Innovate Fuquay-Varina, now in its fourth year, has helped three cohorts of local entrepreneurs maneuver the start-up phase of business since 2015 and is now kicking off a new series of workshops in advance of its Start-Up Weekend in February 2019.
You participate in a new business incubator program that provides you with everything you have ever wanted to know about starting or growing a business!
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ntrepreneurship is defined as “the capacity and willingness to develop, organize, and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit.” But often entrepreneurs are looked at as “outside-of-the-box thinkers” with crazy, innovative ideas that garner the attention of venture capitalists such as those on Shark Tank. For example, Reid Hoffman once shared, “An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and builds a plane on the way down.”
However, great businesses are not just the dominion of creative types who push the envelope with brand new concepts. Regular people often have great ideas that are a new twist on an old idea, or simply a breath of fresh air in a sea of mediocrity. Change that leads to new value within a town has a real place in helping define our collective sense of community.
Fuquay-Varina has been growing in leaps and bounds, and there is endless opportunity for new business ideas, a fresh look at old business models, and for companies to take the next step in their growth with new, innovative ideas and space. Innovate Fuquay-Varina can provide current and potential business owners with the tools to make any of those changes possible – right here in our own backyard!
The Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce has been nurturing the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Wake County for a number of years now, and launched the Innovate Fuquay-Varina Program (#InnovateFV) in 2015. Originally a 6-month business startup initiative with workshops and a Launch Weekend, it has grown to offer two different tracks every year – one for people in the “idea” stage (unincorporated), and one for businesses that have already incorporated but have not been operating for more than three years.
The concept of the program is to provide people with business ideas a safe space to explore those ideas with mentoring and access to lots of great resources. The combination of workshops that offer the foundations of all those resources and the very popular and successful “Launch Weekend” has created a unique experience that appeals to people with diverse backgrounds and learning styles. Launch Weekend is a 52-hour experience that offers individuals and teams the opportunity to work with business mentors in a collaborative, supportive environment. Along with the mentoring comes the assistance of experts in the legal, financial, marketing, and business development industries.
As co-founder of NeighborTools, Daniel Lee explains, “Innovate not only helps you launch and get off the ground with your business idea, it provides a great opportunity to learn firsthand from business leaders in the community and establish invaluable business relationships that set you up for a successful business venture.”
The venues for this program have been strategically chosen and the providers of the venues have committed to providing them again for the upcoming 2018-1019 session. Aviator Sidebar has provided the workshop space for our Foundations workshops in the fall, and is a great place to get dinner and a beer while you are learning about what it takes to start or grow a business. TE Connectivity traditionally provides the space for part of the Innovate FV Launch Weekend – the Friday idea presentations and the Sunday night pitch event. The bulk of the collaborative mentoring and business development activity takes place at Fuquay Coworking, which provides group meeting space, small breakout offices for teams to meet, and resources such as copiers, presentation technology, and mentors. Having an available coworking space in Fuquay-Varina that is dedicated to nurturing and developing entrepreneurship is one of the flagship features of the Innovate Fuquay-Varina program.
Over the last three years, a number of great local businesses have either been started, or have gained a significant foothold in this market as a result of their participation in Innovate Fuquay-Varina.
Fuquay Transportation entered the 2017 Launch Weekend as Fuquay Cars, looking for ideas they could use to grow beyond their 3-car fleet. They used the weekend to better understand their market and learn how to promote their business. After Innovate, they changed their name, added vehicles and drivers, created a mobile app to be as accessible as Uber, and began partnering with organizations in town to provide services for major events such as the balloon festival.
Wood Lazy Susan also participated in 2017 because their business was operating out of their home and materials/people were overcrowding their personal space. They had more business than they could deal with and needed help with next steps so they could grow effectively. After Launch Weekend, the company found manufacturing space to move into, hired some help outside their family, and opened their website back up for orders. They have been creating and shipping custom-made lazy susans ever since.
3rd Degree Brewhouse participated in Innovate twice – the first time in 2016 and then again in 2017. Initially they were just working on a business plan, but by 2017 had already incorporated and were working to find a location. Since round 2, they collaborated with a local bottle shop to open and begin brewing, and are now working on the next phase in their development – their own space.
Bella Mei Boutique participated just last year for the first time and when they signed up they were three women running a boutique out of one of their homes. After Launch Weekend 2018, they opened a storefront in Cary and then shortly thereafter moved it to Fuquay-Varina. They are one of Innovate’s lastest success stories.
NeighborTools was incorporated and just getting off the ground when they participated in Innovate FV for the 2018 Launch Weekend. A web-based company that connects people who own tools and equipment with people who need them, NeighborTools has expanded its reach significantly since working through start-up issues with mentors and business development specialists.
Companah Pet Cremation and After Care was the big winner in 2018, with an innovative, environmentally responsible idea that offers a much-needed service to families with aging or ill animals using new water electrolysis technology. Since winning the overall competition with their sophisticated and well-developed concept, Companah has been busy setting up their facility in Sanford, with plans to open an office in Fuquay-Varina to provide easy access for Wake County residents. Their success with Innovate prepared them to compete for a funding grant from the NC IDEA Foundation last summer. They won an initial grant and are one of 24 new businesses statewide to be considered for a $50,000 grant in the next phase of the NC IDEA funding process!
For 2019, there have been some adjustments made to the program based on input from past participants. The Foundation’s workshops that originally stretched from September through January have been scheduled to start in late November so that the information is still fresh and new by the time Launch Weekend arrives. The Foundation’s workshops will be offered by local speakers and Innovate Fuquay-Varina alumni who have expertise in focused areas. Launch Weekend itself has been moved into February to avoid football and the post-holiday recovery month of January. Also, every team or individual that participates in the Launch Weekend will be partnered with a dedicated mentor who will guide them through the process from Friday to Sunday night.
Launch Weekend’s 52 hours of dedicated business planning time kicks off on Friday, February 8 at 6:00pm with each registered group presenting their business idea to a room full of mentors and potential team members. From those presentations, mentors will be teamed up with presenters and others who are interested in helping each group. The meat of the weekend starts immediately following the Friday night presentations, with all the groups meeting at Fuquay Coworking to start planning their goals for the weekend. The weekend continues with groups working on business plans, websites, marketing plans, incorporation documents, financials, and more…
On Sunday afternoon, February 10, the teams will reassemble for the final presentations before a panel of judges. The presentations, called “pitches,” will give each team an opportunity to share their business concept after two days of fine-tuning and decision-making, share what they accomplished over the weekend, and explain their next steps. There ARE prizes to be awarded by the team of judges, but the criteria is based on innovation, value to Fuquay-Varina, quality of the plan, and the viability of the idea.
The Town of Fuquay-Varina’s Economic Development Commission has provided $5,000 to be used for cash prize packages and program implementation. In addition to the cash prizes, there will be prizes that include donated goods and services from area businesses. The prizes will be divided up between the top three business presentations in each track. The public is invited to attend both the Friday and Sunday evening presentations!
The program is actively recruiting mentors for Launch Weekend 2019. If you are a business owner and would like to help mentor teams from Friday-Sunday, or if you can offer mentoring in a specific area such as marketing, website development, financial planning, business incorporation, liability issues, and/or graphic design, please contact the Chamber of Commerce for information about how to get involved.
Registration for Launch Weekend 2019 will open on November 15, and the Foundation workshops begin on Monday, November 26. Additional information about this year’s Innovate Fuquay-Varina session and Launch Weekend 2019 – including a schedule of all upcoming workshops – can be found online at https://fuquay-varina.com/programs/innovate-fv/ or by contacting the Chamber of Commerce at (919) 552-4947.
