November 13 @ 8:30 am-5:30pm Asheville NC
150 area entrepreneurs including scaling companies, innovative startups, and representatives from funders with over $100m of capital under management.
Join us for the second annual Start. Grow. Thrive. Conference to advance and celebrate entrepreneurship across Western North Carolina. This is WNC’s feature event for Global Entrepreneurship Week in which hundreds of communities internationally elevate the opportunity of entrepreneurship and business ownership.
This year’s event aims to again draw over 150 existing and aspiring entrepreneurs and has an action-packed agenda featuring real world insights from local startups and scaling entrepreneurs, strategy deep dives, a special financial acumen multiplayer game, and ample networking with peers, capital and other resources. We’re very grateful for our host partner, A-B Tech Small Business Center, who are providing their terrific new A-B Tech Mission Health Conference Center for the event.
Gary Heisey, Founder and Brand Strategist with Brand Door, is facilitating the afternoon session at 3:00pm on Grow Your Business by Growing Your Brand
The conference is free (registration is required) thanks to generous support from our partners and sponsors including Mountain BizWorks, A-B Tech Small Business Center, NC Small Business Center Network, SBTDC, Carolina Small Business Development Fund, Self-Help Credit Union, Spark Tank, and Venture Asheville.
Come connect, learn, and advance WNC’s entrepreneur-driven economy. Registration is available via A-B Tech Small Business Center at the link below:
Agenda at a Glance
| 8:00 am | Check-in |
| 8:30 am | Welcome |
| 8:40 – 9:40 am | The Startup Journey: Lessons and Insights from Emerging Entrepreneurs Featuring Asheville Tea Company, Global Language System, Mountain to Sea, Rayburn Farms, and TwisTek |
| 9:40 – 9:55 am | Network & Recharge Break Featuring a Test Drive Tent |
| 9:55 – 10:55 am | Navigating Growth: How to Harness and Manage Your Next Big Opportunity Featuring Lightheart Gear, Mountain Electronics, No Evil Foods, and UpStaff |
| 11:00 – 12:00 pm | Entrepreneurial Spaces: Hear the Latest from Area Incubators, Accelerators, and Coworking Centers Featuring A-B Tech Small Business Incubator, Blue Ridge Food Ventures, Center for Craft, Hatch, Hola Carolina, The Collider, and Velocity |
| 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Lunch With Legislative Updates and remarks from Venture Asheville |
| 1:10 – 4:30 pm | Special Afternoon Track: ZODIAK Small Business Financial Acumen Game Presented by Paradigm Learning and Mountain BizWorks |
| 1:10 – 2:40 pm | Breakout Sessions I – Select One A. Startup Strategy Deep Dive B. Scale Up & Exit Strategy Deep Dive |
| 2:40 – 3:00 pm | Network & Recharge Break Featuring a Test Drive Tent |
| 3:00 – 4:30 pm | Breakout Sessions II – Select One A. Grow Your Business by Growing Your Brand B. Access To Capital for Entrepreneurs |
| 4:00 – 5:30 pm | Networking Reception Featuring networking with peers, music, and craft drinks and snacks |
