Verge rebrands to Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance

Verge, a collective of organizations dedicated to tech-based economic development in the Roanoke and New River valleys, announced a rebrand Tuesday, an effort that includes a new website, logo and a new name — the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (RBIA).

Previously, Verge, which has roots dating back to 2013, used “Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance” as its tagline.

“Everybody just started kind of referring to us as our tagline,” explained RBIA CEO Erin Burcham, who’s also executive director of the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC). “We’re like, ‘We should elevate the tagline to the actual name.’”

Burcham appreciates how the new moniker allows those living outside of western Virginia to immediately grasp what RBIA is about. “Having a place-based name is really helpful, especially when … we’re out of market,” she says.

Organizations under the RBIA umbrella include Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP), a public/private business accelerator serving startups in STEM-H fields; RBTC, a member association of technology professionals, businesses and organizations; and CommonWealth Angels, a private capital investment organization based in Roanoke.

“We’re looking at this really holistically, on how to grow the technology, biotech sectors in our region… so just really thinking about fundamentally what the sectors need to grow and making sure that we have the right elements in our portfolio to support the growth,” says Burcham.

RBIA’s new logo incorporates four circles, which represent “all four Alliance teams,” evoking “the momentum and creativity inherent in the regional innovation ecosystem,” according to a news release.

LeadPoint Digital, a Roanoke marketing agency, handled RBIA’s rebrand.

With roots going back to 2013, RBIA takes credit for accelerating more than 60 tech companies and for being “instrumental in crafting a creative culture that has seen” more than 3,200 patents filed since 2014.

In February, GO Virginia Region 2 announced that the statewide economic development initiative would invest $14.3 million to support Project VITAL (Virginia Innovations and Technology Advancements in Life Sciences), a “multiregional initiative to establish new research cores, expand workforce development programs and create a collaborative network connecting academic institutions with industry partners across the commonwealth’s biotechnology corridor.” The effort is projected to generate an economic impact of more than $40 million.

With a $4.9 million investment from GO Virginia, RBIA will work with others including Virginia Tech, Carilion Clinic and Virginia Western Community College, to lead the Project VITAL effort in Region 2, which includes the cities of Covington, Lynchburg, Radford, Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and Roanoke.

Virginia Commonwealth University and Activation Capital will lead Project VITAL work in GO Virginia’s Region 4, with the University of Virginia and CvilleBioHub leading the effort in GO Virginia’s Region 9.