Zebox opens U.S. incubator in Arlington
ElectroTempo Inc. CEO and co-founder Ann Xu wants her company’s software to reach 70% of the United States by 2027. Founded in 2020, Electro Tempo provides analytics and tools to help vehicle fleets, utilities and governments optimize the size and location of electric vehicle-charging infrastructure. The company took a step to[...]
Upward mobility
Last year, when Old Dominion University was searching for its new president, the executive search firm contracted by the university also provided a bit of business intelligence about how the university of 24,000 students in Norfolk was viewed nationally. “Old Dominion University was seen as a university on the rise,” says OD[...]
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 […]
D.C. sues bitcoin whale Michael Saylor for tax fraud
MicroStrategy Inc. founder Michael Saylor was sued in August by the city of Washington, D.C., which alleges that he defrauded the nation’s capital of more than $25 million in income taxes. The lawsuit argues that Saylor falsely claimed to reside in Virginia or Florida while instead living in a luxury Georgetown penthouse. The [...]
September 2022 Top Five
The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from Aug. 15 to Sept. 14 included two items focusing on TowneBank, the No. 1 bank in Hampton Roads by market share. 1 | TowneBank to acquire Farmers Bank Suffolk-based TowneBank agreed to acquire Windsor-headquartered Farmers Bankshares Inc., parent company of Farmers Bank, in a […]
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 [&[...]
Virginia 500 Spotlight: Mark C. Lowham
BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: You never learn anything when you are talking. FIRST JOB: Analyst for Kidder, Peabody & Co. in New York WHAT I WAS LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL: Mr. Clean and a bit of a nerd, but I still managed to be elected student body president PERSON I ADMIRE: My father. He was […]
For The Record: October 2022
CENTRAL VIRGINIA Fortune 500 used car online retailer Carvana Co. is more than halfway to its 400-employee hiring goal for its $25 million, 191,000-square-foot Chesterfield County inspection center, General Manager Robert Sheets said in August at the center’s ribbon cutting. Carvana has hired 240 employees and expects to reach 400 workers when it begins full […]
Surf’s up for Chesterfield’s The Lake
It took a lot to make The Lake happen. Developer Brett Burkhart had to nail down $323 million in financing, obtain a slew of permits and get Chesterfield County to offer performance grants or tax rebates. That took seven years, but he finally got it done, and clearing is underway on the 105-acre site on […]
Out and About Virginia 500 2022 Power List Edition
On Sept. 14, Virginia Business held its Power Up networking reception, recognizing the executives named to the 2022 edition of the Virginia 500. During the event, which was held at the Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville, Virginia Business Editor Richard Foster recognized the lifetime achievements of the 22 leaders named to this year’s Virginia 500 […]
Rudee Loop getting a fresh makeover
One of the East Coast’s most prime pieces of undeveloped real estate, Virginia Beach’s Rudee Loop, could soon find new life. In August, the city released four proposals that could turn the 11-acre site from what Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson described as a concrete-strewn “mess” into a multiuse destination for surfers, angl[...]
Vantage point
Norfolk leaders have high hopes for redevelopment projects that will reposition older properties — from an aging mall to an underused marine terminal — to better match modern market demands. “We are always asking, ‘What can we do that allows for some sort of creative transformation to actually happen?’” says Sean Was[...]