1. Professional
Report
Brooke Zink, Amit
Vashist, Sebastien
Danis, Betsey Pope, Mohamed Alhassan
Team Mentor David R. Lohr, Navigation Point Advisors
Findings
After conducting research about the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Richmond and the
surrounding areas, we found that the ecosystem is one that consists of many different elements.
The ecosystem is extremely diverse, ranging from incubators and accelerators, to specialty coffee
shops and microbreweries. However, we found that while an ample amount of information is
available, it may be hard for new entrepreneurs to locate and make use of it. Due to this
structure, our team decided that the best course of action would be to narrow down key resources

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and provide a process that people can follow in order to enter and remain successful in the
ecosystem. Directly involved with our artifact will be companies and organizations we feel can
be of most use, including: The Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, New Richmond Ventures,
80AMPS, RVAWorks, RichTech, and the Venture Forum.
Additionally, our goal is to link new entrepreneurs to key resources, such as
manufacturers, law firms, web links to various websites with valuable information (required
business licenses, tax forms, etc.), and bookkeeping/accounting firms. The law firms included
range from corporate law, intellectual property law, and product liability as well as various
commercial property management firms.
Our team also decided it is important to include meeting places that wouldn’t
traditionally be part of the ecosystem, like coffee shops and microbreweries. However, we
decided we would allow our visitors to discuss which of these non-traditional components are
best using our forum page. This page, along with social media pages, will be the guiding
mechanism for connecting people and keeping up-to-date information about the entrepreneurship
landscape of Richmond. It also acts as a place where more entrepreneurs can come to ask and
answer questions, hold discussions, and learn about events happening in the area (aside from the
calendar).
Team Approach
During team meetings, our group decided that it would be best to take a modern approach
towards helping visitors reach their desired answers about the greater Richmond area
entrepreneurship ecosystem, by creating a memorable tagline for the team’s website: a “One
Stop Shop For Entrepreneurs”.

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A website is the most effective and efficient way of connecting people and businesses,
providing valuable and updated information to anyone seeking it. Convenience was also a major
factor when deciding, as a website is easy to locate, and available at all times. Included on the
site is a downloadable/printable brochure that gives a basic, condensed version of the
information. We decided to do this to appeal to the older entrepreneurs whom may not be as
tech-savvy and prefer a tangible product.
In order to complete this product on time, tasks were delegated to individuals depending
on the skill set that each brought to the table. If a team member was unable to attend a meeting,
they would be kept up to date by via e-mail, and also sent a Google Doc including everything
discussed and covered in that meeting.
Artifact
For the artifact itself, our team decided a website would work best for a few reasons. One
reason is that a website is very accessible. All the information is available at any time and place,
as opposed to the constraints of a hard copy artifact (Having to pick it up/losing the paper).
Being an entrepreneur, time is a valuable commodity. Being online allows for the user to access
information and resources whenever needed.
Another reason is the easy updating that websites provide. With the ecosystem constantly
shifting and new information arising, we thought it was important to make an artifact that could
be easily updated and maintained. The Team created a unique logo for the website and has
secured the URL www.startuprva.com and the Twitter handle @rvastartup. We also initiated
some Tweets to get the Twitter element going.
The artifact also includes an interactive calendar page. The page marks important events,
seminars, and other important networking opportunities, that can benefit entrepreneurs. Using

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our contact page, organizations can send an email giving us the information (time, date, etc.) of
their event. Our team feels that this can be a great networking tool for people looking to enter the
ecosystem and meet other entrepreneurs/organizations, as well as to remain informed and up to
date on the ecosystem.
As discussed earlier in the report, a discussion forum page is also included in the
artifact. Entrepreneurs can ask questions, receive advice, and network themselves to others.
Mentorships, much like with our group project, will also be incorporated into a section on the
forum page as well. Experienced entrepreneurs and other executives, who would like to give
back to the business community, will be able to share their wisdom with younger entrepreneurs.
These aspect helps the entrepreneur ecosystem grow as a whole. This concept of a peer to peer
forum derived from a website called Founder Dating, which allows entrepreneurs to ask
questions regarding specific items, and have others who've experienced similar problems offer
advice. An example may be an entrepreneur in the market trying to develop a website and is
curious as to how much to pay a software developer in the Silicon Valley. By posting in the
forum, an entrepreneur, who has experience in this matter, can post this information. We believe
that this concept can be crucial to new entrepreneurs who need advice when entering the
ecosystem.
Another key factor in choosing a website is the relatively low cost of maintenance. Below
is an estimate of the cost of operating the website:
● Domain Name : $10/year
● Website Hosting : $20/year
● Development : $2500/one time fee
● Full time Staff : $2500/month
The bulk of the operating costs comes from a full time staff member. However, a part time
employee may be adequate to maintain the website. The Biotech Park may already have a full

