Vantage Spotlight on Gino Degregori of Bravo Consulting Group
VANTAGE VENTURES ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT SERIES
We are extremely fortunate at Vantage Ventures to have a growing community of entrepreneurs building impactful companies with West Virginia roots. By supporting teams of creative thinkers and problem-solvers—and leveraging the untapped talent and resources that exist in West Virginia—Vantage Ventures aims to build companies across data and IOT, infrastructure, life sciences and security sectors. This initiative was born out of the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University and serves to launch high impact, scalable businesses to tackle complex challenges. We are home to a fearless new generation of entrepreneurs.
Below we highlight Vantage Entrepreneur Gino Degregori of Bravo Consulting Group. Learn how their team is making a systematic impact on the “digital divide” among populations of various socioeconomic backgrounds.
Why did you start Bravo Consulting Group? What about its mission made you want to go all in?
I started Bravo Consulting Group to solve problems and help our customers simplify the ever-changing technologies to exceed their mission. In addition, I believe my purpose and passion is to create leaders that impact our customers, teams, and local communities. Our mission is to be in the forefront of everything that we do, which is to simplify how our customers create, share, and secure their intelligent information. We live out our team mantra of “Be Kind, Bring Value, Rise Together.”
You recently relocated your Leesburg, Virginia operation to West Virginia. Welcome Home! What drew you to West Virginia, and what this move will bring to the Mountain State?
From the first day of my undergrad at West Virginia University, I’ve always been drawn to the people of West Virginia and respected their mindset. Their passion for where they are from and their drive to improve the state is unmatched. We are bringing our corporate campus to West Virginia to educate and build local leaders, pour into the community and state, and show the world that there are opportunities in West Virginia.
As the use of digital services has increased throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, scams, fraud and cyberattacks against individuals and small businesses have also grown rapidly. How is Bravo Consulting Group making a difference in protecting individuals and small businesses?
With the digital age, it has allowed our team to create and share the latest news and best practices online through blogs, posts, video content, and more. We regularly and widely share this helpful information so everyone in our network and those connected have the chance to stay up-to-date and make beneficial changes, whether that is for an individual or a small business. We understand the importance of staying safe and secured in this digital age and are committed to providing education and tips to small businesses. In addition, we are working on a plan to provide free training to small businesses in West Virginia for 2022.
Bravo Consulting Group is committed to hiring West Virginia students for paid internships through targeted recruitment and job training programs. How is this a win-win arrangement for anchor West Virginia institutions and communities alike?
Impacting our local communities and growing leaders are key aspects of our core values. We believe training the generation’s next leaders will directly impact our communities by cultivating a positive mindset both personally and in their career, creating local jobs and new business opportunities, and showcasing how rewarding it can be to pour into an evolving community. We have built a strong relationship with the University and continue to provide a platform for both students and Bravo to benefit. We have been involved in many cybersecurity and data analytics projects where students have provided great value and learned useful skills.
Which entrepreneurs do you admire and why?
Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and John Chambers are my most admired entrepreneurs. The biggest thing that I admire from these three entrepreneurs is their vision and passion to make generational impact. Through their technology and vision, these entrepreneurs have visions that are impacting many people, countries, and generations to come. This is something that I am striving for as an entrepreneur.
What’s one piece of information you know now that you wish you had known when you started your company?
Don’t second guess your vision and ability to drive that vision into reality. Sometimes we get caught up in our limited minds and don’t allow ourselves to truly become the best version of ourselves. As my favorite quote says – “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill