Loudoun Small Business Week Offers Networking, Learning Opportunities

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Release: Loudoun Small Business Week

Who will you meet, and what will you learn? That’s what entrepreneurs are invited to find out during Loudoun Small Business Week, May 11-17. There will be nearly two dozen events where you can network with industry leaders and learn essential strategies for business growth.

“Talk to almost anyone who started a small company and made it big, and the two things that took them from idea to IPO are the personal connections they made, and the information they put to use,” said Loudoun Economic Development Director Buddy Rizer. The business community will get to do both during Loudoun Small Business Week 2015.

The week kicks off with a special presentation by international medical device company K2M CEO Eric Major on Monday, May 11. The week ends with farm and winery tours Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17.

Other highlights include a screening of the documentary “StartupLand” and a Tap Takeover by Loudoun craft brewers; both will be held at the Alamo Drafthouse in Ashburn on May 12. Print out this poster of the week’s activities for easy reference.

“More than 80 percent of all Loudoun businesses have less than 20 employees,” Rizer explained. “We’ve worked hard to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Loudoun that helps companies start and thrive.”

That ecosystem includes Loudoun Small Business Week cosponsors CIT, the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce, the Mason Enterprise Center-Leesburg, the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Small Business Development Center and the Town of Leesburg.

The Loudoun Board of Supervisors plays a primary role in making sure Loudoun has a business climate that’s favorable to companies of all sizes. During Small Business Week, each member of the board will visit small businesses in his or her district.

“It’s very important to me and other board members to personally show our support to people who run companies that power this county’s economic engine,” said the chairman of the board, Scott K. York.

If you participate in any Loudoun Small Business Week events or activities, please tweet about your experiences using the hashtag #LoudounSBW. Organizers will monitor Twitter and select winners to be featured on the economic development blog.

For other details, visit www.LoudounSBW.org.