Windham County Economic Development Program (WCEDP) Business Plan Competition

“It’s all about your go to market strategy” stated Jeffery Thomas, Executive Director of Lever Inc and one of the judges for the 2022 WCEDP Business Plan Competition, in addressing the finalists before the winner was announced. When the judges convened after the conclusion of the last pitch, the winner’s go to market strategy was a key differentiator.

Thomas was one of the six judges that made up this year’s panel, alongside Bronna Zlochiver of the WCEDP Council, Sara Powell of the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship, Meg Streeter of Southeastern Vermont Economic Development, Ed Sheldon of Key Bank, and Dena Moses of Vermont Weaving, last year’s Competition winner.

Dosa Kitchen, led by Leda Scheintaub and Nash Patel, worked with multiple mentors to refine their plan and pitch, which earned solid judge recognition and the grand prize in the competition.

The judges were very impressed with the dedication and commitment put forth by all 7 finalists: Kristen and Karen Nelson with West River Coffee Bar(n) in Londonderry, Christina Delsoldato and Matt Blake with Hayden Rowe Candle Company of South Londonderry, Nicole Couch-Diaz with Earthen Co. in Putney, Jake Checani and Ryan Foster with Home Grown Edible Landscaping & Nursery and Katheryn Stadler with Wicked Clean Grooming, both in Guilford, and Darren Mark with The Invèntory of Brattleboro.

At the outset of the competition, 25 entrepreneurs submitted applications to compete.  All applicants participated in one of four local Quick Pitch Events, hosted in June. In addition to the application and pitch participation all businesses had to meet the competition criteria:

• The business must be located in Windham County
• Winners must be a legal entity to receive grant funding
• Able to demonstrate the potential to serve a gap in the market
• Projections demonstrate revenues greater than supporting owner salaries and two FTEs within one year
• Reinvestment into business must be a priority for the first three years and reflected in projections

Eight semifinalists met these criteria and were provided access to online business planning software provided by the BDCC, and funded through WCEDP. Ultimately, seven finalists were advanced based on their ability to produce a comprehensive written Business Plan.

All seven Business Plans were reviewed by a panel of judges who found a wide spread of viability among the finalist businesses. It was the Pitch and following Q&A that truly bolstered some finalists’ standing for the judges. It all came down to two main points for the judges; whether a plan to add 2 FTEs (full time equivalent employee) was clearly outlined, and the business’s go to market strategy.

Judges were unanimous in their opinion to award the $20,000 grand prize to Scheintaub and Patel who received a handmade wooden replica of a check, created courtesy of the Hatch Space.

Students from Landmark College’s Entrepreneurship class were in attendance, as well as guests of the finalists and members of the WCEDP Advisory Council, Gretchen Haverluk, Gary Fox and (judge) Bronna Zlochiver. The Council advises BDCC staff on the Competition and WCEDP Revolving Loan Fund.

Fox spoke briefly to the history of WCEDP, having been formed  out of a need to mitigate economic losses following the anticipated closure of Vermont Yankee. WCEDP investments are guided by the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) the region’s economic plan, the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) .

The Pitch event was hosted at the Williamsville Hall, and sponsored by the Brattleboro Reformer and Peak Radio.

Natty Hussey, BDCC’s Director of Business Acceleration, organized the competition; “This entire process is about accelerating every business that participates – from the application process, through the pitch events, and final judging. We want to help each entrepreneur move forwards their business goals.”

About

The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) is a private, nonprofit economic development organization that serves as a catalyst for industrial and commercial growth throughout Southeastern Vermont, including Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Winhall and Weston. BDCC serves as the State of Vermont’s certified Regional Development Corporation (RDC) for the greater Windham County area. BDCC is one of 12 RDCs throughout Vermont. This BDCC activity was made possible in part by a grant from the State of Vermont through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. For more information visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/

Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) is an affiliate of BDCC that grew from a 2008 grassroots effort, initiated by BDCC, to understand and create long term strategies needed to reverse the economic decline of the Windham Region and plan for the economic impacts from the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. In 2014, after multiple years of regional input, education and data gathering, SeVEDS received federal approval for the Windham Region’s federally recognized S.M.A.R.T. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). SeVEDS partnered with Bennington’s Regional Economic Development Group in 2018 to develop the 2019 Southern Vermont Zone CEDS. For more information visit: www.seveds.com

About Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)

A CEDS is a federally prescribed process for creating a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. A CEDS brings together public and private sectors to analyze the regional economy, establish regional goals and objectives, and to identify investment priorities and funding re sources. In addition, many federal and state granting programs look to a region’s CEDS when considering funding. The Windham Region’s federally approved CEDS was completed in 2014 by SeVEDS and is being implemented by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC).  The 2019 5-year update also includes Bennington County and all of the towns in the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone. For more information or to review 2019 CEDS project submissions please visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/ceds-overview/

Windham County Economic Development Program

The WCEDP is meant to promote economic development in Windham County by providing funds to stimulate job creation through business start-up, expansion, or relocation, encourage entrepreneurial activity, and strengthen the economic development infrastructure to ensure a strong foundation for transformational economic activity. The primary focus of the program will be private sector job creation and retention, and direct support of entrepreneurial activities, and alignment within the Southern Vermont Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). https://brattleborodevelopment.com/windham-co-economic-development-program/