River District Association logo. Courtesy of RDA.

The River District Association in Danville has announced the start of a new quarterly program called Start-Up Slam to support both new and existng businesses in downtown.

The first Start-Up Slam will be held at 6 p.m. June 2 at The Lazy Bee (616 N. Main St.) in the North Main Business District to bring together everyone in the community who wants to share and exchange new business ideas – products or services – and be rewarded on the spot.

Anyone in the community is invited to attend (reservation required, limit 100 people). For $10 per person (cash only at the door), you can join other members of the community to share a meal – and business ideas.

Up to 15 partcipants at the event are welcome to share their ideas with the crowd (3-minute limit), and attendees will be able to vote on their favorite at the end of the evening. The top vote-gettr takes home all the cash collected at the door – no strings attached. No business plans are required.

โ€œWe want to make sure we have the tools in place to โ€˜grow our ownโ€™ business owners from inside our communityโ€ said Diana Schwartz, executive director of the River District Association, in a statement, โ€œand giving people an incentive to spend time thinking of โ€“ and sharing โ€“ good ideas will help people latch on to something that could one day turn into a very successful business. But the purpose of the event is to connect community and give people real resources to see first-hand that they can create change in their lives right here in Danville.โ€

The program is funded by a grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development. To reserve a seat, call the RDA office at 434-791-0210 or email alyssa@riverdistrictassociation.com. When registering, indicate whether you plan on watching the event or if you plan to share your idea for a new business, product or
service.

Poster for the Start-Up Slam. Courtesy of RDA.