Ignite Portsmouth Alumni: Amanda Page
Last Summer, the Kricker Innovation Hub hosted the first annual Ignite Portsmouth Bootcamp and Pitch Competition. The six-week program provided entrepreneurial support, business plan development, mentoring, and networking for the dozen participants and culminated in an in person pitch competition which awarded $8,500 in cash prizes.
Amanda Page, a participant in the 2021 program, plans on opening a bookstore in downtown Portsmouth. We sat down to interview her and learn more about her business idea as well as her skills as an author, journalist, director, and entrepreneur.
Amanda, a New Boston local who currently resides in Columbus, recounts her upbringing. “When I was sixteen I was paired with a journalist at the Community Common. We did a story on Mayor Frank Gerlach, who was putting a sign on the Grant Bridge that said ‘Where Southern Hospitality Begins.’ It was the first time I ever encountered a city slogan but it stayed with me for years. I internalized it and…here I am years later making a documentary about that very city slogan.”
Amanda is planning on releasing her documentary, “Peerless City” soon. The documentary, which is about Portsmouth and its history, will be premiered at the Shawnee State Vern Riffe Center on March 25th and 26th during the Appalachian Foothills Literary Festival. It will also be shown on PBS for anyone unable to attend. She hopes that members of the community will come out to support Portsmouth’s comeback and its efforts to return to a literary and cultural destination.
Director Amanda Page and Filmmaker David Bernado shoot an interview for the upcoming ‘Peerless City’ documentary.
Amanda has also written for several newspapers and magazines such as Yes, Belt, Columbus Monthly, and the Daily Yonder. But she also has a passion for books and other literature. She plans on using that passion to open up a bookstore in Portsmouth. During the pandemic, Amanda also launched a nonprofit called Scioto Literary which was designed to create a literary infrastructure in the Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia areas, and support authors and storytellers from Portsmouth and the surrounding region. She believes that these additions are necessary for Scioto County.
“I like the idea of the bookstore as a destination. In my neighborhood in Columbus, it’s really nice to have a place where I’m a regular and I can walk into bookstores and they know my name. I think it’s an important cultural place - much like the museum. It’s a place of cultivation, and a gathering place too. In terms of my business, I like the idea of the bookstore as just one piece of the larger literary culture there. That’s what Scioto Literary the nonprofit is fostering.”
As a participant in the Ignite Portsmouth Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, Amanda attended workshops and meetings that helped her learn how she can start her business, and even how it can be used as a fundraising arm to support Scioto Literary.
“One of the big takeaways from Ignite Portsmouth was really focusing on the paying point and the unique value proposition and selling point of my idea. I also got to meet the other participants and look at the larger entrepreneurial landscape of Portsmouth. Today, I know what’s possible and can look to the Hub to get answers and help.”
“Ignite Portsmouth is really a piece of my journey. And the Hub is a great place to find out what is and what isn’t possible.”
The Hub is looking forward to hosting the 2nd Annual Ignite Portsmouth and Pitch Competition this Spring! Ignite Portsmouth is the catalyst for small business in our region. The eight week blended program offers entrepreneurial support, business model advice, mentoring, and culminates in a pitch competition with cash prizes!
If you have a business idea - apply to Ignite Portsmouth today! Participation is free.