NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, & NOTICES

Missy Paxton Missy Paxton

RVTV - All Things Vinton - The Gauntlet

The Advancement Foundation is now accepting entries for The Gauntlet, an annual business competition giving up to $300,000 in cash and in-kind awards to local entrepreneurs. In this episode of All Things Vinton, Chasity and Angie take their business battle to the streets.

YOU’VE got to see this one. TOO FUNNY! — Thanks to our friends at RVTV, the Town of Vinton, & Vinton Chamber. — CLICK HERE TO WATCH

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Missy Paxton Missy Paxton

The GAUNTLET Business Program and Competition™ 2023 expands to Eastern Virginia in Partnership with Hopewell Downtown Partnership

Hopewell, Va. (January 2023)—Eastern Virginia entrepreneurs can compete for $300,000 in cash and prizes as part of a business accelerator program sponsored by The Advancement Foundation and Hopewell Downtown Partnership this February.

The Advancement Foundation’s 9th Annual GAUNTLET, Virginia's largest business program and competition, serves both Main Street businesses and high-growth innovators.  The program coordinates business resources and strengthens the entrepreneurial network of the locality and region. This cross regional network is bound together by the stakeholders in communities across the state.

“There is no greater priority for our state than the pursuit of business development and innovation. The Advancement Foundation is expanding its proven business acceleration model across the state to ensure that every community has equal access to critical resources. The collaborative platform convenes business resource agencies, community leaders, mentors, and industry expertise. The focus of the model program is to ignite a diverse group of entrepreneurs and small businesses, help them with access to comprehensive resources, and build a highly visible opportunity for communities to pledge their commitment to innovation and business development,” said Annette Patterson, president of The Advancement Foundation.

For Eastern Virginia entrepreneurs who have a business idea that needs a jumpstart or a business that is ready to scale, The Advancement Foundation’s 9th Annual GAUNTLET online program is the perfect opportunity to take action and accelerate entrepreneurial ideas into reality.

Individuals must apply by Tuesday, February 7, 2023 when virtual classes begin: https://theadvancementfoundation.org/the-gauntlet.

The GAUNTLET ignites opportunities through business training, mentorship opportunities, scaling strategies, and entrepreneurial ecosystem building.  Anyone can participate in the program and can choose to compete for over $300,000 in cash and prizes.

The program offers a proven formula to assist entrepreneurs in the development of a business idea or the expansion of an existing business, opportunities to collaborate with entrepreneurs across the region, individual pairing with a mentor, and connection to a myriad of other resources designed to support new and expanding businesses. To date, The GAUNTLET has empowered more than 700 entrepreneurs, developed and connected a mentor network of 250 professionals, and awarded over $7 million in resources including grants, cash, and in-kind prizes.

"Downtown Hopewell is starting to buzz and strategic partnerships like this one with The Advancement Foundation are essential to sustaining our main street and business development efforts. The success of Homegrown for Hopewell, our Community Business Launch program, shows that it's time to invest here and the value of uplifting local and regional talent" said Heather Lyne, Executive Director of The Hopewell Downtown Partnership.

Most recently, Hopewell Downtown Partnership joined these efforts to expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem which includes stakeholders in the Shenandoah Valley, Alleghany Highland, Roanoke Valley, and Southwest Virginia to build a strong mentor network and accelerate business growth and development by implementing The Advancement Foundation's proven model.  This model focuses on highly visible programs like The GAUNTLET, resource development including an extensive mentor network, capital grants, in-kind and cash resources, as well as placemaking activities such as accelerators, mixed use property sales, and networking.

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