University of Charleston President Dr. Marty Roth joins WV Secretary of State Kris Warner on “Just Three Questions!” to discuss ways businesses can scale up and grow

Charleston, W.Va. – In the first-ever segment of "Just Three Questions!" filmed on the road, Secretary of State Kris Warner joined Dr. Marty Roth, President of the University of Charleston (UC) at UC's award-winning Downtown Innovation Hub (DIH). The DIH helps existing small businesses scale up by providing the tools and professional networks needed to help accelerate their growth, increase their revenue, and create more jobs.

Dr. Roth welcomed Secretary Warner to the DIH to discuss the gap it is helping fill for the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the resources it offers small businesses. Dr. Roth said, "We did a feasibility study, and we identified that the one gap, the one area where resources could really be beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses, was not to help them get started, but for those businesses that had already been started that had seen some growth but the growth had started to plateau. So, what could we do to help those small businesses scale up and grow? We put together a great program that's helping those small businesses do just that."

The Business Accelerator Program is currently the signature program at the DIH. UC brings together small to medium-size businesses to go through a transformational learning, growth-oriented, experience. Roth said, "Over a six-month journey, they'll participate in workshops which are led by experienced business owners and entrepreneurs. They'll have access to coaching, mentoring, and advising. And one of the main things that most entrepreneurs will say really help them with their success is having a network to draw from. Others who are going through the same toils and tribulations that they are that provide a network of support, a network of guidance, a network of encouragement."

"When I was in Morgantown 40 years ago in private enterprise, I wish I would have had that professional network that you're now providing, very well done," Secretary Warner said during the interview.

The interview with Dr. Roth ​and other recorded episodes of “Just Three Questions!” can be found on the WVSOS YouTube channel.