Local entrepreneurs: prepare yourselves. The Gauntlet is about to begin.
The 2022 Gauntlet Business Program and Competition starts again in February. The Advancement Foundation sets up the Gauntlet as a 10-week business development initiative and contest connecting local business-minded individuals to business experts, mentors, and additional resources.
Over $300,000 in cash and in-kind awards are distributed to the competitors, with additional funds, grants, and industry expertise.
“We are adding an extra call for value-added product producers interested in scaling their production as well as all types of ‘makers’ who may be looking to add on-site manufacturing to their mix to attract more ‘destination’ experience seekers like glass blowing, candy making, woodworking, distilleries, and more,” The Achievement Foundation President Annette Patterson recently mentioned when asked about the program.
Last year, Candace Monaghan of Beaver Dam Farms and the annual Sunflower Festival in Buchanan took home the competition’s top prize. She took her winnings and set in motion the process of offering sunflower oil, farm upgrades for private events, and an educational app associated with sunflowers.
The first program in 2015 saw a total of 15 participants. Each year, the foundation slowly grew the program. In 2020, the program saw 170 entrepreneurs enter the Gauntlet. The average number of entrants currently sits at around 150 participants from the Roanoke Valley and outside the area.
Applications for the competition are still open until February. The program kicks off on February 1 and runs through April. On May 26, the Gauntlet holds its “Graduation and Awards Ceremony,” where The Advancement Foundation announces the winners. Participants can attend the program virtually again this year.
“The program is an hour and a half, once a week for (entrants) to explore the possibilities (of what they can do for their respective business plans),” Patterson added. “If nothing else, you meet some pretty incredible people. I think it’s really cool to connect across the region like that.
“I’m working hard on building a narrative for our region about the entrepreneurial ecosystem and how strong it is because I think now more than ever, after COVID, talented people that are here (in the area) and talented people elsewhere living in an environment that we’re blessed to live in—like the Roanoke Valley—can live and work anywhere. I think that’s kind of where we miss the boat sometimes. (Entrepreneurial) ecosystem developers are all in the trenches running these programs and doing these things. We know a lot of incredible stories. We need to show what a powerhouse we are for the talent and innovation we have coming out of our area.”
For more information about the Gauntlet program and competition, visit www.theadvancementfoundation.org/the-gauntlet.
