15 fast-growing companies selected for this highly competitive program
ASHEVILLE, NC (March 5, 2020) – After a highly competitive round of over 40 applications, Mountain BizWorks is pleased to unveil the 15 Western North Carolina-based companies selected for the 2020 ScaleUp WNC program, which begins on Friday, March 6 and runs through the end of May.
Each of these companies has demonstrated a compelling opportunity for growth and economic impact. Through ScaleUp, the companies will receive intensive growth-management training, connect with experienced mentors and receive access-to-capital support.
“The true value of ScaleUp is two-fold,” says Jeffrey Scott, ScaleUp WNC Facilitator. “First, 15 ambitious companies have the opportunity to support each other on the entrepreneurial journey with all its turbulence, obstacles and magical wins, which strengthens the social capital of the startup ecosystem in WNC. Second, the program builds resilient, impactful companies and expands the critical entrepreneurial resources that make WNC one of the very best places to build, grow and scale a startup company.”
The 15 companies will join more than 115 alumni that have been served by ScaleUp WNC since its launch in 2015. To date, the program has had a diverse group of participants spanning a multitude of industries and hailing from all corners of WNC. Continuing this tradition, nearly two-thirds of this year’s cohort are women-owned and over one-third are rural-based with representation from Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cleveland, Madison and Watauga Counties.
“These companies are poised for growth, have passionate and capable founder teams and represent the diversity of our region’s economy from the outdoor industry to craft brewing to the creative sector,” says Matt Raker, Mountain BizWorks director.
The following 15 accepted companies will be actively building their ScaleUp WNC growth plan as members of the 2020 cohort:
- Ben’s American Sake, bensamericansake.com (Asheville)
- Black Mountain Handyman, blackmountainhandyman.com (Black Mountain)
- Blunt Pretzels, bluntpretzels.com (Marshall)
- Chad Johnson Acupuncture, ChadJohnsonAcupuncture.com (Asheville)
- Clade Design, clade.design (Asheville)
- Dry Ridge Farm, dryridgefarm.org (Mars Hill)
- Fermenti, fermenti.biz (Marshall)
- Leap Frog Tours, leapfrogtours.com (Candler)
- Oak and Grist Distilling Company, oakandgrist.com (Black Mountain)
- Regear Outdoors, regearnc.com (Boone)
- Reid’s Catering Co., reidscafeandcatering.com (Sugar Mountain)
- Rural Support Partners, ruralsupportpartners.com (Asheville)
- Twin Leaf Brewery, twinleafbrewery.com (Asheville)
- Uptown Indigo, uptownindigo.com (Shelby)
- Simply Green Recycling, simplygreenrecycling.com (Morganton)
ScaleUp 2020 is supported in part by a $100,000 grant from NC IDEA. It was one of 13 projects statewide that received funds through NC IDEA’S ECOSYSTEM grants program, due to its added emphasis on advancing rural entrepreneurship.
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About Mountain BizWorks
Mountain BizWorks has been developing small businesses in Western North Carolina for nearly 30 years. Our primary platforms are lending and learning, specifically designed to grow small businesses and create economic opportunity for all. We proudly create access to capital for start-ups and existing businesses in spite of barriers to traditional lending sources. We support the entrepreneurial spirit by offering individualized coaching and training. Most importantly, we turn the dream of business ownership into a reality. For more information, visit mountainbizworks.org.
Contact: Susan Osborne, Communications Manager – 828-337-2910 or susan@mountainbizworks.org