By Bella Omar
Asst. Arts & Features Editor
Surrounded by friends and family, James Feudo reopened JVF Solutions at the FSU Entrepreneur Innovation Center Feb. 8.
Feudo founded the web design agency in 1998 as a side hustle after working as a web design instructor at Bentley University.
By 6 p.m. the center had filled with colleagues, other members of the Innovation Center, family, and old friends - with Framingham’s Mayor Charlie Sisitisky also making an appearance. Guests filled their plates with egg rolls and other hors d'oeuvres, made by Feudo’s wife.
After everyone was seated, Stephanie Hirshon, deputy director of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce, greeted the crowd and delivered a speech “to celebrate JVF Solutions,” she said.
“We’re thrilled to recognize James and his team for all that they do for their clients, fellow chamber members, and the community,” Hirshon said. “It is amazing to see everyone here tonight celebrating James and what he has accomplished.”
James has also worked with nonprofits such as Read to a Child, in addition to his work as a chamber member when he isn’t assisting businesses “with any challenges they may have,” said Hirshon.
Hirshon then announced that JVF Solutions had won the Small Business of the Year Award, only two years after James’ Ambassador of the Year Achievement in 2022.
James and several members of the Chamber of Commerce and JFV Solutions then presented and officially cut the ribbon to commemorate the reopening.
Joe Marrella, health and wellness coach and family friend of James Feudo, said James is “unbelievable - he’s a hard worker, relentless. … He’s always there to help other people.”
JVF Solutions works with a diverse array of entrepreneurs nationally, but they demonstrate commitment to the MetroWest culture by discounting services to local businesses.
The agency also takes on interns like David Abe, a junior business & IT major at FSU. Abe has worked at JVF Solutions for about a year and a half developing and managing websites, social media, and general media production.
“Finding JVF was sort of a perfect storm. I was looking for a small business to intern at, where I could learn what it took to run a business, on a day-to-day basis. My friend was interning at JFV then and told me about it. At the time they needed a videographer and photographer who had equipment and had some experience, so they took me on to fill that role,” said Abe.
He added one day he wants to “open my creative design firm and museum to platform more underrepresented populations to democratize access to resources often unavailable to people with less capital.
“My favorite part about working with JVF is the opportunity to learn and grow each and every day. Working for JVF is by no means easy and sometimes it is not forgiving, but I know every day that I go in I will work on something that will expand my knowledge base and make my real-world skills more robust,” Abe added.
Fernanda Araujo began her internship with JVF Solutions three weeks ago.
“It allows me to create things,” she said. “They are all very open minded.”
[Editor’s Note: David Abe is an Assistant Illustrations Editor for The Gatepost]