Venture Local: October Conference Seeks to Foster Localism and Sustainable Entrepreneurship

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by Asheville Now
on Thursday, October 13, 2011

Organized by AdvantageWest's Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council, topics include Business Opportunities and Financing

We make buying choices every day. These decisions are the driving force in the success or failure of a business. Increasingly, these actions are based on personal connections and a company's ability to have a positive impact on society.

On Thursday, Oct. 27, Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council, an initiative of AdvantageWest, hosts Venture Local, a conference designed to help business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs and potential investors understand the growing local movement in the United States and Western North Carolina and find ways to take advantage of the phenomenon.

The event, held 1-5 p.m. at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, with a reception following, looks at trends in the marketplace and how the new economy is changing the face of business in this country. The first half of the seminar will focus on opportunities for sustainable entrepreneurship; the second half will present creative ways to finance those opportunities.

A case study will be presented on Carolina Ground, an Asheville-based organization that is a low profit limited liability corporation (L3C). It seeks to link local grain producers, a grain mill and bakeries. The goal is to help bakers get closer to the source of production and away from the volatility of the grain market. The organization is using alternative financing methods to finance construction of the mill.

Because of efforts like Carolina Ground, a whole new economy is taking shape in the United States, and Western North Carolina is leading the charge. Consumers and business owners want to purchase items that are produced locally and farmers, craft makers and designers are trying to fill that niche.

The list of speakers for a discussion on market opportunities are: Dr. Frank King (a bison farmer), Brian Boggs (a furniture maker), Woodrow Eaton (alternative energy), Daniel Sanders (clothing manufacturer) and David McConville (media artist and researcher).

A representative from the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), one of the fastest growing networks of social responsible business, will then speak on building and promoting the local ecosystem.

The conference also explores how to finance a company in this emerging market. Some companies now only fund organizations that create a positive social impact. The organizations represented on a panel discussion include: Social Capital, Slow Money, Mountain BizWorks and Self-Help Credit Union. There will also be a session on the IndieGoGo crowdsourcing platform, which helps entrepreneurs use social media to raise alternative forms of capital.

Registration is $20, which includes a post-event reception from 5-6 p.m. that features farm-to-table hors d'oeurvres and local beer. To register go to www.venturelocalwnc.com.

More about BREC and AdvantageWest: Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council (BREC) is an initiative of AdvantageWest, the economic development partnership serving the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina. BREC is an organization for entrepreneurs in Western North Carolina that focuses on education, mentoring, networking, and capital formation. In addition to entrepreneurial development through BREC and the Certified Entrepreneurial Community Program®, AdvantageWest also focuses on advanced manufacturing; Blue Ridge Food Ventures, a food business and natural products incubator and commercial kitchen; the green-collar jobs initiative, AdvantageGreen; and the WNC Film Commission. Visit www.advantagewest.com for more information or call (828) 687-7234. For more information about BREC programs and opportunities, visit www.brecnc.com.

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