Annette Patterson, president of the Vinton-based Advancement Foundation, realized a dream several weeks ago: the opening of a business incubator on South Pollard Street in Vinton.
Located adjacent to her Charity Cottage, a thrift store that provides funding for her operations (and five other local no-profits) plus skills training for those seeking employment, “The HIVE,” (Home of Innovative and Visionary Entrepreneurs) is located in the top floor of a building owned by the Town of Vinton – the Roanoke County Health Department occupies the lower floor.
The Town of Vinton will pay the monthly utility bill and will lease space to The Hive for a dollar a year; the thinking is that some of the businesses spun off from The Hive will remain in Vinton. Not to mention that those occupying space there now will stay in town when they eat lunch and may shop there after work as well.
In addition to a room full of computers that can be shared, there are open work spaces for Hive members who will pay $100 per month. Right now several dozen people have expressed an interest in becoming members. Several businesses have already been spun off by those volunteering at the Charity Cottage, where Patterson had also carved out work spaces for a handful of startup ventures.
There is also a meeting room that can be used to make presentations and several separate office spaces that can be rented out, generating income for The Hive, which joins other business incubators in the valley like the CoLab and the Small Business Development Center at the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.
A pilot program last fall where budding startup owners worked with mentors to develop business plans – leading to a Shark Tank-like competition called The Gauntlet – set Patterson’s wheels in motion to secure the space for a true business incubator.
“We were able to get a sense of what budding entrepreneurs really needed in terms of assistance and support – [including] emotional support.” Patterson saw the passion in people of all income levels and circumstances that just needed a low-cost home to get started – and free advice from people in the community with business expertise.
Patterson projects 10 businesses being created as a result of The Hive over the next year, with clients coming to Vinton that will also eat and shop in town. She calls that a “healthy ecosystem” that justifies occupying a space that had sat empty previously.
How The Hive might differ from the Colab, said Patterson, is that they will “work very closely” with members for about five months, helping them to gain a level of knowledge and business skills needed to move forward.
A “360 degree evaluation” of skill sets and the markets for their product is part of the vetting process; members will also work towards a second Gauntlet competition later this year, where a panel of judges will critique those business plans. All participants will walk away with small cash grants or other in-kind services.
Help with developing budgets, legal advice and general business savvy is available free of charge from a bank of 50 community and business leaders – a roster that continues to grow, said Patterson, who also helped found the Barracudas inner city summer swim team at Washington Park in northwest Roanoke. Patterson said formal workshops will be offered as well.
Patterson has kudos for the Town of Vinton for continuing to pick up the utilities at The Hive – which they were paying for anyway. “It’s been a perfect marriage between [town] and non-profit and business.” You’ve got to have assets – job skills, a great business plan, etc. said Patterson, at one time a college development officer, “or you really can’t play in this world.”
By Gene Marrano
