create a locally-led and sustainable entrepreneurial environment.

And the first step in making this happen? A small business competition designed to build community capacity, make long-term investments in residents, and create a self-sustaining entrepreneurial ecosystem.

In 2018, Downtown Wytheville applied for and received a Community Business Launch Grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and launched the competition, Evolution Wytheville. After receiving funding, Downtown Wytheville partnered with the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County and the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce to recruit local businesses and build partnerships with downtown property owners—some of whom agreed to offer incentives, like reduced rent, to have competition winners locate in their storefronts.

The competition was open to anyone looking to start a business in the downtown district, and leaders conducted alocal and regional awareness campaign to attract new and expanding businesses. After advertising with local media outlets and sharing a promotional video on social media, 30 aspiring entrepreneurs signed up. Town leaders narrowed it down to eight finalists and matched them with mentors, required them to take six entrepreneurship courses (ranging from financials and cash flow to business and legal structure), and asked them to present detailed business plans to a panel of local business leaders. Judges evaluated plans on the amount of foot traffic the business would generate, the number of jobs it would create, and the quality of the overall plan.

Four winners eventually took home $75,000 in prize money—two winners each opened breweries, one a Vietnamese bakery, and the other an art school. Participants highlighted the