Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Asheville’s efforts to support local entrepreneurs, and draw new risk-takers to town, is getting a huge boost with two big events coming later this year.
Asheville will host the N.C. Governor’s Entrepreneurship Summit this fall. This is the first time Asheville is hosting the summit, a gathering of top business leaders. Here’s the website for last year’s summit. It’s a big deal to get these leaders in town.
It’s also a big deal for Asheville to host a Startup Weekend, also in late summer/early fall. These weekends are awesome for people looking to launch a business. At Startup Weekend, you get expert help and actually get off the ground in 54 hours. From the website:
Startup Weekend is a global network of passionate leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate, and empower individuals, teams and communities. Come share ideas, form teams, and launch startups.
Look for more details to come.
Add in the fact that Asheville is creating a new tech accelerator, and we’re starting to see key ingredients come together to make Asheville a true hotbed for entrepreneurs. What is a tech accelerator, you ask? Dale Neal of the Asheville Citizen-Times recently reported:
The accelerator program is the first project of a new private foundation at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship on campus and across the community.
Here’s how it works:
The accelerator will accept up to 10 companies for a 12-week intensive course. Each company principal would get $6,000 up to $18,000 per company. For the first four weeks, they focus on building their management team, the next four weeks on their product, then the final four weeks on sales.
Along the way, they are matched with a series of mentors to help refine their business plan, their product and their pitch. The program builds toward a Demo Day, when the companies unveil their product and business plans to interested investors.
The accelerator model has proved successful at Y Combinator in Silicon Valley and the TechStars programs in Boston, New York, Boulder, Colo., and Seattle.
