With incubators, accelerators, educators and financiers aplenty, Western North Carolina is becoming increasingly attractive — albeit somewhat of a maze — for aspiring business owners. That’s why entrepreneurial networking organization Venture Asheville recently set out to organize many of these support entities with their Startup Business Resources map.
Pioneered by Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce president Kit Cramer and designed by Lisa and Dean Peteet of Atlas Branding, the guide points users to business growth resources, local networking events and potential sources of funding based on a series of simple, yes-or-no questions.
“With so much of the chamber’s membership comprised of small businesses, [Cramer] wanted to create a map that would enable small businesses of all types to quickly identify resources across our community that can support their efforts,” Venture Asheville’s director of entrepreneurship Josh Dorfman says.
Although it consolidates more than 40 organizations, the tidy map may represent the tip of the iceberg for entrepreneurs who venture deeper into the dizzying array of additional local resources. AdvantageWest’s eLaunch search tool, for example, aggregates some 130 resources for startups and existing businesses within its 23-county region, further illustrating the need for these overarching directories.
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