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startups

Lighthouse Labs exec jumps to 757 Angels, 757 Collab
Apr 7, 2023

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 […]

Mar 30, 2023

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 […]

AURA CEO and co-founder Bill Tolpegin says the company's technology could eventually help shuttle people on air taxis through cities. Photo by Will Schermerhorn
Mar 30, 2023

McLean startup raises $75M for air taxi network

Fritz Lang’s 1927 film “Metropolis” predicted cities with flying cars, while Hanna-Barbera followed that vision 35 years later with “The Jetsons” and its commuter “skyways.” Now, however, air taxis are close to becoming reality. The industry could generate up to $16 billion in new business investments in Virginia and carry as many as 66 million […]

Members only
Mar 13, 2023

Va. bankers say they’re not worried by SVB collapse

Last weekend was pretty tense for bankers, even for those leading institutions quite distant and different from Silicon Valley Bank, which Friday became the second largest bank to fail in U.S. history. Federal regulators shut down SVB after a run on the bank. By Sunday, regulators also shut down New York’s Signature Bank, which became […]

Ready for launch
Feb 27, 2023

Ready for launch

Virginia’s version of the business accelerator doesn’t always rely on the traditional model of sponsorship by angel investors who provide capital for startups, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Here in the commonwealth, “it’s more founder-focused,” and accelerators are often run by nonprofit organizations, says Conaway Haskins, vice president for e[...]

Bob Stolle. Photo courtesy CIT
Jan 31, 2023

Report: Air taxis could land Va. $16B in new biz by 2045

Air taxis could generate up to $16 billion in new business in Virginia and carry as many as 66 million passengers by 2045, according to an economic impact study released Tuesday. The report, commissioned by the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. and the state commerce and trade secretary, forecasts short, carbon-free flights connecting cities, suburbs and rural […]

Jan 30, 2023

StartVirginia: Feb. 2023 Heard around Virginia

Vienna defense contractor Aeyon is continuing a trajectory of growth and expansion with new work for NASA, and it hopes to open the door to work with other agencies. Aeyon’s latest win is through MM Technologies, a joint venture between Aeyon subsidiary Manufacturing Technical Solutions and Tysons-based MDW Associates. It landed a $516.9 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity [&hell[...]

757 Angels Executive Director Monique Adams plans to step down this summer, after the angel investment group launches a partnership with VentureSouth. Photo by Mark Rhodes
Dec 29, 2022

757 Angels will partner with VentureSouth

757 Angels, a Hampton Roads angel investment group that matches venture capitalists with local entrepreneurs, is partnering with VentureSouth, one of the largest angel investment networks in the United States. Effective in June, the partnership will provide more access to capital and investors to 757 Angels’ 140 members. Established in 2015 and based in Greenville, […]

Dec 29, 2022

StartVirginia: Jan. 2023 Heard around Virginia

Vienna-based Attune‘s indoor air quality sensor is the first North American-made indoor air quality sensor to receive environmental claim validation UL 2905, the company announced Dec. 6, 2022. The validation, from UL Solutions, evaluates sensors for accuracy by measuring multiple air quality parameters, including common pollutants such as total volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, carb[...]

Julien Reininger launched his vegan jerky business, Jacked! Jackfruit Jerky, as a college student with the help of Virginia Commonwealth University’s da Vinci Center for Innovation and its pre-accelerator program. Photo by Matthew R.O. Brown
Dec 29, 2022

On your mark

When Virginia Commonwealth University closed its buildings in spring 2020, then-student Julien Reininger wasn’t deterred from his entrepreneurial pursuits. In the kitchen of his parents’ Springfield home, Reininger ran a dehydrator for eight hours at a time, creating vegan jerky from canned jackfruit and developing different marinades. “I’m sure when I started doing it, they [&[...]

Dec 6, 2022

Va. receives $230M for startup, venture capital funding

Virginia has been approved for as much as $230.4 million in federal funds to accelerate startups, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced Tuesday. The money comes from the Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). Virginia will operate five programs, including two loan participation, one loan guarantee and two equity/venture capital programs. Loan programs include [&hellip[...]

Valley of the entrepreneurs
Nov 29, 2022

Valley of the entrepreneurs

The Shenandoah Valley has long been recognized as fertile ground for agricultural endeavors, but it’s now being seeded to grow an entirely different kind of crop — entrepreneurs. During the past few years, local and regional governmental bodies, nonprofits, and private and educational organizations in the valley have been coordinating efforts to create an entrepreneurial […]

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