Faith Little and Aaron Taylor
BRISTOL, Tenn./Va. (WJHL) — Seventeen local businesses participated in downtown Bristol’s Entrepreneur’s Grant Competition on Tuesday night, and nine of them took home funds to build their businesses.
The contest is designed to provide a total of $50,000 in reimbursement grant funds to qualifying new or expanding downtown Bristol businesses to help ensure their long-term success.
Business owners underwent six weeks of intensive entrepreneur training, which all led up to pitches given in front of a panel of judges at Tuesday’s event. Nine of the participating businesses went home with grant funding ranging from $2,50 to $10,000.
Executive Director of Believe in Bristol Maggie Elliott told News Channel 11 that the contest aims to provide business owners a chance to gain resources and skills related to keeping their businesses successful.
“We know how hard it is to start a small business, and especially having resources to help them along the way,” she said. “So it’s not just about the grant funds. The six-week training program is really a huge part of this process. We want to make sure that our businesses are equipped with as many resources and skills as they possibly can [have].”
The winning businesses and amounts of grant funding received can be found below:
- Theatre Bristol: $10,000
- Platter & Pour: $10,000
- Family Tradition Tattoo Supply: $10,000
- Boho Collective: $5,000
- Bistro on 6th: $4,000
- Fina Florals: $3,500
- Audioasis: $3,500
- Union 41, Chef T: $2,500
- Winslow Savage Millinery: $1,500
