Press Release

"Start small. I think a lot of people want to do as much as possible with their branding and make sure they have business cards and marketing and spending on advertisements and, really, you just have to start small. If you can't sell things on a small scale, you won't be able to sell things on a large scale."

"When you're a community, you support other small businesses in your community," Caldwell said. "One way that they can do that is by allowing other small businesses to have some space in their location."

“Our ask right now is if you’re an event planner or you own a venue and you want to rent out either a corner of your store…or the sidewalk in front of your store, or even if you have a parking lot for a vendor pop up event…we want you to register.”

“At fayVen, we believe that all small business owners should have access to quality retail space, no matter what stage they’re in,” said Caldwell.

"I think what can be frustrating, (is) not knowing where all the resources are.” She elaborates. Vendors need to make sure they’re inviting a legitimate business with things such as business insurance and other vital business information to their market day events. Ensuring that the right selection of vendors and market is vitally important to the success of the market day. fayVen provides that comfort and security for all parties involved.

Similarly, the timing could have been better for fayVen, a Tampa area-based company that sets up venues for pop-up shops. With help from mentor Dr. Andrew Gold, co-founder of Hillsborough Community College’s InLab, fayVen pivoted temporarily to a virtual small business showcase. “The gist of fayVen is live events in public places. He helped us do this virtual pivot,” says April Caldwell, who runs fayVen with her husband Aaron. “We got to showcase small businesses from all over the country, not just in Tampa.”