Startup Junkie Consulting Launches Nonprofit

by Talk Business & Politics ([email protected]) 307 views 

Startup Junkie Consulting of Fayetteville announced Tuesday the formation of Community Venture Foundation, a nonprofit that will work in partnership with SJC in continuing its effort to build the venture and STEM community in Northwest Arkansas.

The mission of CVF is to build the entrepreneurial community with the goal to improve the quality of life in the region by increasing the number of entrepreneurial opportunities and success stories.

Jessica Boyd was also named executive director of the CVF, according to a news release. A Little Rock native, Boyd was an inaugural American Dream Fellow for the Cisneros Center for New Americans. She has also worked with The Sustainability Consortium, Habitat for Humanity Colombia, and Nisolo.

Boyd received her degrees in Anthropology, Spanish, and Latin American Studies from the University of Arkansas, her masters of public service (MPS) from The Clinton School of Public Service, and her MBA from the University of Arkansas Walton College of Business.

“Having a nonprofit entity aiming to build Northwest Arkansas’s entrepreneurial community is crucial to the success and growth of entrepreneurship in the region,” Boyd said. “And we need the support of the community to make it a success.”

CVF will first focus its efforts in Northwest Arkansas and surrounding communities, and has intentions to grow to serve other communities in the future. Current programs include a youth entrepreneurship program, incorporating initiatives like AR Girls Code (the NWA 100 Girls of Code Chapter), and intensive summer business plan workshops.

Each of these initiatives is project-based, community-led, and free to all participants. Additionally, CVF offers its services to nonprofits and social businesses to assist with strategy, project planning, and more.