TechConnect, WV Hive Announce Partnership to Conduct Business Pitch Competitions in Southern WV
NEWS RELEASE
June 25, 2018
CHARLESTON, W.VA. – With the goal of advancing entrepreneurship and spurring job creation, TechConnect West Virginia and the West Virginia Hive’s Common Grounds Project have partnered to conduct five business pitch competitions across twelve southern West Virginia counties.
“TechConnect and its member organizations are excited to support the Hive’s business pitch competition series,” said Anne Barth, executive director of TechConnect West Virginia. “The Hive is an incredible resource for entrepreneurs. If you’ve got a unique small business or have a concept you would like to build into a business, I would encourage you to participate in the pitch competitions.”
Barth said TechConnect is providing financial and in-kind support for the project.
Judy Moore, director of the WV Hive, said, “TechConnect and the WV Hive share the same goal: to help entrepreneurs build and grow successful businesses in the Mountain State. The business pitch competitions are one way to help turn innovative ideas into sustainable businesses.”
Moore said the pitch competitions will begin in the fall. Information will be posted online at https://wvhive.com/. Candidates for participation should be a West Virginia startup with an idea or a West Virginia business that has been in operation for two years or less. The competitions will be held in partnership with local chambers of commerce and other business groups. Candidates selected to participate in the pitch competition will work with a Hive business advisor to hone their business plan and pitch. Cash prizes will be awarded to first through third place winners of each competition.
The Hive works to help aspiring and existing business owners launch and grow successful businesses in West Virginia. The organization offers one-on-one assistance and advanced technology capabilities to entrepreneurs in southern West Virginia, equipping them with the tools they need to be successful, including business advising, technical assistance and access to Maker Space.
TechConnect is a non-profit coalition committed to the advancement of the innovation economy in West Virginia, focused on four technology sectors: advanced energy, chemicals and advanced materials, biosciences, and biometrics. With broad representation from private industry, the public sector, and higher education, TechConnect seeks to diversify the state’s economy, promote economic prosperity and create high-paying jobs.
For more information, contact Anne Barth at (304) 444-2918 or anne@techconnectwv.org, or visit www.techconnectwv.org. Judy Moore can be reached at (304) 669-4870, or via email at jmoore@nrgrda.org.