MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Country Roads Angel Network has launched a foundation to provide mentorship, financing, and expertise to startups and entrepreneurs across the state.

Frank Vitale

CRN President Frank Vitale said the foundation is established after six years of fostering startups and small businesses across the state. During those six years, the foundation has supported 20 projects with $20 million in sectors like sustainability, farming, medical devices, and cultural movie enterprises.

“So, we really started to think about how we could attract funds and provide the resources that are needed,” Vitale said Wednesday during a ceremony in Morgantown. “For us the best way to do that was to start a 501(c)(3) organization.”

Secretary of State Kris Warner and the newly-opened Office of Entrepreneurship act as the ombudsman for entrepreneurial efforts. The organization can “walk” entrepreneurs through the various requirements to begin doing business and growing the economy.

Kris Warner

“The goal behind that is to be able to coordinate public and private resources,” Warner said. “We’re going to streamline government processes for the smallest of small businesses, and then we’re going to be able to make specific recommendations to agencies.”

The ideas and opportunities have piled up over the last six years so that an independent organization was needed to effectively evaluate the concepts. The organization will be able to help with all the things that are needed to support the venture that the entrepreneur might not have anticipated or have expertise in.

“We see so much opportunity to provide even free services like coaching, due diligence, marketing, and business development to startup entrepreneurs who can’t really afford to pay for those things,” Vitale said.

At the end of the process Warner and his office will be able to provide an after-action report that will be forwarded to state lawmakers. The state

Feb 18, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge yells from the sideline during the first half against the Utah Utes at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

legislature will then review the information in order to make improvements to business development services offered by the government.

“Figure out what the barriers to success are for an early win for those entrepreneurs, and then we’re going to report that back to the legislature so they can make the changes so small businesses can flourish in West Virginia,” Warner said.

West Virginia University head basketball coach Ross Hodge provided keynote remarks prior to the announcement that focused on the value of human capital. Hodge said everything starts with people, and helping to develop and build confidence gives people the tools they need to be successful in almost any situation.

“The people here are extremely genuine and passionate,” Hodge said. “Ultimately, that’s what you want to invest in whether you’re choosing your time, talents, or resources, you invest in people.”