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Tag: incubator

StartVirginia: Oct. 2022 Heard around Virginia

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Astraea Inc., a geospatial analytics startup based in Charlottesville, spearheaded an effort to provide free satellite imagery that could be used by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, as well as civilians and humanitarian organizations. The company’s platform allows users to see and analyze images of any location on the planet captured over a given area as recently as yesterday and as far back as 15 years. The company was co-founded by Brendan Richardson, a University of Virginia alum who also teaches at the university. In July, Astraea closed an oversubscribed $6.5 million Series A round led by Aligned Climate Capital LLC and Carbon Drawdown Collective with participation from CAV Angels, Tydall Investment Partners and the U.Va. Licensing & Ventures Group Seed Fund. (UVA Today; news release)

Global investment firm Techstars selected Woodbridge’s CarpeDM Sept. 12 to participate in an accelerator program aimed at helping Black, brown and women business owners gain more access to capital. A matchmaking firm, CarpeDM’s primary product is a dating app geared toward Black women professionals. The company is among 60 startups nationwide selected to go through a 13-week program during which participants will receive mentoring, meet with potential investors and partners, and participate in a demo day. The program is run in partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private bank, which has raised $80 million to fund the effort. (Washington Business Journal)

Scott and Lauren Janney were on their way to opening a coffee shop in Hampton Roads — complete with a magazine wall — when the pandemic hit. In August 2020, the Janneys came up with a different business venture — Magazine Jukebox. The company offers digital magazines as an alternative to physical ones in commercial spaces. The idea is to provide consumers a way to enjoy magazines without having to touch them while waiting, accessing the publications via custom scannable QR code. The Norfolk-based business has grown to seven full-time employees and four sales associates. Launched in January, Magazine Jukebox is aiming to be in 700 locations throughout the U.S. by the end of 2022. (Inside Business)

Atlanta-based Saltbox Inc., a cowarehousing startup, opened a 45,000-square-foot location in Alexandria in late August to tap a market of small- and medium-sized e-commerce businesses. The company provides businesses with space in shared logistics facilities. A merchant can buy a month-to-month license, like a monthly rent, for a customizable suite. Membership provides access to logistics-oriented amenities, equipment and services, like loading docks, carts, palette jacks, outbound package bins for scheduled pickups, a photography studio and building security. The one-story industrial building contains 85 suites of various sizes for warehouse and office uses, with prices starting at $630 per month. (Washington Business Journal; Saltbox.com)

Rogers

PEOPLE

Richmond-based Kishau Rogers, founder and CEO of Time Study Inc., returned to her native Lynchburg in late August to speak at a quarterly breakfast hosted by the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance as part of Black Business Month. Headquartered in Virginia and New York, Time Study is an artificial intelligence platform used by more than 75 hospitals to help understand the impact of how their employees spend their time. Rogers said many of her clients use the platform to identify more profitable activities and billable hours, and to reduce burnout.  (The News & Advance)

Bio-plastics startup wins Lighthouse Labs pitch contest

While pitching to the sharks, entrepreneur Alec Brewer told them, “I do have white powder in my pocket,” before quickly clarifying that it wasn’t an illicit substance: “It’s PHB! It’s PHB!”

The co-founder and CEO of Charlottesville-based biodegradable plastics manufacturer Ourobio, Brewer explained that his company makes PHB, or polyhydroxybutyrate, from waste in order to reduce microplastics pollution. Ourobio converts whey into PHB through a biochemical process.

Ourobio was voted “shark favorite” out of nine entrepreneurs in Richmond business accelerator Lighthouse Labs’ 2022 spring cohort that pitched to four business leaders as part of the accelerator’s biannual Demo Day competition May 24. Ourobio received $1,500 from sponsor ThinkNimble and will have naming rights to a tagged great white shark that Lighthouse Labs is sponsoring.

Founded in 2012, Lighthouse Labs is a mentor-driven nonprofit accelerator that runs two, 12-week cohort sessions each year, investing $20,000 equity-free in six to 10 early-stage startups. Entrepreneurs accepted into the program receive mentorship and education on scaling up their businesses. Lighthouse Labs has accelerated more than 80 companies during the last 10 years, providing more than $1.6 million in equity-free funding. The Demo Day pitch contest is the grand finale event for each cohort.

Llamawood CEO Hunter Garen won the audience vote in the Demo Day competition; for his prize, he was given the privilege of throwing the first pitch at a Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball game.

While the same may not be true for his throwing arm,  Garen started his business pitch with a flourish, tossing postcards with coupon codes into the first few rows. Llamawood connects firewood suppliers and purchasers.

“I designed for a woman … because, as they say, women’s standards are much higher than men’s, so if you design for a woman, you’ll make every man happy,” Garen joked when telling the sharks about his customer demographics.

Sharks judging the competition were: Ajay Kori of UrbanStems and Novilla Pharmaceuticals; Claire Herring of Blue Ocean Brain; Richard Wintsch of Startup Virginia; and Joy Polefrone with VCU Health.

Also pitching at the competition were founders of Richmond-based beauty company LipLoveLine; Philadelphia-based software manufacturer Viora Health; Fort Belvoir-based health tech company Kinometrix Inc.; Philadelphia-based health care tech firm Hoth Intelligence; Richmond-based Nessle, which operates an online platform for expectant  parents; Austin, Texas-based tech firm On-Time Trials; and Houston-based health care tech company CaseCTRL. 

Incubator offers foothold for international firms

Minimal risk, long-term success.

Chorus Intelligence Ltd., a British software company that sells products and services for law enforcement investigations, had these goals in mind when it set its sights on the U.S. sales market. With the help of a new Virginia Beach incubator focused on supporting international businesses, Chorus is gaining a foothold in Virginia and beyond.

Chorus is one of two companies at the incubator, which opened in September 2021. Laura Hayes Chalk, business development coordinator for the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development, calls the incubator a minimal-risk avenue for international enterprises to test U.S. business waters. For global companies to be successful here, a physical presence helps, she says.

The move could boost the city’s economic development efforts.

Much of Virginia Beach’s business recruitment is “boots on the ground,” Chalk says. “It’s our goal, when we are working with a company or a large headquarters, that they one day will have a large presence in Virginia Beach. You have to have a starting point.”

Companies commit to two years at the incubator, located in five office spaces and a conference room at Virginia Beach’s Town Center. The first six months are rent free. Then, rent increases every six months until it hits $28.25 per square foot, the yearly market rate. Companies also get access to several benefits, including legal and financial services, and connections to universities and workforce groups.

With two firms in the incubator as of late May, the city is considering renovations to accommodate more companies.

The incubator is working for Chorus, which wants access to the large pool of U.S. law enforcement clients, says Neil Chivers, chief sales officer.

“Access to a bigger market would inevitably drive sales success,” he says. “Operating in the U.S. successfully also gives more credibility to the business and helps underpin the objectives for our shareholders.”

Chorus chose Virginia Beach because of its large law enforcement presence, strong technology job market and ease of travel to the United Kingdom.

It moved six employees, out of 65, into two spaces totaling 400 square feet in November 2021. Chorus now has clients in Virginia Beach, New Jersey, South Carolina and Florida.

Chorus plans to stay in Virginia Beach, with the city’s police department serving as a reference for its products.

“This move is pivotal to our success in the United States,” Chivers says.