERS to those who are ready to make their idea a reality. 

“CO.STARTERS is a huge investment in self — one that’s very necessary, especially if you want to become an entrepreneur,” said Bassfield. “Everything is relevant. You’re going to use all of the information that they give you.”

Ecosystem Builder Interview with Entrepreneur Natalie K. Hodge, Founder of Rudy’s Girl Media and HometownHustle.tv

When you think of television and film, your brain automatically connects to the big stories coming out of LA, but it’s the small town stories that are the ones that hold so much value in their telling. This week, episode 1 of Entrepreneurship on the RISE Podcast is about the representation of small town stories!

CO.STARTERS Generator is a modular self-paced program that helps middle school, high school, and college students explore their passions through generating, testing, and launching ideas for businesses and social ventures. With the ability to participate individually or with a classroom or community group, CO.STARTERS Generator is a great way to inspire youth with the vision, enthusiasm, and tenacity needed to move from idea to action. 

In this episode of Entrepreneurship on the RISE Podcast, Jacob and Lauren, joined by their guest Natalie Hodge are sharing the importance of shedding light on the underrepresented stories in our communities and the power behind one person’s dream to create a snowball effect of impact.

About the Guest

In this episode, we sat down with Natalie K. Hodge, founder and CEO of Rudy’s Girl Media, based in Martinsville, Virginia.

Rudy’s Girl Media is a multimedia production company that started quietly in 2016, around the time that Natalie identified her love for screen writing and the need to have a full-time job. Finding a role in workforce development positioned her to hear stories from community members whose stories needed to be told. She has produced two short films, “Sell” and “Stolen Crowns” and she is currently launching season two of her documentary-style reality show, Hometown Hustle.

We first were introduced to Natalie through our mutual connection, Michael Scales of the Longwood Small Business Development Center, who also is a guest on the RISE Collaborative podcast.

In this episode, Natalie share stories of her childhood, a variety of side hustles, and courageously trying new things that has led her to where she is today and her vision for the future. 

Key Takeaways

• Natalie’s life growing up as the daughter of an entrepreneur and how the lessons she learned as a child translated into her career as an adult.
• Uncovering your passions through experimentation and being open to new opportunities. 
• Pivoting and having the tenacity to succeed no matter the obstacle. 
• The importance of representation and telling the stories of underrepresented communities on the big screen. 
• How every experience and pivot in Natalie’s life led to her owning her own media company helping others share their stories.

CONNECT WITH NATALIE HODGE:

Rudy’s Girl Media

Instagram 

Hometown Hustle

Watch Sell & Stolen Crowns

The Biggest BUT in the World Book

From Unemployed to Unstoppable Book

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Follow Hasan Davis on IG

Motivation, bonding, and satisfaction were all words used by students in Mrs. Dana Knott’s classroom this semester. This spring students participated in the CO.STARTERS Generator program offered through RISE Collaborative. 

 

 

 

The program provided an opportunity for Amelia County High School students to grow their entrepreneurial mindsets and propose real startups in Amelia county. With the guidance and leadership of Mrs. Knott, and support from Jacob Dolence, faculty at Longwood University, the students participated in a 10-week journey that led to four teams pitching their inspiring ideas for prize funds.

In teams of 3 to 6 individuals, the students worked their way through the CO.STARTERS Canvas, which is a tool to turn ideas into business models (https://www.costarters.co/canvas). The students learned the entrepreneurship mindset by answering questions about who their potential customers might be, what problems they could solve, and how to generate revenue to sustain operations. They also delved into interpersonal “soft skills” such as leadership, building a team, talking to customers, and managing time. 

Differing from the traditional business or entrepreneurship curriculum, students were asked to go beyond the hypothetical. Outside of the classroom, teams conducted customer interviews with real potential customers. They learned how to ask questions and test their assumptions by collecting evidence. 

Looking towards the future

It was evident that these students care about the future of the place they live. Their ideas solved problems in their community around public parks, healthy and active lifestyles, mental health, and entertainment. They worked together to think creatively and proposed solutions such as a new community park, a training facility for athletes, a drive-in movie theater, and a mindfulness room at the high school. The students all drew prototypes, talked with stakeholders, and developed professional pitches. 

The program culminated in the student teams pitching for prize money to make their ideas a reality. The virtual pitch event was hosted on Zoom using two-way video. Other members of the RISE Collaborative team, Lauren Mathena (Mid-Atlantic Broadband) and Brandon Hennessey (Longwood SBDC) served as judges, asking the students pertinent questions and ultimately deciding on a winner.

The judges awarded $1,000 to the team that pitched a mindfulness room, as well as a $500 seed fund for Mrs. Knott’s classroom. When asked about the experience, students had positive feedback. One student said it was a “Great way of bonding, creating a group community project, and learning entrepreneurship.” 

Another student said, “This program gave us motivation and satisfaction since our ideas can actually be implemented”.

One thing is for certain when students come together to solve problems utilizing entrepreneurial mindsets: no challenge is too large.

Prize funding for the Spring 2022 Generator Student Idea Summit was generously sponsored by Benchmark Community Bank.

Bring Generator to Your School

The Generator program is free and available to all teachers in GO Virginia Region 3. The program facilitators are happy to work with individual teachers to best shape the program to their needs. To learn more check out sovarise.com/generator.