In an effort to bolster and promote entrepreneurship at the local level, the West Virginia University BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has partnered with two other major state organizations.

The Caf� Morgantown at the Market entrepreneurship event will take place on May 3 at the Morgantown Market Place, 400 Spruce Street, in Morgantown. The event will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. following the Morgantown Farmers’ Market.

The purpose of Caf� Morgantown is to provide small (micro) awards to local entrepreneurs. Participating entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and attendees vote for their favorite project. The selected entrepreneurs will give five-minute presentations about their projects, after which the audience may ask questions. After all five presentations and all questions have been answered, the audience will vote to select a winner.

The project that receives the most votes from the audience will receive at least $500 in cash and a part of the proceeds from the event.

“This is a new concept in West Virginia to recognize and reward entrepreneurs in our state,” said Steven Cutright, director of the BrickStreet Center, which is housed within the WVU College of Business and Economics. “Entrepreneurs get to pitch their ideas to their fellow entrepreneurs and the public to see how well they are received. In the end, we believe it’s a great way to promote entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in West Virginia.”

Entrepreneur applicants must complete the presenter application, found under the “Crowdfunding” panel at www.RevWV.com. Applications may be completed online and emailed to Tara.StClair@mail.wvu.edu and must be received no later than noon on Friday, April 18. Before the event, a selection committee, which will be comprised of representatives from West Virginia University, Main Street Morgantown, the City of Morgantown and other local organizations, will choose five entrepreneurs to present their ideas at Caf� Morgantown. The selected presenters will be notified no later than April 25.

Community members are invited to purchase tickets for the event at bit.ly/1gKCS1Y. Tickets will also be sold at the Morgantown Market Place the day of the event. The cost for the event is $20, which will provide each attendee with lunch and the opportunity to vote.

The event is an initiative of Vision Shared, a statewide, nonprofit organization created in 2000 as a public-private partnership to bring together business, labor, government and other diverse interests to develop a strategy that will sustain West Virginia and make the state more economically competitive; and Main Street Morgantown, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of the Downtown and Wharf Districts of Morgantown through thoughtful revitalization.

For further information on the College of Business and Economics, please visit be.wvu.edu.

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CONTACT: Steve Cutright, College of Business and Economics
304.293.7861, Steven.Cutright@mail.wvu.edu

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