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EY taps 14 Virginians as Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year finalists
Fourteen Virginia business leaders are among the 30 finalists for Ernst & Young’s 2024 Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year award. EY announced the finalists, selected by a panel of independent judges, on April 22. The Big Four professional services company will name the regional awards winners on June 15. The Virginia finalists include: Anil Sharma, […]
StartVirginia: HEARD AROUND VIRGINIA
Comcast said April 9 it is opening grant applications for a program benefiting small businesses across Greater Richmond. The global cable broadcasting company said the grant packages include business coaching, education sources, media schedules, creative production, technology makeovers and $5,000 in cash. Comcast’s RISE program is aimed at supporting the growth of small businesses while [&h[...]
Getting off the ground
When Sid Pailla applied to join Richmond-based accelerator Lighthouse Labs in 2020, he had an idea, a product and early customers but, he acknowledges, “at the end of the day, we didn’t exactly have a business.” Sunny Day Fund, Pailla’s Falls Church startup, offers an emergency savings platform to which employers contribute in an effort […]
CAV Angels hits $20 million+ milestone
When Greg and Marion Werkheiser connected with CAV Angels during their search for seed investors for their augmented reality software startup in 2018, the couple reaped benefits beyond an initial $300,000 infusion. “The investment itself gave us credibility to other investors,” says ARtGlass CEO Greg Werkheiser, a 2000 graduate of the University of Virginia School […]
HEARD AROUND VIRGINIA
Alexandria venture capital firm Columbia Capital has indicated in regulatory filings that it has raised $977 million to keep investing in companies in the communications and technology fields. Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec. 15, 2023, show the investment firm has reached its fundraising goal for two separate funds. The firm […]
RAMP hires new executive director
The new executive director of RAMP, the Roanoke-based Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program, once worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. Now he’ll help startups get off the ground in Roanoke, after doing work in the startup ecosystem in North Carolina. John Hagy started as executive director of RAMP on Jan. 8. He takes the place […]
STARTVIRGINIA: HEARD AROUND VIRGINIA December 2023
A consortium of Hampton Roads startup business programs, 757 ScaleUp Alliance, received a $1.2 million federal grant to promote job growth in emerging industries. The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the grant as part of $53 million in funding through its Build to Scale program, which aims to provide financial resources to entrepreneurs and startups. […]
Pulaski startup aims to turn pollutants into profit
Where some people see pollutants, Steve Critchfield sees the potential for profit and to improve the environment. As founder and president of Pulaski-based MOVA Technologies, Critchfield developed and patented a filter about the size of a refrigerator that captures selected air pollutants and breaks them into byproducts that can be sold and reused. It’s based […]
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 […]
HEARD AROUND VIRGINIA November 2023
Richmond-based Absurd Snacks is now selling its products in 14 Whole Foods Market stores throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, as well as via Amazon.com. Co-founders Grace Mittl and Eli Bank, who serve as CEO and chief operating officer respectively, began fostering a relationship with Whole Foods in 2021 while taking an entrepreneurial pilot course at the University […]
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 […]
