RVA startups tell Kaine that money, infrastructure, talent top local needs
After Sen. Timothy M. Kaine spoke Monday to the class of Larry J. Sabato, a University of Virginia professor and political analyst, a student from Midlothian came up to say hello.
The student wasn't interested in talking about the Democrat's tenure as governor, or his work in the Senate. Instead, he wanted to talk about Kaine's time on Richmond City Council and to tell Kaine how proud he is to be from the Richmond region.
Kaine said the student's comment -- that he's proud to be from Richmond -- dovetails with what his children tell him about the city on a regular basis.
"Nothing in public life has made me prouder than hearing my kids brag about their city," he said. "And one of the things that makes the city cool is the entrepreneurship and startup community.”
A dozen entrepreneurs from businesses in Richmond and Charlottesville gathered Wednesday at Health Warrior, which is headquartered in Richmond's Scott's Addition neighborhood and makes snack bars from chia seeds. Health Warrior's founder, Shane Emmett, worked as a legal adviser for Kaine when he was the governor.
Emmett said he and other startups in the region see lots of positive trends in the local business community. But Emmett said that Richmond will only compete with startup hubs like Austin, Texas and Portland, Ore. if the area keeps improving its business climate.
"Richmond has a lot of momentum. We make our bars at a factory outside Portland, and it feels like Richmond is right behind Portland," he said. "What scares me is the possibility of this momentum slowing."
Graham Henshaw, the director of investment group New Richmond Ventures, said Kaine should urge city and state politicians to prioritize investments in areas like education, transportation and high-speed Internet.
"If we have that infrastructure, technologists will come," he said.
Mac Gambill, co-founder of Nudge, a health-tracking mobile app, said the region's business momentum will slow if more computer programmers and developers can't be drawn to the area. Nudge has been forced to hire developers who live in other cities, he said, because it can't find enough tech talent in Richmond.
Heather Loftus, who heads product marketing at PlanG, an online giving platform, said her business has faced a similar problem.
"We also have a distributed workforce," she said. "Richmond is rich in artistic and creative talent, but we can't find people at the intersection of technology and marketing."
The group said public schools and universities need to ramp up their computer science and programming classes. Kaine said he would be sure to address the issue with Virginia's secretary of education, who happens to be Anne Holton, his wife.
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