There is a critical need for funding at early stages. Angel groups rarely entertain early-stage companies, there's too much risk. Crowdfunding is a good option, but you've got to far enough along that your funders are buying a product, not paying for prototyping. So you're left with competitions. In Asheville, that means you have 1 or 2 chances to win money per year. And that's only if you get first place. Introducing community sourced, radically democratized, micro-grants. Lucky for you, you live in the Asheville Area, and the people here want to see you succeed. Venture Asheville is leveraging our partnership with the Community Betterment Foundation to pool community donations and returning that to startups like yours through a competitive application process.