Meriwether Startup Report

Paul Dierkes has spent ten years doing the marketing and branding for many of the craft breweries in Virginia. One would imagine that if Paul was going to start a company he would start a craft brewery. Paul, however, is betting big on coffee. On this week's episode, I talk to Paul, co-founder of Snowing in Space, about why he's starting a nitro cold brewed coffee company.

On this week's episode, I interview Rory Stolzenberg, founder of the online and mobile food ordering app, Foodio. While foodio struggled to gain momentum initially, Rory refused to give up on the idea. Now, his determination and grit are starting to pay off in a major way. In this conversation, Rory discusses his unusual high school experience, teaching himself how to code, and how he leveraged opportunities at HackCville and the i.Lab to refine and build his business.   

In this episode, venture capitalist and author, Jim Murray discusses his career and his hopes for the Charlottesville startup community. Jim was at the forefront of the cellular revolution and as a founding partner of Columbia Capital, invested in a wide range of telecom and IT companies. Currently, he is a general partner at Court Square Ventures and sits on UVA's Board of Visitors.    I would strongly encourage you to buy his book Wireless Nation: The Frenzied Launch of the Cellular Revolution in America. It's a tremendous story. 

AgroSpheres is developing a biotech solution to degrade pesticides and has won numerous startup and innovation prizes. I was fortunate enough to catch up with one of the Founders, Payam Pourtaheri, right after AgroSpheres won the Charlottesville stop of the Velocity Tour. Payam's story gives some incredible insight into how both UVA and Charlottesville has changed over the past few years in regards to entrepreneurship.    

Almost every week we see a new headline related to the rapid growth of the Charlottesville startup community. In this wide ranging conversation, Tracey Greene, the Executive Director of the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC), goes beyond the headlines to explore the causes of the rapid growth. Recently named the country's fastest growing market for venture capital investment since 2010, Charlottesville has seen enormous changes. Tracey, as Executive Director of CBIC and a founder of the Charlottesville Angel Network, has not only seen the transformation first hand but has been an integral part of the community's development.