First Bank and Mountain BizWorks – “Dream It. Do It.”

Our Spring 2017 non-profit partner is Mountain BizWorks. This Asheville-based business lending and learning organization helps locals launch the companies of their dreams.

Kimberly Hunter: Mountain BizWorks is a community development financial institution that caters to people who have ideas around business or already in business, and want to do something big in our region.

Sara Landry: Really, our role is to create a community of entrepreneurs.

Matthew Raker: We’ve got the honor I guess of helping make dreams happen every day.

KH: We support people, by really giving them the framework to explore what it is they wanna do from a professional level in terms of creating jobs and creating businesses.

MR: First Bank’s a great partner for Mountain BizWorks. They’re a community-based bank. They really care about local businesses being successful.

KH: We both represent what it means to live and breathe and grow in a community.

SL: All of our funding goes directly back into investing in these entrepreneurs, to make our community a better place.

KH: Ten thousand dollars from First Bank is not just a drop in the bucket. It is actual feet on the ground, to entrepreneurs who mean to do well and to create businesses and jobs that will change their life.

SL: You have to be somewhat of a dreamer to be an entrepreneur. It takes a tremendous amount of risk, it kind of incorporates your whole life. There’s an entrepreneur lifestyle really when it comes down to it.

KH: We expect in the future to really grow our partnerships in all of our regions. And to really make sure that entrepreneurs are supported with our partners everywhere we go. So our presence is strong, and we’re clear that we’re here to stay. Thank you and goodnight.

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