By Esteban Fernandez, Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — In West Virginia, there’s no shortage of startups or entrepreneurs who are trying to launch their ideas.
But the support systems around them are fragmented.
“I’ve been with TechConnect for a little over a year, and the more we talk to entrepreneurs, the more I understand the value of creating connections,” Ariana Shives, executive director of TechConnect West Virginia, said. “We actually do have many more resources for entrepreneurs than I ever expected, but people don’t know what’s out there.”
Called Trailblaze, TechConnect West Virginia and the WV Investor Collaborative hosted a one-day conference for early-stage, high growth startups and the people who support them at the I-79 High Technology Foundation on Wednesday. Shives said the goal of the conference was to provide learning opportunities about entrepreneurship to attendees and a space for entrepreneurs to network with others like them but also, just as importantly, network with funding opportunities.
The conference was made possible through an economic development grant. She said around 50% of the people who attended were entrepreneurs and founders, while the remaining half were split between resource providers and people with money to invest in startups. That latter group was made up of angel investors and venture capitalists.
Shives said an event like Trailblaze was important because the entrepreneur community doesn’t have the same proximity in West Virginia like the one in Silicon Valley does.
“As a brand new founder who’s never done this before, I don’t live in Silicon Valley where I can ask my next door neighbor how they built their company,” Shives said. “So it’s really valuable for those people who have never done this before to see how other people are doing it, gain role models and gain an understanding of what’s out there to help them.”
Amber Ravenscroft, co-chair of the West Virginia Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, said networking is essential for entrepreneurs. The state’s entrepreneurship ecosystem is so connected, most individuals are usually two degrees of separation from someone who can help solve a problem.
Entrepreneurship as a whole is thriving in the state, she said, with small businesses making up 98.9% of the state’s commerce. Growth is taking place in the high tech fields, but also in tourism, energy and health. She said entrepreneurship is the backbone of the economy.
“We know that net new jobs in the U.S. are created by companies that are five years or less,” Ravenscroft said. “There’s this idea, right, that big companies come in and they bring all of these jobs. Actually, it’s the younger, smaller companies that bring the most net jobs.”
Access to capital is part of the equation when it comes to entrepreneurial success. Michelle O’Connor, director of Anova Commercialization, of Fairmont, said the challenge to entrepreneurship in the Mountain State isn’t due to a lack of capital in the state, but a lack of individuals with the expertise needed to start a venture.
“It’s the expertise of someone coming in and saying, ‘I want to start this biotech company,’ or ‘I want to do this high tech company,’” O’Conner said. “It’s the extra expertise that we can wrap around them.”
Another challenge is entrepreneurs just don’t know what opportunities are out there when it comes to capital. O’Connor said access to capital is important because it helps businesses grow, expand, hire and more.
“Even if you don’t access the capital, if you’re just sitting at home and you’re like, ‘one day I want to do this,’ they know there’s the opportunity there,” she said. “I think it gives that hope and opportunity that they’re going to be able to do what they want to do when they are ready to do it.”
Photo credit: Trailblaze, a one day conference, brought together entrepreneurs from around the region to network at the High Tech Center on Oct. 1, 2025. Photo by Esteban Fernandez
