Startup Martinsville

Background

Startup Martinsville, Virginia, was made possible due to a grant award of $60,000 by the Governor's Second Annual Virginia Community Business Launch (CBL) initiative to help the City of Martinsville with its efforts to have a more robust entrepreneur environment in the Uptown Martinsville area.

On behalf of the city, Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth (C-PEG) applied to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (VHCD) for CBL consideration, knowing this initiative would be a perfect vehicle to excite and educate the community about entrepreneurship opportunities available in the city's uptown area. C-PEG is the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce's charitable affiliate.

The City of Martinsville was one of seven localities to participate in this year's CBL. The other participating localities are the towns of Pulaski, Vinton, Marion and Strasburg and the cities of Petersburg and Lynchburg.

Program Overview

Startup Martinsville, Virginia, is an intensive eight week entrepreneurial boot-camp program, culminating into a business plan competition, where participants vie for a total of $45,000 in grant funds and additional prizes and loan opportunities to help start or expand their businesses in the uptown area.

Grant funds will be between $5,000 and $20,000 among the top three to six winners, depending on what each business plan requires. The program will be administered by C-PEG and its coordinating team, which includes representatives from VDHCD, City of Martinsville, Patrick Henry Community College, Martinsville Area Community Foundation, Longwood University's Small Business Development Center, SCORE, Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association and area community banks.

Purpose

When C-PEG was given a responsibility to help the City of Martinsville with small business development, C-PEG officials looked for an opportunity like the CBL to help the city generate enthusiasm around efforts to develop an entrepreneurship ecosystem in the uptown area that identifies, launches and supports area entrepreneurs and small businesses at all levels of development.

Eight-Week Boot-Camp Classes

Participants selected for the program are required to complete the eight-week boot camp classes, conducted by Patrick Henry Community College at its Dalton IDEA Center in Uptown Martinsville. 

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is not guaranteed. Do not include confidential material with submissions. Nondisclosure Agreements between competitors and C-PEG and its coordinating team will not be allowed. Competitors may exclude any proprietary information or materials that they view are at risk of disclosure.

C-PEG, its coordinating team, judges and the audience are not responsible for any confidentiality issues that occur during the course of the competition or classes and will not be involved in any way with disputes arising thereafter.

Authorization

C-PEG and its coordinating team may take photographs and/or videos during any part of the Startup Martinsville, Virginia, program. This includes classroom activities and during the competition. By applying to and/or participating in this program, you authorize the publication and distribution of submitted materials such as business descriptions and logos. This will be solely for promotional purposes.

Apply Today! - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3KK_NtyL1wt3LJ10RMSS1LdDXY1BJ3MeAOsCL99NQ6NbLyw/viewform