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time staff member dedicated to their websites maintenance, and can possibly be given this to run
as well, cutting costs dramatically. Another way to help lower costs would be to sell
advertisement space on the website/printable brochure to businesses. Depending on the sites
visiting traffic, this can generate an upwards of $5000 per month. The goal however, is not to
turn a profit, but to help entrepreneurs learn and ultimately enter the ecosystem with ease.
Advertisement space would be sold on the cheaper side to newer businesses and organizations
whose budget is limited. The goal of these advertisements is to cut website expenses, all while
helping new businesses grow their brand.
The bulk of our artifact comes from the resources page. Most of the information needed
will be located on subpages in this tab of the actual website. These subsections include business
plan, facilities, professional services, financing, and a forms/links section. On the next page is an
outline briefly describing each subsection of the resource page:
● The business plan tab essentially details the necessary steps to making a business plan.
Business plan templates, like Steve Blank’s business canvas model, will be available. A
brief description will be available for each business plan category and can be filled in by
the user. Articles detailing different steps and others dealing with business plans will
also be made available.
● The professional services section will be extremely vital to entrepreneurs coming into the
greater Richmond area due to the information it provides regarding any sort of service an
entrepreneur might need. Some include real estate agencies, law offices, consulting firms,
etc. We want to try and find professional organizations that cater to new, smaller
businesses. We will have other large companies on this page as well, but our focus is to
make sure new businesses have everything they need to succeed.

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● The finance section will include information on how entrepreneurs can obtain business
loans and articles outlining different steps needed in order to do so. This page will also
include different banks in the area, which are more prone to give out loans.
● The forms section will provide links to various important forms that entrepreneurs will
need in order to form and operate their business. These will include tax forms, business
license applications, etc. Like previously stated, our goal is to create a place where all
information can be found in one place. The reason we chose a website is the ability to
change things with relative ease, so any information that is deemed important for
entrepreneurs or anybody trying to find out about the ecosystem can be added or removed
with ease.
Recommended Next Steps
We recommend you take these next steps to get the full capability and functionality of
our artifact. The first thing that needs to be done is to secure the URL and domains for the
website. As of now, Startuprva.com and Startuprva.org are available. Securing social media
outlets is also key, as you do not want others to have the same name. Currently, we have already
secured a Twitter account/handle, @rvastartup. Similarly, Linked-In, Facebook, Pinterest and
other popular social media pages/accounts should be created as show on the demonstration
website page the team built.
The next step we recommend is to fully fill out the information using our website
template to make sure everything is relative and up to date. In the time allotted, we were unable
to finish gathering all the required information. Using our guidelines and templates, the
developer has the freedom to add whatever information they deem important. New tabs can also
be added at the developer's discretion.

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Once the website is fully functional and advertisements have been place, the next logical
step would be to create an app for mobile phones. Society has become hooked on mobile phones
and tablets. Creating an app will compliment the website, allowing the user to access information
on the go. Push notifications can also be sent directly to phones, alerting users of events and
changes happening in the ecosystem.
A QR code could also be placed on business cards, fliers, and brochures, to direct
customers to our website immediately by simply scanning the code with their smart phone.
Brochures could then be placed around highly populated areas to get as much visibility as
possible. QR codes are a great marketing tool that is extremely convenient for both the customer
and the companies involved.
A website is an awesome way to get the Richmond Entrepreneur Ecosystem out to the
public in a fast and easy way. With social media as popular as it is, we advise that you take full
control of every social media outlet you can in order to promote the website.