The city’s local push has transformed from mere trend to full-fledged movement, a move that now seems natural, but how did local businesses get whipped into such a unified front?
Tag: AdvantageWest
Showing 1-13 of 13 results
Blue Ridge Food Ventures: Adding dimension to the local food system
From the Get It! Guide: No one could have imagined that Blue Ridge Food Ventures would become one of the best-known facilities of its type in the country or remain the largest in the Southeast to this day. Since its official opening in 2005, Blue Ridge Food Ventures has helped launch more than 250 small businesses.
Accelerating Appalachia helps nature-based entrepreneurs get funding
Last year, Accelerating Appalachia orchestrated the transfer of about $505,000 in investment funds toward sustainable, nature-based ventures in Western North Carolina. This year, the Asheville-based nonprofit — the region’s first social-impact business accelerator — partnered with impact investor Reinventure Capital for 2015 and recently invited businesses to submit funding applications online. Submissions for 2015 are due by […]
AdvantageWest launches ‘ScaleUp WNC,’ a new program supporting small businesses
Today, Nov. 18, is National Entrepreneurs’ Day and Advantage West is celebrating by announcing more details about its new program to help grow WNC businesses.
Conference will explore ‘Clean Energy in the Mountains’
A June 19 conference in downtown Asheville will explore how clean-energy technologies contribute to the local economy.
N.C. Senate bill may dissolve AdvantageWest, Citizen-Times reports
Part of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s plans to turn the Department of Commerce into a public-private partnership that would be run like a business, Senate Bill 127 would mandate the dissolution of regional organizations like AdvantageWest and strip it of state funding. It passed a second reading in the Senate Monday night, May 13, by a 31-17 vote.a
LIVE: Updates from the Venture Local sustainable business conference
Today’s Venture Local sustainable business conference brings together hundreds of local entrepreneurs for a full day of speakers, panels and networking. This post features live updates from attendees via Twitter using the hashtag, #vlocal.
Finding the balance: Venture Local aims to nurture sustainable economies
After years of primarily looking to large corporations and the global marketplace to fuel growth, AdvantageWest, the region’s biggest economic-development organization, is now focusing on growing businesses closer to home.
Economic summit focuses on innovation
Asheville’s creative culture fosters a lot of good business ideas, but big challenges remain to making many of those ideas come to life. That was one of the thoughts from Mark Erwin, president of Erwin Capital and a former U.S. Ambassador, as he spoke to about 375 attendees at AdvantageWest’s Nov. 19 Economic Summit. He joined a panel of three other experts in a discussion that focused on defining and cultivating business innovation. Here’s some of the highlights of what each of the panelists had to say.
LIVE: Updates from the AdvantageWest Economic Summit
AdvantageWest is hosting its annual Economic Summit this evening at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville. This post features live dispatches from the event via Twitter using the hashtag, #avlbiz
The Advantage West Economic Summit: Panelists offer their solutions to a tough economy
Views and solutions from Sen. Tom Apodaca, Sen. Martin Nesbitt, Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians Vice Chief Larry Blythe, and former WCU Chancellor John Bardo.
Put on a happy Facebook
The recent announcement that Internet giant Facebook will be creating a data center in Rutherford County was the big news at AdvantageWest’s Nov. 15 Economic Summit. Just before the panel discussion began in the Diana Wortham Theatre, Thomas Jenkins, board chair for the public/private regional development agency, referenced the good news, joking, “I want you […]
Competitive advantage: Economic summit ponders WNC’s future
On Nov. 15, AdvantageWest hosted its fall economic summit, featuring a panel discussion that included North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell, N.C. Institute of Emerging Issues Director Anita Brown-Graham and banking expert Austin Adams. Here’s what some of the panelists — and observer Asheville City Council member Gordon Smith — said afterward.