This week in economic development news in Southwest Virginia and beyond:

According to 1999 Virginia Tech graduate and current venture capitalist Doug Dooley, the Blacksburg region must be able to lure entrepreneurs with unique advantages, should the region hope to become a tech hub. This was but one of the pieces of advice championed by the Tech alum, who visited to hold a talk through the business school. To see the full story and more of Dooley’s advice, check out The Roanoke Times’ full story, “Region has to convince entrepreneurs about its advantages, venture capitalist says.”

On May 6, Franklin County is starting up the Foothills Produce Auction, where produce buyers and sellers can gather to trade. The auction aims to bring in buyers big and small, from restaurants and businesses like Homestead Creamery, to families and individuals just looking for produce for dinner. To read more, see The Roanoke Times’ “Franklin County to launch produce auction to nurture homegrown businesses.”

On Monday, Danville’s The Launch Place announced it will be investing $250,000 in Netarus, a Norfolk-based safety system company. This is The Launch Place’s eight investment yet. For more info, see Go Dan River’s  “New investment ‘launched’ in Danville,” or Virginia Business’ “Norfolk company establishing operation in Danville.”

VT KnowledgeWorks’ Global Entrepreneurship Challenge Semifinals has concluded and given $25,000 in funding to “student teams exploring cycling safety, wearable technology and shipment tracking.” To find out more, read The Roanoke Times’ “Tech teams involved in cycling safety, wearable technology win top prizes in annual business contest.”

Know of any other economic development news going on in SWVA? Leave a comment below or tweet at us, @VT_EconomicDev.