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Meet
Optimist Ventures
Building off a decade of success at Venture Asheville, Optimist Ventures is designed to help long-term ambitious growth ventures based in Western North Carolina succeed by offering startup funding and education through a rigorous 15-week accelerator.
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​Optimist Ventures is powered by Venture Asheville, the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville Buncombe County, and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Support is provided by the Dogwood Health Trust, Truist Bank Foundation, and local investors.
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Rooted in Western North Carolina
Born out of Venture Asheville and sharing a common philosophy, we believe that mentorship, experiential learning and competency development are essential tools for founders seeking to build resilient and sustainable businesses.
We put founders first. Investing in our regional founders is a smart long-term strategy, developing entrepreneurs who will become our region’s future philanthropists, civic leaders and elected officials.
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A thorough breakdown of the programs, rationale, and impact can be found on the blog series "How Venture Asheville Built a $150M Startup Ecosystem; A 7-Part Series"
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Leading the WNC Ecosystem
Established in 2014, Venture Asheville leads the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem through incubators, mentorship, and events. The next step is the Optimist Ventures Accelerator.

A New Model for WNC Founders
And Investors
01
Shattering the Myth of the Unicorn
Conventional Angel and VC models are based on "all-or-nothing"/"unicorn-or-bust" approaches to the portfolio. The model is based on the adage, "if you invest in ten companies, expect 8 to fail, 1 to make your money back, and 1 to be a home run."
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That model may work in a market where capital and talent are a commodity. But in a place like WNC, we can't afford an 80% failure rate.
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Creating an Accelerator
We launch industry-agnostic accelerator modeled after YCombinator yet uniquely informed by WNC values and market need. Meaning we accept startups from various industries serving early, pre-seed ventures and offer a founder-friendly deal to build long-term high-growth companies built to last.
Using a version of Shared Profit Agreements called SPA Packages (more on this below), we've created a funding vehicle to meet the needs of founders and offer competitive returns to investors.
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Winning on What Works Here
Optimist Ventures is taking a different approach. Instead of hoping for one home run a game, we are building an accelerator of singles, doubles, and a few triples. Metaphors aside, Optimist Ventures' fund is built to win on averages, not exceptions. Don't call them lifestyle companies, these are long-term ambitious companies.
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Complementing the Ecosystem
Bookended Incubators (Insight, Elevate, and Inspire) help our portfolio companies begin and continue their startup journey with us through our programs. Delivering accountability, peer groups, education and training opportunities that keep us close to the founders throughout their entire lifecycle.
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Optimist Ventures'Accelerator
Powered by Venture Asheville, the Accelerator is a rigorous 15-week program that supplies long-term ambitious companies with capital, credibility, expertise, and a network to set them up for growth and profitability.
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Each week will be themed around a specific topic and feature workshops and speakers to educate and connect with the cohort of founders.​
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Founders may apply from anywhere, but must reside in Western North Carolina for the duration of the Accelerator.
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​Each participating company will receive a $50,000 SPA Package.
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​Applications and selection will open later in 2024, with the first cohort starting in Q1 2025.
SPA Packages
details on Shared Profit Agreements
Our Team
Gwendolyn Hageman,
Dare Vegan Cheese

I am so thrilled by this accelerator's mission to shift investment mindset and support businesses committed to growth and job creation in our area. Asheville is an incredibly unique community and the founders that take the risk to start ventures here are some of the most collaborative and innovative folks in the industry.
It's taken years to hire key roles as a self-funded start up. With an accelerator like this, companies that possess long-term high growth potential could avoid some of the founder fatigue, and sometimes failure, by receiving necessary investment prior to conventional investment model expectations.
