Richmond wellness space gets shot from Jack Daniel’s
On his 33rd birthday, Brelan Hillman learned that BareSOUL Yoga and Wellness was selected as one of six finalists to compete for $10,000 in a pitch contest for Black-owned businesses in Richmond. With just a weekend to prepare, Hillman, a business partner and board member for BareSOUL, crafted his three-minute appeal to connect [...]
Two Va. agencies make Adweek’s fastest growing U.S. agencies list
Two ad agencies that call Virginia home have landed on Adweek’s 2022 list of the fastest-growing U.S. ad agencies, the publication announced Monday. Richmond-based creative agency Dotted Line ranked third on the list of Adweek’s fastest-growing agencies in the Southeast, and No. 22 on the list of the nation’s 7[...]
Va. CEOs say labor shortages, inflation hurting business
Labor shortages and inflation are negatively impacting Virginia businesses, and expectations for sales, employment and capital spending are less positive than during the previous two quarters, according to the third quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey by the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and the Virginia C[...]
Fighting back
Inflation and supply chain problems have pushed up the price of citric acid by 200%. That’s a problem for Crystal Wellman because citric acid is a primary ingredient in bath products she sells at Sugar + Spruce, her bath, body and skin care products shop in downtown Fredericksburg. Wellman could try just raising prices, but [&[...]
Apex Systems co-founder gives $500,000 to Va. Tech
Virginia Tech’s Apex Center for Entrepreneurs has received a $500,000 donation from Apex Systems co-founder Win Sheridan. A 1994 Tech graduate with bachelor’s degrees in political science and English with a minor in business administration, Sheridan made the donation to help the Apex Center engage with student entrepreneurs through programing, networking and funding, according to […][...]
Hopewell businesses get boost after pitch competiton
Jonathan Montiel and his business partners Phillip and Lexi Hughes bought a building in downtown Hopewell and then asked community members what they needed. Their answer: more restaurants. That’s how City Point Ice Cream & Burgers was born, and it’s why the trio think they won the $15,000 first prize in the Homeg[...]
Bio-plastic 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!” Brewer passed the vial over for the sharks’ inspection during his Lighthouse Labs Demo Day pitch Thursday for his company, O[...]
Meet SBA’s Va. small biz person of year
Jeri Prophet joined the Navy on a whim. She had been attending Arizona State University, saw a recruiter sign, and headed for the office. “Some people buy new shoes. I joined the Navy,” she recalled. She served 10 years in the Navy, first as a data systems analyst and left as an information systems technician. [&hell[...]
Four Va. businesses to receive flood solutions funding
Four Virginia-based small businesses focused on coastal resiliency and flooding will receive funding to develop their products, Norfolk-based nonprofit RISE Resilience Innovations announced Thursday. Divided between rural and urban projects, there were eight winning projects, with the other four based in North Carolina. More tha[...]
South Hill grant aims to boost business district
South Hill merchants figured out ways to keep business going during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing Facebook Live videos from downtown stores that helped people shop from home, then pick up their treasures curbside. Sometimes featuring a rescue dog named Duncan, the videos have continued even as restrictions are[...]
Greater Washington Partnership CEO steps down
Greater Washington Partnership CEO JB Holston has left the organization he has led since September 2020. Holston’s last day was Thursday, Nina Sharma, a partnership spokesperson confirmed to Virginia Business. It comes one day after the alliance of business and community leaders from Baltimore through Richmond announced a [...]
Metro delays create hassles for businesses, workers
Metrorail delays played a factor in Danielle Romanetti’s decision at the beginning of the year to close fibre space, her Old Town Alexandria yarn and knitting supplies shop, an hour earlier each day. “We now close at [7 p.m.] instead of [8 p.m.], just so staff can get home in time to eat a proper […]