vol. 117 / sprint 🏁Big ideas needed. Time to sprint.
VOL. 117 / SPRINT
Meet our guest editor Erin Powell, the new executive director of Lighthouse Labs. You may also recognize her as the founder of Ginger Juice. Erin is here to tell us that it’s time to sprint. In today's issue, Erin shares a handful of ways those with big ideas in Richmond are rolling up their sleeves, adapting fast, and pushing our region forward.
Now is the time to offer budding entrepreneurs and those with new ideas the support they need to bring their big thinking to life. We need innovators now more than ever to help create a happy and healthy community. At Lighthouse Labs, we’re currently offering a summer program, called Startup Sprint, for up to 60 new companies and founders with solutions to share. It’s free and offered online to anyone who has graduated from a Virginia college or university in the past ten years. In addition to summer opportunities, we're also launching a fall cohort that serves as Virginia's only health-focused accelerator. As inspiration, here are three Lighthouse alums that are currently responding to today’s challenging environment and serving as examples of what's possible. Let's use their tenacity, resilience, and ability to quickly respond as a model for impacting this place we love to call home.
Roundtrip
Roundtrip is the perfect place to start when thinking about the journey our local startups have traveled to bring their vision for a healthier community to life. Roundtrip was created as a way to provide a simple, comprehensive patient ride ordering software to make available a community of ride providers ready to complete valuable transport to medical appointments and non-emergency medical transportation. As a result, they've helped increased access to care for all. In response to COVID-19, this Lighthouse alum has proven their flexibility by flipping its model to now coordinate rides for clinicians in order to safely and efficiently transport critical staff members to medical facilities. As health systems work to show their gratitude to their frontline employees, Roundtrip is being leveraged as a way to transport the most needed healthcare teams to the right place at the right time -- without public transportation.
Babylon, a recent Lighthouse Labs alum, is known for making high-end hydroponic systems that allow anyone to grow their own fresh, organic produce in a sustainable manner year-round at the push of a button. In the midst of supply chain anxiety and empty shelves at grocery stores due to COVID-19, Babylon has quickly revamped its business model to offer fresh products with 99.9% less transportation, 71% fewer carbon emissions, 95% less food waste, and 99% less plastic waste. While much of Babylon's work has traditionally been installing indoor farming units in restaurants, the recent health crisis has led the startup to begin offering its technology and farming system to vulnerable populations such as senior living communities.
Totem, a Richmond based startup founded by three UVA students with a passion for cause-related organizations, has proven itself as a user-friendly donor engagement software platform for do-gooders. Built for nonprofits by people who have worked in nonprofits, Totem is today used by the likes of Chesterfield Food Bank, Autism Society of Virginia, American Civil War Museum, Startup Virginia, and Lighthouse Labs. Now more than ever, at this time of crisis, Totem is being tapped into by nonprofits across the country looking to manage donations, constituents, members, events, programming, and volunteers when needed most.
Registration closes tomorrow for the free virtual Startup Sprint for qualified Virginia founders. Registration is first-come, first-served for 60 companies and those with big ideas. And make sure to check out fall programming too!
