Nestled along the James River, Richmond, Virginia, is rapidly emerging as a vibrant hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. With its rich history and culture, and a growing ecosystem of support for new businesses, the city offers a unique blend of opportunity and quality of life. The city's diverse economy, anchored by industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology, has had an outsized presence in the Fortune 1000, with 11 entrants on the list. But that economy is evolving and becoming a fertile ground for innovation and early-stage builders. Richmond's startup community is characterized by its collaborative spirit, with entrepreneurs, investors, and established businesses working together to foster growth and innovation. And founders aren’t the only ones building in Richmond - Lego, the world leader in fun-filled building, is working on a $1B manufacturing plant in the area.
There’s never been a better time to move to Richmond, or to start a business there. This guide is designed to help startup founders and operators navigate the unique landscape of running a business in Virginia’s capital city.
Why Richmond?
Strategic Location: Situated between Washington D.C. and North Carolina's Research Triangle, Richmond offers easy access to major markets while maintaining a lower cost of living
Diverse Economy: From finance and healthcare to technology and creative industries, Richmond's economy provides a solid foundation for various startup sectors
Rich Talent Pool: The city is home to several universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond, and is a relatively short drive from the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech - providing a steady stream of young, skilled professionals
Supportive Ecosystem: A growing network of incubators, accelerators, and coworking spaces foster collaboration and growth for startups
Quality of Life: Richmond has become a mainstay on “best places to live” lists due to its kind community, its burgeoning food and arts options, its great neighborhoods, and its outdoors scene
Resources for startups
Funds
Firm | Industry I Stage
New Richmond Ventures | Agnostic | Pre-Seed, Seed, Early Stage
Blue Heron Capital | Healthcare, Enterprise Tech | Growth
Trolley Ventures | Agnostic | Pre-Seed, Seed, Early Stage
Harbert Growth Partners | Enterprise Tech | Early Stage, Growth
Virginia Venture Partners | Agnostic | Seed, Early Stage
Capital One Ventures | Fintech, Data and Analytics, Security | Pre-Seed, Seed, Early Stage
Incubators and accelerators
Provider and/or Program | Industry I Stage
Lighthouse Labs | Agnostic | Seed, Early Stage
Startup Virginia | Agnostic | All Stages
RVAWorks | | Agnostic | Early Stage
Frontier BioHealth by Activation Capital | Health and Biomedical | Pre-Seed, Seed, Early Stage
For a complete list of funding resources in Virginia, check out Build in SE’s Southeast Capital Landscape.
Coworking and shared workspaces
Provider | Neighborhood
Common House | Arts District
Startup Virginia 1717 Innovation Center | Downtown
VA Bio+Tech Park | Downtown
Gather | Multiple locations: Arts District, Midlothian, Scott’s Addition, Short Pump
Venture X Richmond | Scott’s Addition
CoFlow | Church Hill
Expansive | Downtown
Regus Truist Place | Downtown
Carytown Coworking | Carytown
Community and event organizers
Startup Virginia (which supports the 1717 Innovation Center in partnership with Capital One) - a nonprofit high-growth business incubator and entrepreneurial hub, supporting companies throughout the state of Virginia
Activation Capital - a multipurpose startup enablement organization focused on companies in life sciences and healthcare technology
Venture Richmond - a community organization focused on economic development, marketing, promotion, advocacy and events for the Richmond area
RVA Tech - a member-driven association of businesses and organizations focused on accelerating Richmond’s technology-based economy
1 Million Cups Richmond - a weekly event program to connect entrepreneurs and the supporting community in Richmond
Startups to watch
Mission Lane - Building on Richmond’s historical strength in financial services, Mission Lane is a fintech providing consumer finance services intended to help consumers have access to fair and clear credit. The company offers a Visa card with 2M+ users, and has continued to scale since its 2018 founding
Inclusively - Inclusively is a Richmond-based startup that was founded in 2020, and offers employee recruitment and retention tools. The company started with a focus on employees with disabilities and unique needs, and has since evolved to more broadly support customers as they work to help employees reach their full potential
UniUni - Founded in Richmond in 2018, UniUni is a logistics company focused on solving last-mile shipping questions. It has exanded across North America, now boasting 500+ employees and 10,000+ registered drivers. UniUni has raised capital from Alibaba Group, DCM Ventures, Celtic House Venture Partners, and others - including a $70M Series C
Great Minds - Great Minds is an edtech company based in Richmond that develops curriculum materials and implementation products to help teachers across the country better serve students from Pre-K to Grade 12. The company has scaled to 1,000+ employees and continues to add new offerings to its platform
Brandefy - Brandefy is competing with the stalwarts of the beauty market by offering DTC, “unbranded” products that replicate the high-cost, high-end offerings for a fraction of the price - and does so in a tech-enabled way. Brandefy raised a $1.1M round in 2023 and has continued to make headlines since
Uzurv - Uzurv is a transportation and logistics company that has developed a Mobility Platform to provide transportation to the elderly, disabled, and others with NEMT needs. Uzurv has raised $40M+ as it continues to build out its network and capabilities
Tactiq - Tactiq offers direct store distribution (DSD) software tools for retailers, distributors, and manufacturer, with capabilities spanning business intelligence, customer communication, category management, and consolidated invoicing.
With its growing support network, diverse talent pool, and strategic location, Richmond is poised to become a major player in the Southeast's startup scene. The city's unique blend of Southern hospitality and entrepreneurial spirit creates an environment where innovative ideas can thrive and transform into successful businesses.
Thank you for checking out this guide to the Richmond tech and startup ecosystem. If you’re interested in being a part of the ever-growing success story that is entrepreneurship in the Southeast, check out the Build In SE website, or learn more via our publications on Substack.
If you know of any resources that should be added to this guide, or if you simply want to get in touch, please reach out at ryan@buildinse.com!
This is a great list, Ryan, thanks for putting it together! Gather has been on the up-and-up. I hung out with a few founders last week at Common House and love the space. Check out what we're doing with growth dinners. I think you'll find that it fills a big gap that's been missing here in Richmond, and we're excited to build. https://growthdinners.com