Montgomery Co. official joins Startup America for meeting at the White House

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Montgomery County, Virginia  - A Montgomery County economic development official recently attended a meeting in Washington, D.C., with senior White House and agency officials focused on the importance of fostering vibrant startup communities throughout the United States.

Charlie Jewell, Project Manager of Marketing & Business Development for the Economic Development Department, was one of more than 50 individuals from 10 states and the District of Columbia who attended the Feb. 5 meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on the White House grounds.

Startup America Partnership, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., organized the meeting to spotlight the exciting things happening across the country.  Representatives from the Small Business Administration, Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Department of Commerce were briefed by the 11 startup regions about entrepreneurship and startup activity within their respective states.

“There are startup communities thriving throughout the country,” said Scott Case, CEO of Startup America Partnership. “We facilitated this meeting to illustrate the importance of fostering these ecosystems in every state in the U.S., not just Silicon Valley or New York.”

Jewell joined five other region champions from across the Commonwealth to represent Startup Virginia. Other startup regions represented at the meeting included Startup Arizona, Startup Colorado, Startup DC, Startup Indiana, Startup Maryland, Startup North Carolina, Startup Nebraska, Startup Tennessee and Startup Texas.

“The meeting was an exciting opportunity to talk about Virginia and our community,” Jewell said. “A lot of people don’t realize that there are new startups popping up all the time in Montgomery County, with many of them successfully scaling into job creators for our area. Innovative companies like Aegisound, Aeroprobe, CCS-Inc., Heyo, Modea, Polymer Solutions, Prime Photonics, TORC Robotics and VTLS are being built from the ground up by entrepreneurs right here in our community."

Last November, the Economic Development Department and Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) cohosted a meeting for Startup America Partnership in Blacksburg on its weeklong Startup Virginia tour. Since that time, the Department has stayed active with Startup America Partnership and is working with the RBTC to support the initiative locally through Startup Blacksburg.

Photo (left to right):  Zack Miller (Hatch, Norfolk), Keith Privette (Silicon Anchor News, Norfolk), Jennifer Ives (Arlington County Economic Development Department, Arlington), Larkin Garbee (804RVA, Richmond), Todd Nuckols (EnterBridge Technologies, Richmond), and Charlie Jewell (Montgomery County Economic Development, Christiansburg) represent Startup Virginia at meeting in Washington, D.C.

Contact:

Ruth Richey
Public Information Director
Montgomery County, Virginia
Phone: 540-381-6887
E-mail: richeyrl@montgomerycountyva.gov

About the Montgomery County Economic Development Department:

Montgomery County, Virginia - home of Virginia Tech and the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg - is a progressive, technology-driven community with an abundance of outdoor amenities. The Montgomery County Economic Development Department actively supports the startup, retention and expansion of companies in Montgomery County as well as the recruitment of new businesses to the community. To learn more, visit www.YesMontgomeryVA.org.

About Startup America Partnership:

The Startup America Partnership supports a national network of startup communities dedicated to advancing the success of American startups. Hundreds of passionate founders, entrepreneurial leaders, investors, mentors and executives, (Startup Champions), are working together to strengthen their local communities and help young companies grow.

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