>>Starting a business from
scratch it's been rough.

It's nothing easy about it.

You think of
something as simple as

being able to drive
a cab to put stickers

and a light on is real
simple but it's not,

but it's well worth it.

>>When you talk about
entrepreneurship and innovation

in Charlottesville, our guest
today always comes to mind.

Join us as we catch
up with Toan Nguyen,

when the co-founder of
three businesses in the area

that focus on bringing
the community together

to network, grow and
help fight poverty.

Come on.

So tell us about C'ville Coffee.

This story behind
C'ville Coffee.

You founded this with
your wife in 2000.

>>Yes, Terri, in the year 2000,

we founded this because
we had Shelf Life,

which is a furniture design
and manufacturing company.

So we got this big space,

huge space for the
furniture store.

And my daughter who
was eight at the time,

her name is Hattie,

she had this great idea.

She said, Dad, why don't
you have a coffee shop

and smoothie bar
inside Shelf Life,

because that way people can
come in and get a cup of coffee,

and then sit at your table
and look at your shelf.

And so we thought, great idea!

>>Yeah, that's very great.

>>You know brilliant.

So we did.

We have a little room,

where you come in to
C'ville Coffee now.

And so that was the
genesis of C'ville Coffee.

>>So, and let's talk
about C'ville Coffee,

because it is much more
than a coffee shop,

you know it's a hub.

Talk about everything
that goes on here.

>>Well, we try to
promote a place

where people really
come together,

make connection to each other.

And that's the great thing
about Charlottesville

is that there's so
much connection.

>>Yeah
>>There's so much relationship

and people helping one another.

>>Yeah.

So that is a perfect
segue to CIC.

This is another company
that you helped to co-found.

It's a non-profit that you
are one of the co-founders of,

and it started in a
meeting here, did it not?

>>Right
>>Talk about it.

Talk about what it is.

So, CIC, which stands for

Community Investment
Collaborative,

is a non-profit that helps
anybody who has a dream

of owning their own
business, to get it going.

And how we do that is
we put them through

a 17 week course that
really breaks down.

It's basically a mini
business plan course.

And then we lend them money,

a micro loan from
5,000 to $35,000.

>>Okay.

>>And then we mentor them.

And then through
the whole process,

we give them access
to a network of people

who would really help them

like a photographer,
accountants, lawyers

and most importantly customers

who would really want to
support our graduates.

>>And what inspired it?

What inspired you to start this?

>>At that time,

I was going through
Leadership Charlottesville.

And Leadership Charlottesville,

it's a wonderful program
run by the Chamber.

>>Right.

>>And what it does is
really expose you to

how the town works.

You know from the judicial
system, to the arts,

to education, to business.

And then at that
exact same time,

I was involved with
Dialogue on Race.

>>Right.

>>And through that,
that's when I realized

that there's a segment
of the population

who are really hurting.

Who don't have the
same access to capital,

to education, to a network.

But yet who have
this wonderful dreams

and smarts and ambition,

but they just need
a little push.

>>My inspiration for CIC was
simply just getting a cab ride

from another company when
I had a little car trouble.

And I weren't treated too good.

They were handling my
wheelchair a little rough.

They didn't treat me to well.

So that put me in
the mind frame of,

"how do they do other people?"

I'm a little more strong minded
or a little more able bodied

but what about the
people who aren't

or really can't handle it?

And my mind just
started wondering

about how I could help disabled

or the handicapped
people as well as elderly

be transported in a
nicer and timely fashion

and be treated like
first class citizens.

And where I am right now,

CIC has brought me
to be a better person

as a father, as a
community leader,

as someone who can
actually render a service,

and soon I'll be
offering employment.

So, CIC helped me with
all of those things.

>>It just made me concentrate
on my business a little more

and try to organize
things a little better.

The roughest part of
my job was going out

and finding more jobs.

Whereas while I'm working it's
not like I really have time

to be going off and
finding another jobs

and by Toan doing that
part of the footwork,

it's helped out
quite a bit with us

to where we can
just tackle the jobs

and he is out looking for them

and it keeps the cycle going.

>>I have known Toan
for quite a while

and I was in C'ville coffeeú

and told him about
my new venture

that I was starting a business

making my mother's seasoned
salt called Peg Salt,

and he said, "We have
this entrepreneur training

"and you should really apply."

And it was a great curriculum,
wonderful networking

the class supported each other.

And I couldn't have asked
for like a better start

in terms of education,

because it really gave me a lot
in terms of getting underway

and asking the right
people the kind of things

I really needed to know.

