A team from the Charleston Area Alliance will serve as business mentors at the Kent State University Fashion/Tech Hackathon, a 36-hour event that brings together teams of students in fashion, computer science, engineering, math and physics from across the country to come up with apps and software that tie digital thinking to fashion.
The visit is part of the Alliance’s Radical Entrepreneurial Ventures (REV) program that facilitates meetings at universities and innovation hubs to recruit startups and other business back to the Kanawha Valley.
“We know that a vibrant innovation community helps drive the local economy, which is why we’re pleased to serve as business mentors at the Fashion/Tech Hathathon,” said Matt Ballard, president and CEO of the Alliance. “Through our REV outreach we demonstrate how entrepreneurs and innovative businesses can grow by relocating to our region or utilizing the expertise of our local businesses for their startup venture.”
Ballard; Cody Schuler, Alliance Entrepreneur Project Manager; Katie Rugeley, Alliance Board Member and owner of women’s boutique Virginia Lee; Morgan Richards, leather goods designer and owner of Morgan Rhea; and Michael Beals, marketing director of Morgan Rhea will comprise the Alliance business mentorship team. Both Rugeley and Richards are previous winners of the Alliance’s Thrive crowdfunding event, which provides seed money to local entrepreneurs for business expansion.
The Fashion/Tech Hackathon Jan. 27- 29 offers the Alliance business mentors access to innovative startup companies and leading-edge products. Last year’s event included 158 student participants representing 16 universities, with a nearly equal spilt between male and female attendees. Forty percent of participants were fashion majors, 40 percent were computer science majors and the remaining 20 percent were from a variety of diverse majors.
2017 Fashion/Tech Hackathon business mentors are from a wide-array of fashion and technology-related businesses and economic development groups including ModCloth, Trunk Club, Digi-Key Electronics and Cladwell.
In 2016 the Alliance successfully recruited Autopods, the Pittsburgh-based pedicab company, to the Charleston market following REV outreach. REV is supported by a Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation grant. More than 20 Kanawha Valley professionals with ties to out-of-state innovation hubs are part of the Alliance’s REV recruitment efforts.
