STARTUP VIRGINIA EDUCATON
Entrepreneurs face unique challenges daily. Our education programs are designed to cover an array of topics relevant to current issues.
To view upcoming virtual events, visit our Virtual Resource Guide.
A comprehensive 9-class series designed to equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to successfully start or grow your business.
The Entrepreneur Certificate Course is an online program developed in partnership with Startup Virginia mentors; industry experts who work closely with startups, and many of which are entrepreneurs themselves. Those who complete the course will receive an entrepreneur certificate to celebrate their achievement. In addition, registrants receive lifetime access to the course, plus any future updates and enhancements.
Cost:
The course is $395 for unlimited and lifelong access including any additions or enhancements made in the future.
Startup Virginia never wants cost to be a barrier to accessing this course, so we will extend scholarships to anyone needing financial assistance. Scholarships can be requested here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D587HBX
In order to receive the certificate, participants are required to complete the following classes:
Define Your Idea
Develop the right business model and challenge your assumptions by completing a business model canvas.
Establish Your Value Proposition
Identify the core value you provide your target customers which in turn will drive them to choose you over your competitors.
Validate Your Customer Acquisition Strategy
Pinpoint your target customers – who they are, what they want, what drives their decisions – and create customer personas to drive your design process.
Create Your Marketing Strategy
Take your product or service to market by gaining an understanding of the best practices and tools available to you.
Leverage the Startup Sales Playbook
Define your strategy and fine-tune your sales process so leads turn into customers.
Understand Startup Finance
Dive into the importance of your numbers and learn financial concepts needed for a startup.
Develop Legal Strategies
Get insight into key legal issues that startups often overlook.
Discover Funding Options in Virginia
Review which funding sources are available and optimal for your business.
Design Your Pitch Deck
Learn how to present your business plan to potential partners, investors, and customers.
A 6-week program where you’ll learn how to test, improve, and validate your idea and get ready to create a product experiment.
The Idea Factory exists to (1) lead aspiring founders through the process of testing, refining, and validating their ideas, (2) provide new opportunities for those who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19, and (3) enhance our region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and economy by building a more diverse and equitable founder community.
The Idea Factory is for anyone in the Central Virginia area with a technology-driven or manufacturing-based business idea. The 6-week program provides training, resources, and support to test your idea and help you decide whether you are ready to take the next steps towards becoming an entrepreneur.
Cost:
The program fee is $500, with need-based scholarships available.
Visit our Idea Factory page for more details and to apply.
Startup Virginia curates programs to meet the current business needs of our members.
Our member startups benefit from startup-focused programming, including workshops that address specific business needs and holistic programs that help founders develop leadership skills, work on company culture, practice mindfulness, and build community.
Examples of past workshops:
- Be Your Own Publicist with Golden Word
- Breaking Down Investor Funding with Kaleo Legal
- Building the Right Tech Strategy with ThinkNimble
- Fundraising 201: Raising a Seed Round Efficiently with AWS
- Get to Know the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)
- Grow and Get Investors Fired Up w/ Digital Marketing with Workshop Digital
- Influencer Marketing Strategy
- Opportunity Zones & Taxes
with Williams Mullen - Pitch Deck Hothouse: Build or Revamp Your Presentation in One Day
Startup Virginia members benefit from the following:
Sharing Knowledge & Expertise
Getting Objective Feedback
Exposure to Different Viewpoints
Asking Questions
Strategic Goal Setting
Cost:
Startup Virginia Members - Free
*This is available to Startup Virginia members only.
Connecting members with knowledgeable professionals who provide guidance, one-on-one coaching and business know-how.
Startup Virginia’s Mentor Network includes an exceptional lineup of successful entrepreneurs, industry experts and discerning investors, who act as partners for each of our members on their startup journey. Building relationships with individuals who understand what it takes to launch and sustain a startup is an invaluable experience that is as meaningful as it is productive.
Startup Virginia mentors offer the following:
Office Hours
Roundtable Discussions
Educational Workshops
Leadership Coaching
Strategic Goal Setting
Cost:
Startup Virginia Members - Free
*This is available to Startup Virginia members only.
Equipping members with the self-awareness and self-confidence to build and lead a sustainable business.
Startup Virginia’s Values Based Leadership Development is an introduction to personal effectiveness training through the lens of emotional intelligence and business aptitude. After a thorough orientation, startup founders and their teams undergo an online assignment and quarterly workshops that help them increase self-understanding, enhance communication, and develop an intentional company culture.
Startup Virginia members are required to complete the following:
Member Orientation
Online Assignment
Quarterly Workshops
Cost:
Startup Virginia Members - Free
*This is available to Startup Virginia members only.
Cultivating a way to bring members together to discuss the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship.
Startup Virginia’s Founders Roundtable discussions are designed to encourage an open dialogue among members on the startup journey. Small groups of diverse founders meet monthly to participate in structured, confidential discussions about the professional and personal challenges of operating a startup.
Our EdTech and Sales Roundtable discussions provide members an opportunity to meet regularly with others in the community and leverage collective knowledge to help grow their startups.
Startup Virginia members benefit from the following:
Sharing Knowledge & Expertise
Exposure to Different Viewpoints
Asking Questions
Getting Objective Feedback
Brainstorming & Problem Solving
Cost:
Startup Virginia Members - Free
*This is available to Startup Virginia members only.