Made in FredVA Finalists Named

Finalists have been selected in the Next Generation of Business Leaders’ Made in FredVA contest, the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce announced.

The six will appear before a live audience at the University of Mary Washington on Oct. 30 and pitch their new business ideas to a panel of area business leaders. The panel will then deliberate and decide which proposal merits a $10,000 prize to turn it into reality.

The event begins at 5:30 in UMW's Dodd Auditorium.  It is free for Next Generation members and UMW and Germanna students.  Cost is $10 for others.  Registration is required, and can be accomplished online.
$10 for all others, and is open to the public.

The Next Generation finalists in the Made in FredVA contest are:

·      Buy Local Hands will offer a fresh approach to school fundraising. The goal is to help area schools raise money by offering the sale of beautiful, fun and useful goods and services by local artists, artisans, crafters and farmers. A portion of Buy Local Hands’ profits from each sales drive will be donated to a charitable cause selected by the school or organization.

·      Campus IDeas is working to develop an electronic college student ID system that students can carry on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. The company is partnering with Germanna Community College on a prototype version of the system. The system will eventually include advertising from local businesses, which could be customized if it were adopted nationwide.

·      Fredericksburg Botanical Gardens is a proposal for a garden near Central Park that would complement Richmond’s Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and the Norfolk Botanical Garden. The 100-acre garden would include areas depicting antebellum slave gardens, as well as examples of modern botanical gardens. This world-class attraction will include a variety of native Virginian and exotic plants and give visitors hands-on experience in the arts of horticulture.

·      Muster Me is Software as a Service business that allows customers to collect and distribute contact data for groups of individuals quickly and simply. Users of mobile devices – especially smart phones – can gather and compile data in order to share it quickly, cheaply and accurately. Customers will pay for the service on a per-use or subscription basis depending on their needs.

·      Spencer Devon Brewing is a proposed micro-brewery for downtown Fredericksburg featuring a full kitchen and bar. The brewery will initially feature four staple varieties of beer, with expanded offerings to follow. It will compete with craft breweries in surrounding localities and will draw craft brewery enthusiasts from all over the East Coast. The restaurant will serve dishes composed of locally produced ingredients with both tapa and dinner-sized portions.

·      Sprelly is a proposed sandwich eatery that will offer comfort food featuring a wide array of ground nut spreads and freshly made jellies, jams and preserves. The shop will give patrons an opportunity to mix and match spreads and jams on a variety of freshly baked breads. Customers will also be able to grind their own nut butters to enjoy at the shop or pack up and take home.

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