VVM is a Western Massachusetts nonprofit with a mission to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into thriving, scalable businesses.
By nurturing startups, we impact the employees they hire, the customers they serve, and the neighborhoods they revitalize. And it’s working.
Team
Chris Bignell, Interim Chief Executive Officer
Hope Gibaldi, Community Engagement Manager
Keyshaleen Arocho, Operations and Events Support
Board of Directors
Scott Foster, Chairman. Attorney & Partner Bulkley, Richardson & Gelinas
Jay Leonard, Treasurer, Co-Head of the Springfield Venture Fund & Director at Babson Capital Management
Dianne Fuller Doherty, retired Senior Business Advisor, Western Regional Office of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network
Ruth Constantine, Vice President Emerita for Finance and Administration, Smith College
Chris Bignell – Investor, Partner at the Alchemy Fund
Jill Hambley – Consumer Insights Head, MassMutual Financial Group
Akshaya Shanmugam – Co-Founder & CEO of Lumme Labs
Mentors
Startup entrepreneurs often lack a deep network of relationships, severely decreasing their survivability. Meanwhile, many business executives love to mentor but can’t easily and enjoyably find the right ventures. That’s where we come in.
Our mentors are business executives from healthcare, energy, social services, engineering, finance, and other sectors; nonprofit board members; teachers, investors, lawyers, designers, developers, and more. At VVM, mentorship starts informally, with no long-term commitments or expectations. Those who choose can deepen their relationship by becoming facilitators with VVM.
It all starts by attending your first Community Night.
Media
Since our inception in 2011, our startups have grown exponentially, and so have we. For media inquiries, email us at admin@valleyventurementors.org.
Read more about VVM and our startups in the News.