Two local businesses selected for Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Program
Two local businesses selected for Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Program
January 10, 2019
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (January 10, 2019) — Brink Records and Home Remedy Concierge, LLC., are the first companies selected to participate in the new Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, a collaboration between Virginia Beach Economic Development and 1701 Coworking.
The three-month program was launched to encourage more entrepreneurial growth in the city. Participants will have unique opportunities to learn and grow while networking with fellow members. They will have free coworking office space, receive mentoring from the 1701 owners and other experts in their field, and have access to business resources like printing, display materials, workshops and partnerships with local universities and incubators.
Brink Records is a multi-platform media company aimed at increasing regional content creation and developing an international hub for independent music. The company began in 2015 as a record label and founded the East Coast Music Conference (ECMC) in 2017. In 2018, the first ECMC took place and had over 7300 attendees from six nations and 20 states. It has been named one of the top 10 "Can't Miss Music Conferences for 2019" by College Magazine. The founders expect the 2019 conference to be bigger and better with over 75 live performances and talks and seminars by leading industry figures, including Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.
"We want to get better plugged in to the business and start up community in Virginia Beach," said Brink Records co-founder, Drew Little. "This collaboration effort will help us realize the vision of cultivating a stronger music industry in the region, which we know helps fuel the startup and tech sectors," added CEO and co-founder, Grace Garvin.
Home Remedy Concierge was born from a desire to help seniors in Virginia Beach maintain independent living. It builds customized care plans that meet the living and home needs to its clients. "The free residence will give me a big boost and a roadmap in getting my business up and running and perhaps allow me to take it to the next level," said Home Remedy Concierge founder and owner Helene Tisdale. "I look forward to receiving experienced mentoring from other small business owners."
"Small businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors are the backbone of our business community," explains Raymond K. White, Business Development Manager. "Providing this unique opportunity could result in building companies that ultimately grow to become home-grown success stories, like two of our companies: Global Technical Systems and Bcause, LLC who announced major expansion projects in our community during the past year."
"1701 has provided support and resources to more than 350 entrepreneurs in the region since our inception in 2016," said Jeffrey Werby, 1701 co-founder. "Fifteen companies have successfully graduated out of the shared workspace and have leased commercial space in Virginia Beach or the region, and we're looking forward to growing more companies and more jobs with the addition of the EIR program in 2019."
Selectees will be chosen every three months. The next session starts this spring, and the deadline to apply to be considered is March 16, 2019. The Department of Economic Development and 1701 Coworking will also reach out to the startups not selected for the program to connect them with community resources. For additional information, visit 1701VB.com/eir.
The mission of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development is to attract and retain national and international businesses to stimulate capital investment and create jobs. The Department of Economic Development received re-accreditation through the International Economic Development Council in 2016 and is one of only 50 economic development organizations in the world to have this recognition. Virginia Beach was named America's #1 best big city to live in by wallethub.com. For more information, visit www.yesvirginiabeach.com
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