The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. promises a minimum of $100,000 in investments to rural Virginia.
VIPC is a nonprofit organization formed to support Virginia’s vision for the expansion of innovation, opportunity and job creation. The organization creates technology-based economic development strategies to accelerate innovation, imagination and the next generation of technology and technology companies.
“VIPC is responsible for the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” VIPC Governance Chair and New College Institute Vice Chair Richard Hall said. “Pretty much if it goes with investments and trying to get businesses to start, it starts with the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp.”
VIPC does this through commercialization and seed funding with the goal to help entrepreneurs launch and grow high-growth technology companies and create high-paying jobs. It also helps facilitate national innovation leadership and an accelerated rate of technology adoption by way of partnerships with technology startups companies, ecosystems and technology consumers.
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On Tuesday evening VIPC representatives joined its CEO & Virginia Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade Joe Benevento, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick, Henry County and Martinsville City representatives, local delegates, a crew of staff from New College Institute and a variety of community members from different sectors for a private dinner at Hamlet Vineyards.
The purpose of the dinner was to start a conversation on innovation and rural areas.
“VIPC really is the designated state authority for innovation, commercialization, entrepreneurship, startups, venture investment,” Benevento said. “We do this in four ways.”
That includes its ecosystem buildout division, a grant making division, a venture capital fund and its strategic initiatives division.
“Our goal is to really activate capital,” Benevento said. “Human capital and financial capital and we need to be investing in both. VIPC has an opportunity to do just that in rural Virginia … and we’re here tonight because it starts right here in Martinsville.”
He added that he believes Martinsville presents the opportunity to create new public and private partnerships and collaborations that will “bring the right people in the room who want to get stuff done.”
“When you describe entrepreneurs and innovators you use words like determination, resilience, grit, resourcefulness,” Benevento said. “Those are the same words I think describe Martinsville and the community and ecosystem here.”
At the dinner, Benevento said VIPC is launching a new seed manager program in the next few months which will launch six to eight new investment fund managers both in and out of state.
“To come here, pour money in here and invest in Virginia,” he said. They will also engage with community ecosystems through mentorship, accelerators, incubators, advisors and will particularly focus on underserved communities.
“We’re going to be making sure that we plug those fund managers into the ecosystem here because that’s what we need to get into Martinsville, more capital,” Benevento said. “The human capital and the financial.”
Benevento also announced that VIPC will make an earmark commitment of minimum $100,000 into rural Virginia for the coming year.
“Maybe more, I would rather under promise and over deliver but I think there’s a lot of opportunities here to partner together and invest in accelerators, ecosystem, community developers, startups, commercialization and I want you to hold me accountable to that,” he said.
“Innovation comes from people who want to solve problems,” Merrick said. “And that describes everyone in this room.”
In just the last few months, Merrick said, VIPC has invested $45,000 in the Virginia Accelerator Network, $25,000 in The Advancement Foundation, $7,500 in sponsorship for the Southern Piedmont Technology Council and has been involved in the RISE Collaborative Southern Virginia’s Regional Investment in Startups and Entrepreneurs.
“We have many touchpoints in this region and we’re eager to work with you … you can expect to see even greater collaboration.” Merrick said. “Let’s align our resources, our programs, our initiatives. Let’s commit to a growth mindset so we’re not duplicating efforts, we’re not competing, we’re not doing competing projects. We’re aligning our resources and our people for our economic growth and success.”
