FOR THE BRAVE, THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITY.
Partnering with fearless and relentless problem-solvers to build high impact, scalable companies, we’re on a mission to redefine what’s possible (when you don’t live in Silicon Valley). We’re in the business of scaling up, going bigger, and going bolder—to radically disrupt and redefine the norm. We have what it takes to ensure economic opportunity for every West Virginian—to benefit our own as well as people across the nation and the globe—and we won’t stop until we get there.
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Home to a fearless new generation of entrepreneurs, Vantage Ventures marries West Virginian work ethic with outstanding innovation and resources in order to take emerging, high impact businesses to the next level.
Vantage grew out of a meeting in early 2019 to explore the potential for WVU’s newly renamed John Chambers School of Business and Economics. The attendees of the meeting—including John Chambers himself, former Executive Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems and current Founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures—kept returning to the question: How do we turn West Virginia into a start-up state?
A wealth of underutilized talent and resources exists in the Mountain State, and Chambers and his associates knew it: West Virginians have been tackling the hardest jobs in the county for generations. We’ve been raised to rise in the face of a challenge and keep going when something sets us back. Grit, determination, resourcefulness, and a strong community-spirit run through Mountaineers’ blood.
In so many ways, Vantage’s soon-to-be founders realized, West Virginia is poised not just for entrepreneurial success, but to be the leader of a bold new wave of entrepreneurs.
What was missing, then, was an initiative to bring talent, mentors, committed industry partners, and investors together under one roof; a collaborative network of individuals all eager to scale up and disrupt the norm—with the potential to transform West Virginia and the world.
From these ideas and aspirations, Vantage Ventures was born.
Digitization will transform every industry and interaction. For the brave, there will be opportunity. For those raised on a foundation of strength and family, like the people of West Virginia, there will be a chance to lead. … You can reinvent. … I believe the next wave of innovation will connect and empower people on a scale never before seen, giving everyone a chance to compete.
JOHN CHAMBERS
JC2 Ventures
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As West Virginians, we know what it means to roll up our sleeves and work from the ground up.