During today's "Unleashing Ideas: Igniting High-Growth Entrepreneurship in Utah" conference, Alan E. Hall, noted entrepreneur, venture capitalist, community leader and philanthropist, unveiled Grow America, an organization dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed across the United States.
Particularly in today's turbulent economic climate, small business owners often lack the knowledge, resources and time needed to build their businesses. Whether the need is to build a marketing campaign to generate leads, create a professional website, or secure a round of funding, Grow America will act as a center for expertise, tools and education.
"The current financial crisis stresses the need for this type of national organization - one that will focus on growing Main Street rather than Wall Street," said Grow America's Chairman, Alan Hall. "Entrepreneurs and small businesses will play a vital role in the recovery of our economy. We want to help them succeed and grow as we pave the way for the next generation of business leaders."
Grow America was specifically designed to meet the business challenges of entrepreneurs. In 2009, Grow America will begin rolling out its business model across the country in select states, combining its national reach with a strong local presence. The first instance of this model is in Utah, with Grow Utah Ventures representing the local arm of Grow America.
The organization will offer localized business centers, online products and services, one-on-one consulting, and trusted local affiliates with years of proven experience. The initial product suite will specifically include:
- Local Business Resources - We provide a wide array of services to local entrepreneurs in key regions across the country. These services include: entrepreneur training, effective networking, high-level mentoring, start-up business support, funding assessment, and Speedpitching events, which connect entrepreneurs with dozens of qualified investors.
- Funding Services - FundingUniverse will lend its expertise to successfully train, prepare and enable entrepreneurs to obtain funding.
- Marketing Services - Sprout Marketing, a next-generation marketing firm, will provide a special product line for Grow America, designed to help companies generate awareness, improve customer retention and increase revenue.
- Web Services - Grow America will provide professional web services designed to help companies generate new business leads, sell products, provide customer support and build partnerships on the Internet.
For more information please visit www.growamericaventures.com.
About Grow America
Founded in 2008, Grow America is an organization that provides entrepreneurs with the services and support they need to grow their businesses. Grow America was created by Alan E. Hall, one of the most influential business, community and philanthropic leaders in the Western United States. Combining national reach with local impact, Grow America has brought together Grow Utah Ventures as well as expertise from FundingUniverse and Sprout Marketing to deliver affordable tools to entrepreneurs. The firm will provide affordable online products and services, one-on-one consulting, and resources from trusted local affiliates with years of proven experience. For more information visit www.growamericaventures.com.
About Grow Utah Ventures
Grow Utah Ventures, is a privately funded not-for-profit organization dedicated to stimulate, unlock and develop the entrepreneurial talent and early stage business opportunities for value creation across Utah. Comprised of a team of successful and experienced entrepreneurs, business leaders and private investors, Grow Utah Ventures accomplishes its mission by 1) Identifying, selecting and recognizing accomplished and promising Utah entrepreneurs, 2) Building a statewide community of outstanding entrepreneurs and those interested in promoting entrepreneurial development, 3) Partnering with organizations, companies and investors seeking to support Utah's best entrepreneurs, 4) Rallying community leadership and financial resources to support entrepreneurial development.
For more information about Grow Utah Ventures, visit www.growutahventures.com.
About FundingUniverse
FundingUniverse connects qualified entrepreneurs with active angels, VCs, and lenders across the United States. We provide services that make entrepreneurs Deal-Ready™. Prepare your company for investor scrutiny with our Funding Bootcamp, our lender ScoreCard, or our Venture Consulting Services. Once prepared, these entrepreneurs are introduced to the appropriate financing source: a network of active investors & lenders who rely on FundingUniverse to save them time by bringing them qualified business deals. Through FundingUniverse, investors have access to pre-screened dealflow organized to their personal investment preferences and can request a pitch from an entrepreneur virtually or in person. www.fundinguniverse.com.
About Sprout Marketing
Sprout Marketing is an outsourced marketing department for hire, employing a seasoned team of marketing experts who focus on growing client revenues using proven marketing strategies. Sprout's innovative approach allows clients to get the experience of an integrated marketing team without having to hire full-time resources. For tactical marketing, Sprout uses a trusted network of vendors who provide copywriting, design, web programming, and a host of other services. Since 2002, Sprout has helped launch more than 100 companies and 400 different products. For more information, please visit www.sproutmarketing.com.
