News and events from Venture Asheville:
NEWS:
USA Today Spotlights AVL’s Food Connection: Feeding the Hungry
An astounding 1/3 of America’s food supply goes to the landfill; meanwhile nearly 30 million Americans are at risk of hunger. Local startup Food Connection takes this problem to heart, working with local restaurants to deliver leftover meals (about 9,000 meals in the past year) to families in need. That caught the attention of USA Today over the holiday, and now Food Connection is getting interest across the nation.
Read the USA Today article to learn more.
“Elevate” Seeks Entrepreneurs to Develop Successful Startups & CEOs – Apply by 12/4!
Venture Asheville’s new entrepreneurship program, Elevate, aims to develop AVL’s next big startup successes. Four ventures have already been accepted: BeesWax, Groupdini, Sweet Blossom Gifts and UGo Tour.
Elevate is designed to help founders of high-growth startups simultaneously navigate the practical day-to-day challenges of building great companies and develop their personal skills as leaders and CEOs. It combines two-world class offerings into one unified entrepreneurship program:
- Mentorship modeled on MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service
- Peer-to-peer advising delivered through Vistage International
Applications are open to fill 6 of the remaining 10 spots for entrepreneurs in Elevate’s first cohort. The deadline to apply is this Friday, 12/4. Participation in the program is free the first year.
Get more details and APPLY by 12/4 at VentureAsheville.com/elevate.
Etsy vs. Amazon Handmade: Local Tech Startup Wins Debate in Forbes, Huff Post
What does the future hold for handmade, artisan online marketplaces like Etsy? Annika Schauer, founder of BeesWax Websites, threw down an insightful analysis that was picked up by Forbes and the Huff Post. The golden rule of marketing: Answer consumers’ questions better than anyone else in your industry, and your business becomes the go-to expert.
Keep reading in Forbes.
$100K Seed Fund for Green Innovators
Developing a green technology? The EPA may want to back your venture. Its seed fund aims to help entrepreneurs develop new technologies to reduce pollution and carbon emissions affecting air and water quality, climate change, building materials and manufacturing. The annual awards process for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funds up to 18 businesses for R&D to show proof of concept and its potential for commercialization – to the tune of $100K each.
Learn more, view past grants awarded, and apply by Jan. 7.
City of Asheville Launches ‘Find Parking’ Site
Following Asheville’s launch of Simplicity, a google-like search engine for city data, the city’s innovative approach to providing tech-enabled services is now making it easier to find parking spaces downtown. Now if only we could get a dedicated unicycle lane for that morning commute.
Find parking in the city’s downtown garages.
EVENTS CALENDAR:
- [PAST] 1 Million Cups presents Juice Analytics
Wednesday, 12/2, 9-10am
RISC Networks
81 Broadway, Suite C
Data-driven business strategy is the new frontier for high-growth companies, but do really you understand your data? Co-founder Michel Guillet of Juice Analytics offers a new kind of tool for visualizing data that makes data easily understood, interactive, and delivers actionable intelligence to drive revenue.
Want to know who’s in the room at 1MC? Turbocharge your networking experience with the coeo app, designed by Asheville entrepreneurs.
Join AVL’s startup community every Wednesday morning for inspiring startup discussions (and free coffee) at 1 Million Cups Asheville.
- Pitching the Angels
Friday, 12/4, noon-1pm
Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
Wells Fargo Room, 1st floor
36 Montford Ave
Join Josh Dorfman, Managing Director of Asheville Angels, Venture Asheville’s angel investor network, for a lunch ‘n’ learn conversation about raising capital from angel investors. Bring your own bag lunch and prepare for a fast-paced informative hour. Held the first Friday of every month. Topics covered include:
- What matters most to angel investors
- What makes a winning pitch deck
- How angels think about pro-forma financials
- How to determine your pre-investment valuation
- Overview of the Asheville Angels funding process
To attend, RSVP by email.
JOB BOARD:
New & Featured Jobs:
Senior .NET Software Engineer
@ Anthroware
Head of Product Marketing
@ Plum Print
Customer Service Associate
@ Adoratherapy
Kickass Project Manager
@ Big Boom Design
Cloud Developer
@ Cloud for Good
View more jobs or submit a new job to the Venture Asheville Job Board.
STARTUP RESOURCES:
Are you struggling with issues in business planning, market research, HR, finances or funding? The Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) in Asheville wants to help – often at no charge. Its staff of business savvy coaches provides management counseling, educational courses and help obtaining financing for local small and mid-sized businesses.
Find out what the SBTDC can do for you.
ABOUT VENTURE ASHEVILLE:
Venture Asheville is the high-growth entrepreneurship initiative of the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Learn more about us.
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