>>It's not whether you
open a business or not.

That's not the whole
essence of CIC.

The whole essence of
CIC is the journey.

>>Yeah.

>>Of the self discovery.

Whether it makes
sense for you or not.

Because we rather
you learn it now,

than put your life savings

and two or three years into
a business and have it fail.

>>So then the
perfect follow up is

what you're doing
with C'ville Central,

which is another business

that you co-founded with
your wife, Betsy Patrick.

Tell us about that and how
they flow together, these two.

>>A year into CIC she asked me,

so, Toan, what happened
to all these graduates

that started their own business.

How do you, how do you
help them stay in business?

And that's when we
founded C'ville Central.

We go out, get business,

and sub it out to small,
minority businesses.

We have landscaping, painting,
contracting and cleaning.

>>C'ville Central kicks it
off and does the follow-up.

Did we provide what you
need to the customers?

So make sure that all the
service providers are fulfilling

what people are
asking them to do

and doing a good job so
that everybody's happy and--

>>You're hitting on a
very important point,

because everybody
in Charlottesville,

really wants to support
the small local person.

We all have that
want to do that.

But there's two things that
usually falls short on.

One is communication.

>>Okay.

>>It's hard to
communicate a lot of time

with a small contractor.

And two is accountability.

What happens if that person
didn't do a good job?

Who do you call?
>>Right.

>>And so at C'ville Central,

we go out of the way to
communicate what's going on.

And then, if he or she
doesn't do a good job,

we're accountable
for to the customer.

>>So all this work you've
been doing is gaining state

and national attention.

In 2013, Governor McDonnell,

invited you to be on
innovation panels and summits.

The White House invited you

as one of twelve small
businesses in the country.

And then locally.

>>Yes, in the year 2013,

I won the Chamber Award
for Volunteer of the Year.

Year 2013, CIC won the
Civic Award which stands for

Charlottesville Business
Innovation Council Award

for community.

And then, I also won the
Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

>>That's pretty exciting.

>>Yeah, but you know, I did
not do just to win awards.

Rest assured

>>I know and that's
what I wanna ask you.

All this work that you're doing

is clearly really
important to you, why?

>>It has to do with
my father's legacy.

And he was a very important
person in my life.

He was a great role model to me.

And his whole life was
dedicated to his community

and his country,
which is Vietnam.

So my goal in life was
to go back to Vietnam,

and help rebuild Vietnam,
literally rebuild.

And I went to architecture
school here at UVA.

And I went to the
Darden Business School.

And then that's
how I would go back

and help Vietnam rebuild.

But things didn't
happen that way.

We came back to Charlottesville

because we wanted to
be closer to family.

And so I'm really
glad we did that.

But after my daughter
graduated from high school,

I suddenly realized,

I don't have to go back to
Vietnam to help my community.

Charlottesville now
is my community.

>>Yeah.

>>And so that's the
moment of epiphany for me,

it's like I can do
just right here.

>>And it also led to
the Jeffersonian Dinners

that you've been hosting.

Tell us about those.

>>Yes, so, the Jeffersonian
Dinner is a wonderful way

to really connect with people.

And, it's because we've all gone

to cocktail hours and all that.

And there you get a
very small connection,

I mean, maybe a minute
or two and may somebody.

>>Right.

And so Jeffersonian Dinners
is eight to 10 people

with 20 different backgrounds.

We've musicians, we've John
Dearth sitting right here,

to Kathy Galvin who's
our city counselor,

to writers, to editors,
to business people.

So, a whole cross section of
our community get together

and really discuss
and sharing ideas.

(plate clangs)

Dig in.

(noise from guests drowns Toan)

When I decided to join
Leadership Charlottesville

Betsy was always
wondering, it's like

"Why are you doing it? I
mean you know everybody,"

and my answer is like, yes,
I know them individually,

but I have no idea how they fit

into the working of our town.

>>For me, I was very
non-profit-centric

and just hadn't thought
about transportation

and--

(guests interrupt
and drowns her )

>>Speaking of that,

I got into (mumbles) with
a very specific purpose

from the start of
the school division

to say we need to have business
involved with education.

(guests agrees)

>>What else do you have in mind?

(Toan and Terri laughs)

>>We'll see.

C'ville Central it's
still in its infancy.

(upbeat music)
I envision,

Betsy and I, we
have great plans.

And it's a concept
that can grow a lot,

and can employ a lot of people
and our goal is to do that.

Is to truly be a hub,

and distribute the wealth of
our community to everybody.

>>I like that.

Thank you.

>>Thank you, Terri.

(upbeat music)