Create Your Opportunities, A Founder’s Story with Peyton Ballard
Peyton Ballard is a West Virginia native whose education and experience have enabled him to develop into an exciting young leader with an eye toward consulting with and creating companies that are innovative and dynamic. Having earned two degrees from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, Peyton began his entrepreneurial journey by joining the core team for his home state of West Virginia’s only accredited angel capital network, Country Roads Angel Network. He serves as the organization's Managing Director now having administered $800,000 in private investment for portfolio companies and helping those clients to leverage an additional $6 million in funds. This experience catapulted him into the entrepreneurial arena by starting his own consulting company, Ballard Consulting Group, LLC, in 2020 to capitalize on this niche expertise. BCG works with clients on an individual basis to advance their fundraising and operational goals. In this capacity, he serves as acting CEO for a new private land leasing technology company, Bluebirding. He’s devoted to the idea that any founder has the potential to create something meaningful with their company and wants to play a role in bringing that to fruition.
Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up
I grew up in Summersville, West Virginia, in the New River Gorge region of West Virginia. This area recently was designated as the nation’s newest national park and has seen exponential growth in the last few years. I grew up during the decline of the coal economy in the late 2000s which led me to be interested in how creating new businesses could be a remedy for industrial decline. The area is not known for economic progressivism which stimulates excitement around new and innovative ideas. There is a slow building tide in the region working to change that and I’m excited to keep doing my part to usher in that creativity. I’ve never felt stifled by where I grew up and where I continue to live. I feel energized at the prospect of taking a non-traditional locale and making a name for myself and the work I want to do.
How did you get started as an entrepreneur?
Initially, I started by consulting a company to work with clients needing HR work completed. I have an MS in Human Resources Management and a professional certification in the field. When I transitioned out of day-to-day HR operations, it seems like an excellent side hustle to start to make some extra cash. I quickly found that the experience in entrepreneurship and startup capital was an added skill set that I could benefit from while also extending a hand to entrepreneurs who didn’t have access to the same knowledge.
What is one business lesson you would tell a startup founder?
Know your magic — and then use it. Too many founders attempt to showcase their competence by over-generalizing their skillset. If you know your magic and are confident in what you bring to the table — embrace it. Understanding what makes you special coupled with an understanding of what you have to work to improve is fundamental to success.
