7/11/24
Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC) is pleased to partner with SOVA Innovation Hub to further develop the RISE Collaborative in the region. RISE Collaborative connects entrepreneurs with resources to start and grow businesses by offering entrepreneur resources, meetups & events, programs for new & growing businesses, and student & educator programs.
Le’Bryan Patterson, RISE Collaborative’s P&HCC Community Navigator, will work alongside businesses in the region to improve community knowledge of the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and establish relationships with businesses, individuals, and other organizations interested in supporting entrepreneurs. Patterson will develop and maintain a referral pipeline of potential entrepreneurs and innovators aligned with traded sector and/or scalable business opportunities and maintain a referral network of local service providers, business resources, state and federal agency resources, and financial institutions for emerging and growing business owners to access. Business owners participating in the Start Up and Grow MHC programs will work with Patterson in their courses as well.
“We need the community’s help in identifying potential high-growth, traded sector businesses and entrepreneurs to work with Le’Bryan, P&HCC, and RISE. Whether entrepreneurs are just starting or if they are already established and need assistance with growth and scaling, the RISE Community Business Navigator program is a new resource,” said SOVA Innovation Hub team member Lauren Mathena.
Mathena and her colleagues are eager for the community to know Patterson is on the entrepreneurial ecosystem team and available to help entrepreneurs access capital.
“We are interested in recruiting potential entrepreneurs from an idea to those currently in business. We offer bootcamp programs and small business support services that will help guide businesses to success. My goal is to get familiar with our resources to share while networking with potential or current business owners. I will be the connection that links businesses to the resources that align their purpose with their future goals. I want to get to know people and learn what is next for them, so we can offer or engage in those resources within our community and region,” said Patterson, adding, “The vision for entrepreneurs in our region is to start and grow their business. We provide supportive services to entrepreneurs that will help guide them to success. As a program, we aim to bring more businesses and jobs to this great community.”
Small business owners and entrepreneurs can connect with Patterson at P&HCC’s Thomas Dalton IDEA Center in Uptown Martinsville.
“We’re so glad to have Le’Bryan at P&HCC and are excited for the work he will do to continue to strengthen small businesses in the region,” said P&HCC Vice President for Workforce, Economic and Community Development Rhonda Hodges.
About RISE Collaborative:
RISE Collaborative brings together makers, entrepreneurs, and innovators of all backgrounds, interests, and experiences from across our region to support the growth of entrepreneurship and innovation in Southern Virginia. Through programs, events, and the RISE network, entrepreneurs gain a supportive community of peers, direct access to business resource providers, dynamic training and skill-building content, and value-added networking opportunities.
RISE Collaborative is funded in part by GO Virginia, a state-funded initiative administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DCHD) that strengthens and diversifies Virginia’s economy and fosters the creation of higher-wage jobs in strategic industries.
About SOVA Innovation Hub: In 2019, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation (MBC) secured a grant in partnership with Longwood University’s Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) to develop a regional entrepreneurship and innovation (REI) investment strategy for GO Virginia Region 3 in Southern Virginia. The resulting strategy, shaped by community engagement and best practices, was officially adopted by the GO Virginia Region 3 Council in October 2020. Concurrently, MBC, in collaboration with Microsoft TechSpark, established the SOVA Innovation Hub to foster digital skills and entrepreneurship in the region. In November 2020, MBC partnered with Longwood’s OCED again, this time through the SOVA Innovation Hub, to apply for an implementation grant, which was approved by the GO Virginia State Board in March 2021. The SOVA Innovation Hub’s mission to cultivate digital skills and entrepreneurship in Southern Virginia made it an ideal partner for the implementation project. The implementation, which began in April 2021 and is ongoing, aims to create training pipelines, increase capital access, and convene Southern Virginia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to foster an innovation-driven economy.