Jeffrey Kaplan is the Director of Venture Asheville and CEO of Optimist Ventures, where he works to help businesses grow in Western North Carolina.
Focused on growing the region’s startup community, Venture Asheville is an initiative of the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County and the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. Building on that work, Venture Asheville launched a new effort called Optimist Ventures in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The program is focused on helping Western North Carolina businesses recover and grow at a time when the region is still dealing with the storm’s economic fallout.
Jeffrey joined Venture Asheville in 2018. He earned a master’s degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Florida and has worked with startups from several different angles, as a founder, educator and consultant.
In this episode, Jeffrey shares what fascinates him about entrepreneurs and what he thinks separates the good ones from the rest. We also discuss how Hurricane Helene shaped Optimist Ventures, how an offer from Poppy Popcorn helped inspire its unique funding model, and why Jeffrey believes that model can benefit entrepreneurs, investors and the broader Western North Carolina economy.
LISTEN + DOWNLOAD
APPLE PODCASTS
SPOTIFY
AMAZON MUSIC
Venture Asheville
ventureasheville.com
Follow Venture Asheville on Facebook and Instagram
Follow Jeffrey Kaplan on LinkedIn
Optimist Ventures
optimistventures.co
2026 Optimist Ventures Recipients
Asheville Wellness Tours
Devil’s Foot Beverage Co.
Evolve Early Learning
The Flying Bike
Full Moon Tea Co.
Ginger’s Revenge
Habibi Village
Highlands Hydro Clean
Rockgeist Bikepack USA
Savage Supply
Spice Witch
The Village Potters Clay Center
Theme Music
The song “Goa” was written by Lyndsay Pruett and performed by the Jon Stickley Trio.