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Scout Space founder has out-of-this-world goals
Eric Ingram wanted two things as a kid: blue hair and to travel to space. As CEO of Alexandria-based aerospace startup Scout Space, Ingram found the freedom to establish his now-trademark electric-blue hair. And it might provide the boost to reach that other goal. Ingram co-founded Scout Space in 2019 while he was furloughed from […]
StartVirginia: October 2023 Heard Around Virginia
Aravenda, a Fairfax e-commerce software company targeting consignment shops and resellers, landed a spot in the latest women founders cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator. Aravenda’s software helps consignment and resale shops track inventory and manage payouts to people who sell there. Customers can use the software to build websites and manage inventory across […]
Innovation center could be boost for life sciences
Kipton Currier envisions Virginia joining other mid-Atlantic states to form a super region for the life sciences industry. Before that happens, the state must secure some key ingredients missing from the ecosystem, namely sufficient lab space for biotech startups. Activation Capital, the brand name of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority — which promotes the […]
StartVirginia: September 2023 Heard Around Virginia
McLean-based Affect Therapeutics, a substance addiction therapy startup, raised $16 million in a Series A funding round to expand its operations and further develop its mobile app. The company delivers therapy and treatments for specific substance use disorders through its app. The company plans to use much of the money it raised to expand into […]
Gathering power
While working on a cellular tower a few years back, Kyle Mullins got what he describes as the “call of a lifetime” — an invitation to work on the first two pilot wind turbines for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. A Navy veteran who received a telecommunications technical certification from Texas A&M University, […]
Son’s cancer fight inspires startup
The sight of Neal Piper’s then-3-year-old son, Noah, stuck on the couch all day, tethered to an IV pole with a feeding tube after the boy’s cancer diagnosis in 2019 put his father on a new mission. Piper, who had 15 years of experience in commercializing health care products, including 10 years in sales, marketing […]
Startup competition expands to SWVA
Rural communities need extra love when it comes to additional business resources, says Kathy Deacon, vice president of business and resource development for the Vinton-based Advancement Foundation. The foundation has been running “The Gauntlet,” a business program and pitch competition, since 2015, expanding it into Southwest Virginia this year. Since the program is run online, […]
Lynchburg center to lift entrepreneurs
Months before its opening in late summer or early fall, Lynchburg’s new Center for Entrepreneurship already has gathered about 15 applications from local business owners and professionals seeking to mentor those launching or looking to grow their own companies. That’s a positive sign, says Stephanie Keener, executive director of the Lynchburg region’s Small Business Development [[...]
Agtech startup to invest $25M in Albemarle expansion
Agricultural biotech startup AgroSpheres will invest $25 million to expand in Albemarle County, creating an estimated 50 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. The company will increase production at its facility at 1180 Seminole Trail and build a research and development and demonstration facility for new products, which will be a pilot plant for a […]
StartVirginia: May 2023 Heard around Virginia
Richmond-based Babylon Micro-Farms Inc. raised $8 million in a series A funding round led by VentureSouth, the company announced April 4. The money will help expand go-to-market efforts and grow the company’s client base in the U.S. and beyond. Founded in 2017, Babylon enables businesses and communities to grow produce, and its software remotely manages […]
Lighthouse Labs exec jumps to 757 Angels, 757 Collab
Paul Nolde, executive managing director of Lighthouse Labs in Richmond, will be the new managing director of Norfolk-based 757 Angels and 757 Collab. He replaces Monique Adams, the current executive director of 757 Angels and managing director of 757 Collab, who will leave the organizations this summer. Nolde starts his new role May 30. In […]
StartVirginia: April 2023 Heard around Virginia
Richmond-based Absurd Snacks is ready to enter major retailers after a reformulation and taking on some new packaging. Founders Grace Mittl and Eli Bank worked with a New York agency and redesigned the packaging. Absurd Snacks has been available at independent grocery stores, but Mittl and Bank are eyeing larger retailers and wanted to make […]
