Nearly 30 small West Virginia business owners graduate through Goldman Sachs program at BridgeValley – WV MetroNews

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly 30 small business owners are the first cohort in West Virginia to be graduating from a $100 million dollar national funding initiative through America’s leading multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs graduated 26 small business owners from its signature business-education program, 10,000 Small Businesses, at BridgeValley Community & Technical College on Friday.

The commencement is part of the programs’ $100 million Investment in Rural Communities grant, an initiative to reach rural small business owners across 20 states over five years. West Virginia marks the seventh state to host graduates from the program to date after it was launched last year.

Goldman Sachs Foundation President Asahi Pompey said on MetroNews ‘Talkline’ that this program is set up to expand business owners’ business-education knowledge and growth.

“It is a mini MBA, think of it that way, for small business owners who want to grow their business,” Pompey said.

BridgeValley President Casey Sacks said they are extremely honored Goldman Sachs selected them to host the program out of all of the other community and technical colleges in the state to choose from.

“They really saw the kinds of interactions that we have with our business community and saw the support that we’re so committed to providing to employers in the region, and that we really lead with what’s the job that people are going to need,” Sacks said. “Goldman Sachs saw that as a real strength for BridgeValley and wanted to work with us so that we could actually help business owners within our community.”

The program is a 100 hour, 12-week course that covers nine different modules for small business success, including handling its finances, operation and negotiations.

Pompey said often times small business owners run into just how crucial the latter of those modules truly is in its success.

“Time and time again small business owners say I’ve got to negotiate with the bank, I’ve got to negotiate for my new product line and I want some tips on how I can be a great negotiator, and if there’s anything Goldman Sachs knows, we know business and we know negotiations and the like, and so we’ve been so pleased to work with these phenomenal West Virginia small business owners,” said Pompey.

Through a partnership with the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) intermediary, Appalachian Community Capital, Goldman Sachs has committed $5 million in lending capital to CDFIs in the thirteen state Appalachian region. This includes $1 million directly to a West Virginia-based CDFI, Partner Community Capital, which serves small businesses across the state.

Pompey said she has learned a lot from working with West Virginia small business entrepreneurs thus far. She said one thing she has learned, these business owners wear multiple hats– from operations to HR, to social media and marketing.

Pompey said she also learned that they’re extremely passionate about their businesses and the impact they have in their communities.

“They want to grow, they want to be more efficient, they want to create more jobs, they want to contribute to their community,” she said. 

Finally, Pompey said she learned that access to capital is a key challenge for small business owners in the state, and they want more tools as to how to access more capital and grow their businesses.

Pompey said they chose West Virginia for the program because they were impressed by the vibrancy of the entrepreneurial ecosystem here, from manufacturers and builders to coal associations.

She said small businesses are the bedrock of rural America and West Virginia is certainly no exception with small businesses in the state accounting for approximately 98.8% of local enterprises overall.

“If you want to know who the job creators are, nearly half of all West Virginians are employed by a small business, so at Goldman Sachs we know the intricate connection between small business, big business, and the U.S. economy, and we have been excited to be in West Virginia,” she said.

However, Pompey said when people finish the program, their time with Goldman Sachs is not yet finished as the investment bank tracks graduates beyond 18 months post-grad to figure out exactly what the impact of the program had on them overtime.

She said according to their 2024 impact report they recently released, success is clearly evident for small business owners.

The report shows that within six months after graduation, 66% of the programs’ alumni increased their revenue and 44% of them managed to create new jobs in their communities.

Pompey said their secret behind this success is all in their unique curriculum and the fact that every business owner leaves it with a new plan for growth.

“This is their roadmap as to how they’re going to grow their business overtime, and so they’re leaving today after they graduate with that tool kit, that roadmap and how they’re going to execute that, and that’s why we’re seeing those results after six months,” said Pompey.

Sacks said BridgeValley was also honored to present Goldman Sachs with a number of hardworking entrepreneurs to work with.

“These are people who, many of them, already have degrees but have decided that they really want to be able to grow their small businesses and that that’s the priority, and so here they are at BridgeValley getting some additional training to do that,” said Sacks.

Pompey said they are always looking for new applicants in rural areas. You can learn more about Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and apply here.