Shared Values Summit Session #3: Accelerating Minority Business Investment and Development

Name: Shared Values Summit Session #3: Accelerating Minority Business Investment and Development

Date: November 12, 2020

Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST

Registration: Sorry, public registration for this event has been closed.

Event Description:

In recent years, Richmond has created new programs and pathways to capital for entrepreneurs, startups, and thriving small businesses. Yet while our once-nascent startup community is thriving in multiple corners of the region, there are still areas where both investment and opportunity lag.

A bold, healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem is one that creates interdependencies, champions diversity, and understands the value of lifting every boat. Supporting a diverse array of small businesses is a critical next step in ensuring that Richmond’s business community truly reflects our values – and our region.
Our third session will focus on minority business investment and development. We’ll explore new ways to grow and expand access to resources – financial, intellectual, and social – to help unleash new entrepreneurial opportunities across the region.

Moses Foster, Founder, President and CEO of the West Cary Group, will lead two conversations during this session. The first conversation – centered around the ways in which the minority community thinks about, and engages in, business – will feature:
- Charis Jones, Owner of Sassy Jones Boutique, Virginia’s fastest growing, privately held small business
- Melody Short, Membership and Marketing Coordinator, Metropolitan Business League and Co-Founder, Richmond Night Market and the newly launched Jackson Ward Collective
- Jonathan Mayo, Owner, Mama J’s and Founder, Team Excel
The second discussion – focused on how our community thinks about investing in minority businesses – will feature:
- Leah Fremouw, Vice President, Direct of Community Innovation and Marketing, Virginia Community Capital and Member, GO Virginia State Board
- Brian Argrett, President, City First Bank *invited
- Liz Doerr, Founder, Sandbox and Women in Venture

The session will conclude with a perspective from Nashville. Brynn Plummer, Vice President of Inclusion and Community Relations for the Nashville Entrepreneur Center will discuss the challenges and successes she’s experienced supporting entrepreneurs of color as they seek to significantly scale their business through the EC’s Twende program.

Click here for more information on the series and to register for individual sessions.

Sponsored by: Altria, Bank of America & JMI

Event Sponsors: