Information for the Innovative, Enterprising and Brave

May 2014

Loudoun Small Business Week 2014

Know any good candidates for tech pitch competition?

More than a dozen events - most offered free of charge - will provide learning and networking opportunities to entrepreneurs during Loudoun Small Business Week May 12-16.

One of the week's highlights will be "iNNOVATE LoCo: A Tech Pitch Competition" that will be held on Thursday, May 15 at AOL Fishbowl Labs in Dulles. Entrepreneurs will demonstrate their product to a judging panel of tech startup experts. The winner will receive $1,000 and the runner-up will receive $500; both will also win a package of free legal services from global law firm Holland and Knight. April 30 is the deadline to apply to pitch; the application can be found at iNNOVATELoCo.com.

"This is a great opportunity for our businesses. Actionable feedback from successful business owners can make or break a new company," said Loudoun Economic Development Director Buddy Rizer. "We encourage as many entrepreneurs as possible to sign up for this competition; even those who don't win a prize can still come away with ideas that can help them achieve much more in a fraction of the time than they might have otherwise." Loudoun Economic Development is partnering on this event with the Mason Enterprise Center.

Members of the Board of Supervisors will visit farms, I.T. companies and other types of small businesses in their districts during Small Business Week. According to Chairman of the Board Scott K. York, "More than 80 percent of Loudoun businesses have fewer than 20 employees. Small businesses are Loudoun's economic engine, and the Board wants them to know that we appreciate them starting and growing their businesses here in our county."

Monday, May 12

Small Business Week Kickoff

11 a.m - 1 p.m. (lunch provided)

Regus, 20130 Lakeview Center Plaza, Suite 400, Ashburn - Free

GovCon Biz Dev Strategies: Teaming Agreements and Agency Relationships

11a.m. - 1 p.m. (lunch provided)

Mason Enterprise Center, 202 Church St. SE, Leesburg - $10

Tuesday, May 13

Creating an Effective Advisory Board

7:30 - 9:30 a.m.

AOL, 22000 AOL Way, Dulles - $25

Learn the Basics of SBIR/STTR Funding to Support your R&D

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. (lunch provided)

CIT, 2214 Rock Hill Rd., Herndon - Free

Small Business Essentials

9:00 a.m.; 11 a.m.; 1:30 p.m.; 3 p.m.

Mason Enterprise Center, 202 Church St. SE, Leesburg - Free

Special Screening and Discussion: Farmland the Movie

7 - 9 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse, 20575 East Hampton Plaza, Ashburn - Free

Wednesday, May 14

1 Million Cups

9 - 10 a.m.

Mason Enterprise Center, 202 Church St. SE, Leesburg - Free

Connecting From the Start: Networking That Creates Business

10:30 - 11:45 a.m.

Mason Enterprise Center, 202 Church St. SE, Leesburg - Free

Town of Leesburg's Business Awards

6 - 9 p.m.

Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg - Free

Thursday, May 15

iNNOVATE LoCo: A Tech Pitch Competition

1 - 6 p.m.; Reception 6 - 7 p.m.

AOL Fishbowl Labs, 22000 AOL Way, Dulles - Free

Loudoun Chamber Business After Hours Mixer & New Member Reception

5:30 - 7 p.m.

ProJet Aviation, 957 Sycolin Road, Leesburg - $20

Navigating Free Online Business Resources

10:30 a.m.; 1 p.m.; 2:30 p.m.; and 4 p.m.

Mason Enterprise Center, 202 Church St. SE, Leesburg - Free

Friday, May 16

Growing Your Small Business - Entrepreneur Panel

9 - 11:30 a.m.

Lovettsville Game Club Association, 16 S. Berlin Pike, Lovettsville - Free

Get event descriptions and registration details at www.LoudounSourceLink.org/SBW.

Be a Winner

Send us your business name and the link to your website and be entered to win a 12-ounce bottle of Loudoun's own delicious, whiskey-barrel-aged maple syrup (non-alcoholic, but utterly yummy). The deadline is Wednesday, April 30. One entry per contestant; email your submission to LoudounBiz@Loudoun.Gov.

Read It and Reap

The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change by Adam Braun.

After graduating from Brown University, the author began working in a prestigious consulting firm in New York City, one he soon left after a chance encounter with a street beggar during a trip to India. That chance meeting, his entrepreneurial skills and $25 led him to an idea that resulted in Pencils of Promise, a non-profit organization that has built more than 200 schools throughout the world, trained teachers and provided scholarships. Read or listen to this inspiring book. Check it out from the Loudoun County Public Library.

Gut Check From a Guru

"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune." - Jim Rohn