Richmond tech company to add 30+ jobs

Shockoe, a Richmond-based technology company that builds apps and other tech products for client companies, will expand to create more than 30 jobs, Richmond’s mayor announced Thursday.

Headquartered in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood, Shockoe was founded in 2010 by Edwin Huertas and has been featured in the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held companies, as well as named one of the city’s best places to work in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The company also has presences in Mexico and Ecuador. Alex Otañez is its CEO, and Huertas is chief technology officer.

“Richmond’s business-friendly climate, talent pool and high quality of life make it a great place to grow a business,” Mayor Levar Stoney said in a statement. “We congratulate Shockoe on its success in the competitive tech solutions industry and look forward to its future expansion in this growing business sector of our city.”

Otañez says the expansion of his 70-person workforce is due to growth in the use of applications by companies during the pandemic, when many workers started working from home. “I think Shockoe was in the right place in the right time,” he said. “We also focus on a lot of Web3 projects and a lot of metaverse projects,” up-and-coming platforms. Web3, or “web 3.0,” relies on decentralized blockchains — like those used in cryptocurrency — to build sites, and metaverse refers to online spaces that are immersive virtual worlds.

Shockoe hopes to hire its new employees as soon as this summer, Otañez said, but the company’s highest priority is to make sure any new hires are a good fit culturally. “We believe that our culture is second to none,” he said. “Our retention is higher because [employees] are able to experience lots of different projects,” keeping them engaged and learning.