Morgantown entrepreneur Frank Vitale is ready to help get some West Virginia businesses their wings.
Vitale, who is the founder, president and CEO of Forge Business Solutions, a consulting firm based in the University City, has also been named president of Country Roads Angel Network, a firm that invests in start-up businesses in the Mountain State.
He said Thursday he’ll keep Forge Business Solutions going, in addition to his new appointment.
“It’s just a great opportunity,” he said. “We want our fellow West Virginians to succeed.”
Angel networks are those enterprises where backers offer both dollars and insights to help fledgling businesses take flight.
Country Roads was launched in 2019 as West Virginia’s first accredited angel network.
Since then, it has invested $1.2 million in six start-ups, including three in Morgantown: Parthian Battery Solutions, Endolumik Inc. and Iconic Air.
The other three companies are in Oak Hill, White Sulphur Springs and Helvetia.
Matching dollars have multiplied that initial investment to $10 million, the network said.
Vitale wants to expand the offerings to all 55 counties in West Virginia — and Country Roads board chair Kevin Combs said he thinks that’s a heavenly idea.
“Our investors know that West Virginia is on such a positive track these days,” Combs continued.
Still-evolving entrepreneurs, he said, are ready to design “a 21st-century economy” geared to future employers and employees.
Amen, the new president seconded.
“We’ve got great people here,” Vitale said. “We’ve got a solid work ethic. And it’s just a nice place to live.”
Vitale, a New Jersey native, found that out concerning the latter, he said, when he came to Morgantown for school at WVU. After earning two degrees, he decided to stay.
“It’s like a lot of people say: ‘I’m not from West Virginia, but I got here as quick as I could.’”
A former U.S. Army officer, Vitale is also a graduate of Valley Forge Military.
Over the course of his business career in Morgantown, he also completed executive studies programs at Georgetown and Pepperdine University.
Vitale also worked in banking in senior administrative roles at Clear Mountain Bank and the former Centra Bank, in addition to holding board chairmanship roles at the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties and Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce.
He currently serves on the boards of Leadership West Virginia and the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative.
Meanwhile, Country Roads Angel Network is readying for a statewide meeting April 9.
