Illustration courtesy da Vinci Center for Innovation
Virginia Commonwealth University has launched two new initiatives through its da Vinci Center for Innovation: the Entrepreneurship Academy and the Student Storefront.
The projects are a collaboration between the da Vinci Center and two business-focused organizations in Richmond: Activation Capital, which supports innovative entrepreneurs and their startup ventures, and The Jackson Ward Collective (JWC), a new hub for Black business owners.
The Academy will bring together 150 first-generation college students and low-income students with 50 local entrepreneurs identified by JWC and Activation Capital. “We think it’s important to collaborate within the ecosystem,” says JWC co-founder Melody Short.
Students will complete learning modules in four areas of 21st-century entrepreneurship, with topics ranging from design thinking to digital literacy and business communications. Traditional academic instruction will be combined with mentoring and networking opportunities, says Garret Westlake, executive director of the da Vinci Center.
The academy welcomed its inaugural class virtually in January but hopes to move to face-to-face instruction and events when it is safe to do so, Westlake says.
The Entrepreneurship Academy will be coupled with the introduction of VCU’s new Student Storefront, where academy participants can sell products directly to the public. The storefront has a tentative opening date of April 30. The storefront’s offerings will be “as broad as the imagination of students,” says Westlake, who likened the Broad Street storefront to a “brick-and-mortar Kickstarter.”
