Venture Asheville’s leader believes city’s success factor is adamancy about supporting local
Jeffrey Kaplan is Director at Venture Asheville, an organization focused on helping start-ups get funded through three core initiatives: mentorship, financing, and events.
As described in this recent article in Hypepotamus, the city has transformed itself during the COVID-19 pandemic, attracting remote workers looking to take advantage of Asheville’s unique recreation and restaurant scene, and that growth hasn’t slowed down. In fact, Asheville was fourth on realtor.com’s list of places job seekers flocked to in 2021, and it has consistently been high on other lists for those looking to work remotely from smaller cities.
So what makes Asheville a unique spot for growing tech start-ups? Kaplan thinks the city’s focus on community is a big asset. “People in Asheville are adamant about supporting local. It’s in the water here,” he says. “What I find about Asheville is nobody just ends up here. People choose to be here very intentionally. And that leads to an incredibly giving culture.”
