In my last blog post, I told you that Bud and Penelope, PCV’s co-founders, wanted to bring the tools of venture capital to brick and mortar small businesses. These tools included not only the capital that companies needed to reach their next stage of growth, but also support from investors in the form of board participation, strategic marketing, governance and capital structure. Bud and Penelope saw that these things were boosting business growth for the tech companies, and knew that the same could be true for entrepreneurs on Main Street.
The PCV Business Advising program started small – in 2000 PCV (then called Silicon Valley Community Ventures) had about 30 advisors and 20 advised companies including Give Something Back and Timbuk2 Designs. Over the past 15 years we’ve grown Business Advising to a network of over 250 expert advisors and in 2012 we worked with 150 companies, supporting almost 2,500 employees in doing so. PCV advisors work one-on-one with small businesses, and with such a diverse group of experts the areas of focus can be almost anything business related – from marketing to finance to HR to operations! PCV advisors eagerly roll up their sleeves for entrepreneurs, stepping out of the board room and into the workspaces, offices, home offices, or whatever other space these small businesses occupy and help small business owners better understand their businesses, their options and the ways that their business can sustainably grow and hire new employees.
As you’ll read in our 2012 Annual Report, we’re already in the process of scaling the Business Advising program with our web-based advisor hub, www.businessadvising.pcv.wpengine.com. For the past 15 years we’ve been perfecting our model of grassroots community business development and we know how to create matches between advisors to companies – matches that boost job growth and create jobs! We’re excited to share this new form of business advising with entrepreneurs all over the country that want to grow and hire.
To learn more about our past and also hear plans for our future, check out www.pacificcommunityventures.org/15years.