Scaling up

Electric Iris

By The Advancement Foundation

The first entry of a periodic column on growing businesses exponentially from Vintonbased The Advancement Foundation, creator of the Gauntlet competition.

On February 7th The Advancement Foundation (TAF) will launch the 9th Annual GAUNTLET program, Virginia’s Largest Business Program and Competition (Applications now being accepted at www.TheAdvancement Foundation.org). Through the Gauntlet program over $2,000,000 in cash/in-kind awards have been invested in entrepreneurs. The program provides a platform that engages community business leaders, mentors, industry experts, economic developers, higher education and resource organizations. A diverse group of entrepreneurs join the Gauntlet program, including main street, product developers, food/beverage, and those who consider themselves hobbyist. Equally diverse are the levels of business experience, education, wealth, and ages of participants.

Each year we identify an average of 20% of Gauntlet participants as high growth potential. High growth means: a company with potential to grow at a rate of 25% per year, attract 50% of revenues from outside the region/state, and ability to produce higher wage jobs. Some entrepreneurs may not understand the concept of scaling, lack the experience to explore the opportunity, or hold back for fear they will make a wrong step. TAF and its partners; SBDC, SCORE, RAMP, and Universities, work to engage entrepreneurs and provide roadmaps.

Today, more than ever, small business can scale with affordable access to operational systems, internet platforms, fractional professionals and capital. TAF is working to address the scaling challenges to increase high growth companies that is outlined in the Techonomy Report. “Virginia needs to continue to upgrade its research commercialization efforts that lead to high-growth potential innovations for new business startups. Relative to other states, Virginia has a weak culture of innovation and insufficient support for entrepreneurial ecosystems. Virginia does not dedicate sufficient, focused resources to the formation and scale-up of high-growth startups and industry clusters that are essential to retaining and attracting talent.”

TAF sees firsthand the incredible talent in every corner of our region. The Associate Pastor in the Alleghany Highlands (IVO Limited), now leveraging his innovation to help NASA with satellite propulsion; our Floyd County company, (Kenkashi) that harvests microbes from the blue ridge mountains, to brew and format for use in Bokashi composting, foliar spray and treatment of soil and compost beds to improve the health of soil and the “egg lady” (Electric Iris) in Grandin Village designing and selling Incubation trays for quail, goose, turkey and pea fowl that improves yields significantly. Through bold efforts to foster scalable Innovation, we are seeking product developers to explore the possibilities, connect with a tribe of diverse entrepreneurs and engage business leaders.

Where are they now: IVO continues to scale in Covington, while Kenkashi and Electric Iris are benefiting from services offered in the Virginia Innovation Accelerator Center in Buena Vista, a recent project launched by The Advancement Foundation to provide commercialization services, fractional expertise, connection to resources, creation of business funnels, development of SOP‘s, use of feedback loops and manufacturing/packaging spaces for up-andcoming companies. The services and connections made possible through Go Virginia funding for efforts to increase the funnel of high growth companies scaling right here in Virginia.