In our first-ever Tech Issue, we’re taking a look at four relatively young startups whose founders chose to root them here. Their reasons for doing so are varied, and so are their ventures. But whether they’re in app development or designing cancer cures, they share an outlook we see again and again among local technology entrepreneurs. They know there are roadblocks on the road to making Charlottesville a tech hub, and they don’t shy away from pointing them out—it’s hard to recruit talent, and raising capital can be tough if your city’s not on the startup scene short list. But they’re relentlessly optimistic about being able to grow here—and they want to pull others up with them.
We’ve also fired off some questions to a handful of locals whose perspectives on the tech industry we think are worth a long look—because they’re tapped into the idea well that is UVA, because they’ve been around the block a couple of times, because they’re working for change from the inside out.
Are they famous titans of tech? Nope. But they’re helping lead and shape an industry that is changing Charlottesville’s identity. Here’s what they have to say.