Investment in the Mountains

"Capital is king." This phrase has probably been repeated hundreds of thousands of times in the business schools, banks, and investment firms around the country over the course of the years. But if capital is king, then West Virginia is one of the least-visited areas of the realm. Historically, most of the wealth created in the state has left, to benefit another city, another state, another region. The state's economic goal has to be to keep as much capital as possible within the state's borders, and therefore there has be to opportunities to invest that capital.

Of course the state's banks and credit unions should maintain a premier status in investing in West Virginia. But it should be remembered that most of the larger banks in the state are no longer headquartered there. Therefore, although it is in the best interest of a bank like BB&T to invest in the state, BB&T is in a number of other states, and it has to invest its money where it is most likely to be profitable. Furthermore, it is widely known that venture capitalists have been at the forefront of the creation of new inventions, corporations, and economies.

Thankfully, there are venture capitalists in the state that are focused on economic and business growth in West Virginia. Unfortunately, the list of such investors is short, and the amount of money that is available for investment seems to be limited. A review of the website of West Virginia Venture Connection, a forum for connecting entrepreneur and growth businesses with venture capitalists, only shows three firms that are based in West Virginia. And two of the firms, INNOVA ( the commercialization group of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium) and West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, are related to the state government. That in itself is not a bad thing, as the government is filling in an important need that the private sector is not fulfilling, and the venture capitalist's traditional sole focus on return on investment can be tempered by a realization that economic growth can take time. Two other private venture capitalist firms have West Virginia roots or ties: Mountaineer Capital, which is located in Charleston, and Walker Ventures, which has a branch office in Shepardstown.

And that is it. For the numerous companies that have received either seed money or other funding, these firms and the other out-of-state venture capitalists doing business in West Virginia are enough. But in a state where the largest employer is Wal-Mart, more needs to be done to grow the pool of venture capitalists to help grow not only new and better companies, but also the employment opportunities for the state's residents. How to grow that pool would seem to be a chicken and egg situation, as capital is needed for the investments to grow the economy, but the economy needs to get better to create the necessary capital. But the solution seems to be in the works, as people in state government, financial services, the legal community, and business are forming groups such as the West Virginia Entrepreneurs Forum and West Virginia Venture Connection, where ideas and opportunities can not only be discussed but can be grabbed.