Regional Focus
COMPILED BY JENNIFER JETT PREZKOP
Photo by Kent Mason.
Secretary of State’s Office Launches
Online Business Startup Wizard
Secretary of State Mac Warner recently
announced the new Business Startup
Wizard, an online tool to assist entre-
preneurs in selecting the best type of cor-
porate structure for their new company.
The tool was developed in partnership
with West Virginia Interactive as part
of Warner’s effort to make business and
licensing registration in the Mountain
State as easy and helpful as possible.
This new service is the latest part of a
substantial effort and investment by the
Secretary of State’s Office to implement
state-of-the-art technology for the ben-
efit of the general public.
“It has never been easier to open a new
business in West Virginia,” says Warner.
Marshall University Announces
Brad D. Smith Business Incubator
Marshall University recently celebrated
its new Brad D. Smith Business Incubator
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
at a ceremony in Huntington. The busi-
ness incubator space, which is undergoing
renovations, is located on the first floor
of the university’s Visual Arts Center
across from Pullman Plaza.
A partnership between the Marshall
University Brad D. Smith School of Busi-
ness and the Robert C. Byrd Institute,
the incubator is expected to begin ac-
cepting tenants in August. The space will
help entrepreneurs cultivate new ideas to
grow the local and regional economy
and will offer mentorship and support
to startups.
“I want to inspire West Virginia’s entre-
preneurs to reinvent themselves and to do
so in a space like the business incubator,
which will encourage game-changing
ideas,” says Brad Smith, executive board
chairman of Intuit and chairman of Nord-
strom. “West Virginia needs its people to
remain committed to its progress, and I
believe Marshall’s business incubator will
motivate folks to do just that.”
Martin Named State Director
of the West Virginia Small
Business Development Center
Debra Martin has been named state
director of the West Virginia Small Busi-
ness Development Center (SBDC). The
SBDC is a network of business coaches
located throughout the state who assist
small businesses at all stages of develop-
ment, from startup to growth.
“Whether you are an inventor with a
great commercial idea, an entrepreneur
with a business startup or an established
business looking to expand, the West
Virginia SBDC has services to assist
you,” she says.
Martin joined the SBDC as deputy di-
rector in 2013 and was serving as interim
director before her appointment. She
has more than 20 years of experience in
economic development and was named
a Certified Global Business Professional
by the National Association of Small
Business International Trade Educators.