Pitch Southern WV winner set for Bridge Day

The second time around proved to be more fruitful for Trey Swartz.

On Oct. 12 on the campus of West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Swartz — of Fayetteville-based Southern Pillar Jeweler — was among the big winners in the Pitch Southern West Virginia Business Idea Competition.

At that event, five community entrepreneurs and three teams of WVU Tech students presented their business ideas before an expert panel of judges and a live audience. The West Virginia Hive, in partnership with the WVU Tech Launch Lab, conducted the competition.

According to a press release, the judges and attendees selected the winners, who received strategic feedback, consulting and technical assistance, and prize money to help bring their ideas into reality.

Swartz, an Appalachian silversmith and avid rock climber, was the first place Community Division award winner of $2,250 cash and $2,500 in technical assistance funds.

“My small business advisor Mary (Legg), with The Hive, told me about the pitch competition (last year) and thought my business idea was perfect for it,” Swartz said. “I ‘pitched’ last year but I did not place.”

However, he wasn’t deterred. “I gained valuable experience and coaching from the judges,” said Swartz. “The connections I made that night helped me reshape my pitch and business ideas enough to come back and win first place this year.

“Some small advice that made a big difference was from one of the judges, Chris, who suggested a small change to my catch phrase. I really liked his version and I’ve noticed it’s much catchier and my customers frequently comment on how clever it is.

“‘Gorge Forged’ turned into a catchier ‘Forged in the Gorge’ thanks to that advice and input from the professionals I met that night.”

Swartz says he’s pleased with the competition results this year. “I’m really thankful about winning this competition and prizes. The confidence this gives me as a business owner is priceless, and the cash prize is going to help me put another person from West Virginia to work as my apprentice.”

When he’s not out exploring the exciting climbing opportunities that abound in the New River Gorge, he works on improving his craft.

“When I’m not out climbing, I spend most of my time attempting to make my cases overflow with beautiful sterling silver and mixed metal rings,” Swartz said. “I use a large variety of well-known gems and also source some items such as river glass, coal and slag locally.

“I opened a public studio and retail space this past June inside of Great Googly Moogly at 107 Keller Avenue in Fayetteville, right next to Secret Sandwich Society. I’ve had a home studio for about two years but I moved into GGM to offer silversmithing classes and to have a place to share with an apprentice whom I just started mentoring.”

“The Hive really helped me out a lot with exposure and just business advice,” said Swartz.

Besides the technical advice he’s received, the funds from the competition will come in handy, as well.

“The prize money, I would say, helps a lot. I’ll be ordering some bigger equipment that I wouldn’t normally throw money at a big purchase like that. It’s really helped expand the business by giving me a whole lapidary setup (for stone cutting).

“Basically it’s just helped me provide another job for someone in town. I have an apprentice that just started.”

An extra work area will lead to an increase in production, he said.

Swartz and his apprentice recently launched the website SouthernPillarJeweler.com and “have shipped orders and seen heavy traffic from all over the country and world,” he said.

The company is also active on Instagram and Facebook under @Southern_Pillar_Jeweler.

He said his goal is to keep training apprentices while “sharing the silversmithing classes with people that want to learn that.”

“Big picture, eventually I could see having a little silversmithing studio where people can come when just on trips here and do larger classes, a bit more than just one-on-one training,” he added. “I had to leave this area to take classes like that in Asheville and D.C., so it would be nice to have something close to home.”

Swartz grew up in northern Virginia, and he says his family has always had Appalachian roots. He’s been a “blue-collar worker my entire life, and I left that and kind of just stumbled into this,” he said.

Swartz will be featured at the WV Hive booth on Bridge Day this Saturday. “I’m really looking forward to Bridge Day,” he said. “I had a booth last year but afterwards I decided it was too much to do alone again.

“The Hive stepped in this year and with their help I’m very excited and much less stressed about this year. I’m sure with their help I’ll stand out, look more professional, and have a much more successful Bridge Day experience this year.”

According to Diana Woods, director of the WVU Tech Launch Lab, the top prize award for community-submitted business entries was $2,250 for first place. Prizes of $1,000 and $500 were awarded to the second- and third- place winners of the community business competition, with a special prize of $1,000 to the first-place winner of the student competition.

Technical assistance packages were also added to the community and student divisions in the amount of $2,500 for first place, $1,500 for second place, and $750 for third place awards. The technical assistance funds can be used to contract vendors to provide important startup business services including marketing and accounting services or training, and website development.

According to Judy Moore, executive director of the WV Hive and deputy director of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, entries were open to residents and businesses located in Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Summers, Webster, Pocahontas, Greenbrier, Monroe, Mercer, Wyoming, McDowell, Logan and Mingo counties and WVU Tech students, faculty and staff. Businesses being pitched were required to be new start-ups or in operation for less than three years.

Woods said the following entrepreneurs/business owners and student entrepreneurs were among the others chosen besides Swartz: Second place Community Division award of $1,000 cash and $1,500 in technical assistance funds — Peter S. Corum, SEE Appalachia LLC from McDowell County; third place Community Division award of $500 cash and $750 in technical assistance funds — Matthew Moore, Regions, LLC from Raleigh County; first place Student Division award of $1,000 cash, $2,500 in technical assistance funds, and audience favorite for another $250 — Ellen Groves and Jacob Odell, Sanctum Tor Farm; second place Student Division award of $1,500 in technical assistance funds — WVU Tech Entrepreneurship Club; and third place Student Division award of $750 in technical assistance funds — Ana Noguera and Juan Martinez.

Cash prizes provided by private donations from sponsors to the West Virginia Hive will be used to advance the winners’ business ideas. United Bank and the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, both gold sponsors, and Stephens Auto and WV Auto Buyers, silver sponsor, donated the cash prizes. Additional awards of technical assistance funds were provided by the WV Hive and made possible through the U.S. Small Business Administration grant funding.

“The presenters were outstanding and learned a great deal through this experience — from formulating their business ideas to building them out for a pitch before a live audience and our expert judges,” Moore said. “We’d like to thank our community sponsors for providing the generous cash prizes, which are deeply appreciated by our winners.

“Our Pitch Southern West Virginia Business Idea competition encourages innovation and is a big part of our efforts to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in southern West Virginia.”