Loudoun Small Business Week 2014
Loudoun Economic Development invites the business community to celebrate Loudoun Small Business Week from May 12-16. More than a dozen events – most offered free of charge – will provide learning and networking opportunities to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find full details and registration information at www.LoudounSmallBiz.org/SBW.
One of the week’s highlights will be “iNNOVATE LoCo: A Tech Pitch Competition” that will be held on Thursday, May 15 at AOL Fishbowl Labs in Dulles. Entrepreneurs will demonstrate their product to a judging panel of tech startup experts. The winner will receive $1,000; the runner-up will receive $500; both will also win a package of business services. April 28 is the deadline to apply to pitch; the application can be found at iNNOVATELoCo.com.
“This is a great opportunity for our businesses. Actionable feedback from successful business owners can make or break a new company,” said Loudoun Economic Development Director Buddy Rizer. “We encourage as many entrepreneurs as possible to sign up for this competition; even those who don’t win a prize can still come away with ideas that can help them achieve much more in a fraction of the time than they might have otherwise.” Loudoun Economic Development is partnering on this event with the Mason Enterprise Center.
This year’s Small Business Week will also feature a special screening of the documentary film “Farmland: The Movie” by Oscar-winning director James Moll. This free event will be held on Tuesday, May 13 at the Alamo Drafthouse in Ashburn, and will include a panel discussion after the movie with Loudoun farmers Doug Fabbioli, Tyler Wegmeyer, Carl Lindgren-Cleremont and Terri Young-Clairvaux.
“The movie is about small business owners in their 20s who are running America’s farms,” said Loudoun’s Agricultural Business Development Officer Kellie Hinkle. “Like the movie says, food doesn’t just show up in the grocery store. Farmers use innovation and technology to bring us the food we eat. Here in Loudoun, the agriculture industry is a key part of the county’s economy. I’m very proud that we’re showing such an important film to our community.”
Members of the Board of Supervisors will visit farms, I.T. companies and other types of small businesses in their districts during Small Business Week. According to Chairman of the Board Scott K. York, “80 percent of Loudoun businesses have fewer than 20 employees. Small businesses are Loudoun’s economic engine, and the Board wants them to know that we appreciate them starting and growing their businesses here in our county.”
The list of businesses that will be visited by board members can be found here.