The Small Business Opportunity Center is a holistic small business accelerator and research center at Virginia Commonwealth University implemented by the VCU School of Business, da Vinci Center for Innovation, and the VCU Division of Community Engagement. Our free, supportive entrepreneurship program identifies high potential under-resourced entrepreneurs and we provide them with or direct them to the training and resources they need in their entrepreneurship ecosystem to launch and scale successful traded sector firms. We offer fall, spring, and on-demand small business training academies, student-led technical support, seed funding awards and pitch competitions--participation in which is merit-based and dependent upon completion of our training or certifications. We also offer a host of other training and information resources in partnership with state universities and colleges, key entrepreneurship support organizations, local governments, and state agencies across Virginia's interconnected East Coast regions. The program evolved from the award winning Minority Small Business Launch Center which was piloted at Virginia State, and was founded by the same professor.

In addition to small business training and support, our center develops government studies and societally relevant research on entrepreneurship useful to academics and practitioners seeking to understand, develop and implement programs that promote small business success and economic opportunity.  The SBOC seeks to foster ecosystem collaboration among entrepreneurship support organizations, government agencies, and even competing chambers and membership-based organizations for the benefit of all small business owners in the regions we serve. Our Center is committed to serving Virginians of all backgrounds who want to launch viable small businesses.