Open Trellis

Over the past two weeks at RVA Works, we've been blessed with the presence of three excellent speakers. We wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude to Ruth Lemma, Independent Marketing Specialist, who provided a great overview of Social Media Marketing, including:

> Growth Marketing Framework
> Understanding Your Funnel
> Setting a North Star (OKRs)
> Content Strategy That Converts
> Social Media Tactics That Work

Next we had Ayshia Grimes of Instyleversity did an outstanding job walking our founders through:

> Search & Local Visibility (SEO and PPC)
> Tailored Business-Specific Playbooks
> 30-Day Action Plans

Last night we had another great discussion, led by Charese Chambers of Financial Fancy CFO (https://financialfancycfo.com/home). Charese covered:

> Foundations of Bookkeeping as a Growth Tool
> Introduction to Financial Statements
> Investor-Ready: Financial Transparency Attracts Funding
> Scalability: The Path to Profitable Growth

Thanks so much to Ruth, Ayshia, and Charese for the excellent work. For everyone interested in joining us at RVA Works, we'll have a public discussion on Thursday, May 21st at 6pm. Please DM me for details, if you'd like to meet the current cohort of founders.

Margaret Upshur will join us at the University of Richmond - Robins School of Business, for this series of entrepreneurial speakers. Join us Friday, April 17th 11:30am - 1pm for what's sure to be an insightful conversation on:

> Entrepreneurial Passion

> Sustainability & Circular Economy

> Mobius Materials Business Model

> Overcoming Founder Challenges

All of the event details for this Hybrid event are on Meetup, including Zoom Webinar access: https://www.meetup.com/opentrellis/events/314272875/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events

Please note will hold another session on April 24th with Shannon Eastwood and Paul Maguire on product design & commercialization. The April 24th session is the last for the Spring 2026 series. https://robins.richmond.edu/about/news-events/entrepreneur-series.html

We're pleased to host Jonny Price on Friday at the Robins Entrepreneur Series. On Friday, Mar. 27th 11:30am - 1pm Eastern.

Join us for this hybrid event, on Zoom Webinar and in-person at the University of Richmond - Robins School of Business

https://www.meetup.com/opentrellis/events/313930999/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events

Jonny Price is the President of Wefunder, a platform that helps founders raise capital. Before joining Wefunder in 2018, Jonny founded the U.S. lending division at [Kiva.org](http://kiva.org/ "http://Kiva.org"). And before that, he started his career in strategy consulting at Oliver Wyman. Jonny has served on the Federal Reserve Board's Community Advisory Council, and has a Master's in History from the University of Cambridge. Originally from London, he now lives in Nashville with his wife Ali, and three children, Felicity, Carlyle and Margot.

WeFunder is a leading equity crowdfunding platform that enables everyday individuals—not just wealthy accredited investors—to invest small amounts of capital ($100+) in startups, small businesses, and community projects. Founded in 2012, it aims to democratize access to venture investing, helping founders raise funds from their customers and community rather than traditional VCs.

All of the event information:

https://www.meetup.com/opentrellis/events/313930999/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events