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Lighthouse Labs names new managing director
Debbie Irwin, the former director of the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, will be the next managing director of Lighthouse Labs, the Richmond accelerator announced Friday. She begins her new role Feb. 26. Irwin is leaving her role at SCCF, another entrepreneurial support organization based in Staunton, where she served for six[...]
SCCF exec director to depart
Debbie Irwin, executive director of the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, an entrepreneurial support organization based in Staunton, is leaving her role in March, the organization announced Tuesday. SCCF’s board of directors will begin a national search for her replacement. When Irwin leaves, Ryan Hall, director of growth[...]
Lighthouse Labs announces spring cohort
Richmond-based Lighthouse Labs’ next accelerator cohort of eight startups will include companies creating products for the real estate and health care industries. The 16th cohort since Lighthouse Labs opened in 2012 will be part of the program from March 4 to May 17. The selected companies are: 3D Orthobiologic Solutions, [...]
‘Shark Tank’ casting call is coming to Va.
Virginia entrepreneurs, “the sharks” are coming for you. The casting team of ABC’s “Shark Tank” will hold its first-ever casting call in Virginia at Rivers Casino Portsmouth on April 12. The show is getting ready to film its 16th season with venture capitalists Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Gre[...]
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 gradu[...]
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[...]
Roanoke fintech startup KlariVis closes $11M funding round
KlariVis closed an $11 million Series B funding round, the Roanoke-based banking data analytics startup announced Thursday. KlariVis provides data analytics solutions for community banks and credit unions. The fintech company has doubled its revenue and customer count year-over-year and has 100 clients, according to a news relea[...]
George Mason incubator helps immigrant entrepreneurs rise
George Mason University’s vision for creating an entrepreneurship program for immigrants and refugees “connected the dots” of Sumeet Shrivastava’s history, beginning with his family’s emigration from Bihar, India, in the 1970s so his father, Satyendra Shrivastava, could earn a master’s degree. Mentors guided his fath[...]
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[...]
Electra’s hybrid prototype aircraft takes first flight
This story was updated Dec. 1. A Manassas aircraft manufacturer that’s developing an electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft logged a significant milestone Nov. 19 when it completed its first hybrid-electric flight. Electra’s EL-2 Goldfinch took off from Manassas Regional Airport and flew 23 minutes, reac[...]
