August 5, 2021 - The Progress Index
Marcos Torales-Montes did not have the typical summer vacation like other high schoolers because of the activities that he participated in.
This rising sophomore spent the last week in July at Virginia State University's "CEO TO BE" Youth Entrepreneurship Summer Training Camp. Other students participated as they learned about various professions and developed business models.
July 1, 2021 - Richmond Times-Dispatch
The program, the Minority Small Business Launch Center, is designed to increase the rate of self-employed minorities and to help the performance of early stage minority-led firms in the Richmond area.
July 8, 2021 - Richmond Free Press
The state’s GO Virginia awarded the grant to the VSU Center for Entrepreneurship to create a one-stop launching pad for such businesses, according to the university’s Reginald F. Lewis School of Business in which the center is housed.
July 28, 2021 - Chesterfield Observer
The new program will offer business planning training and certificates; facilitate access to co-working space, maker space, business networking opportunities and free legal business counsel; host intellectual property and patent workshops; create youth innovation and entrepreneurship fellowships; and host investor-ready financial planning sessions and pitch competitions so minority entrepreneurs can access capital to fund their businesses.
June 29, 2021 - Urban Views Weekly
The Minority Small Business Launch Center was designed to increase the self-employment rate of minorities and the performance of early-stage minority-led firms in the cities and counties within the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
June 23, 2021 - Commonwealth of Virginia, Governor's Website
The Division of Research and Economic Development and the Center for Entrepreneurship at Virginia State University will create a Minority Small Business Launch Center that will provide a comprehensive suite of services for minority business founders and early-stage businesses. Funding will support the creation of 90 jobs and 40 new businesses.