Richmond's tech and startup scene may be small compared to the likes of Silicon Valley, but the ecosystem and its innovators consistently churn out startups, accelerators and ideas that can only be found in eastern Virginia.
Each year, Richmond Inno compiles a list of the area's most promising and notable entrepreneur and technologists who are 25 and under. This year, they range from startup founders, CEOs and employees, to local Incubator innovators; venture capitalists, to Virginia's most regarded alum.
This year's list was cultivated based on community nominations and Inno's editorial selection process. Check them out below.
Michael Beiro, 25, founder, Linebird
Beiro founded drone tech startup Linebird in late 2018, shortly after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where he studied mechanical engineering. The startup's technology is used to create and commercialize automation solutions for utility companies. Linebird participated in Lighthouse Labs' summer accelerator and was one of seven startups accepted into Dominion Energy Innovation Center's first-ever accelerator program, which kicked off earlier this month.
Jarmal Bevels, Jr., 24, co-founder and creative director, SEQL
Bevels, a University of Richmond graduate, joined the SEQL team as a contract videographer in December 2019. He moved into another contract position as digital content manager in February and was quickly promoted to a full-time position as creative director in March. Over the last two months, alone, Bevels has helped the athletic recruiting platform sign its first ambassador, Los Angeles Lakers player Quinn Cook; onboard 2,500 beta users; and secure more than $500,000 in funding.
Addison Gills, 25, co-founder, NoJoe
Gills, a Hampden-Sydney College graduate with a master's degree from VCU, founded IoT startup NoJoe in March. The smart tech company's software works with a user's existing WiFi modem and internet provider to help amplify and strengthen overall connectivity. Additionally, Gills had a hand in co-founding PLG Partners through a Covid-19 hackathon over the summer. The early-stage startup aims to helps gig-workers who work for companies like Uber and Lyft to receive provisions for insurance and benefits.
He's also employed full-time as the operations manager of Center for Sustainable Energy, one of the nation's largest renewable energy non-profits.
Eric Gonzalez, 21, and Rider Tuff, 21, co-founders, Leva
Gonzalez and Tuff, both recent University of Richmond grads, founded Leva earlier this year in an effort to help match students with internships in tech and startups as those positions shifted from in-person to remote. The platform is designed to connect qualified students with remote internship opportunities, while ensuring the match is a fit for both the intern and the company. The pair are currently working with 16 accelerators and incubators and more than 20 companies worldwide.
Isaiah Harvin, 24, product management, WarnerMedia
Harvin, a VCU graduate, is using his background and education in product innovation to impact how people consume, learn about and understand culture through the entertainment industry in his role as product manager at WarnerMedia. Additionally, he is a co-organizer of Richmond-based industry meetup ProductTank.
In 2019, Harvin helped co-found a European-based computer software startup APTIC, which uses computer vision technology to deliver navigation and autonomy to the visually impaired.
Gabe Hill, 23, co-founder, V12 Venture Partners
In April, Hill co-founded V12 Venture Partners, a Richmond-based venture capital firm aimed at supporting pre-seed and seed startups during the early stages of fundraising. He's also the founder of 804 Club for Young Professionals, a private networking organization based in Richmond.
Prior to launching V12, Hill was the director of business development at computer software company Covintus, director of global sales at SearchBlox Software and director of strategic partnerships at TABS Score, a platform that provides comprehensive evaluations of early-stage ventures.
Chris Hoyle, 24, co-founder, Navattic; independent developer, Impromptu
Hoyle, a graduate of the College of William and Mary, has multiple startup launches under his belt at just 24 years old. In 2017, he co-founded TheBit, a cryptocurrency news and education platform; in 2018, he co-founded Borrowed, a platform that allows users to rent items like bikes, cameras and drones at a low cost; and most recently, Navattic. The startup, which was chosen as a member of Lighthouse Labs' summer 2020 cohort, helps sales and pre-sales teams create tailored product demos quickly.
Hoyle is also an independent developer for Impromptu, a full-service studio that offers product development, UI/UX designs and customer research.
Sarah Kilmon, 24, product marketing, Hatch
Kilmon, a VCU graduate, has been with Hatch since its inception in 2016 when she was hired as the startup's first employee. Hatch is a computer software company that combines two-way text, email and phone with automation into a collaborative workspace. Kilmon spent two years as a UX designer before becoming a project manager in early 2018 and a product manager in 2019. She was promited to her current product marketing position earlier this year. Kilmon has worked on a variety of projects over the last four years with Hatch, including collaborating with its engineers to build out the company's first iteration.
Kilmon is also involved in Richmond's product community. She is a member of the Ladies that UX planning committee and a co-organizer, host and presenter for Product Tank Richmond.
Catlyn Kilmury, 24, founder, Personify
Following her graduation from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Kilmury was hired as to manage the collegiate field and marketing team for Red Bull. It was during that time that she was inspired to her own startup. She launched Personify, a network that matches brand ambassadors with brands that need representation, in spring 2019. Kilmury said she realized that oftentimes, young people who would be a fit for brand ambassador positions miss out on opportunities because they're not aware they exist. She created Personify to help bridge that gap.
Kilmury and Personify are also members of Startup Virginia.
Claire O'Keefe, 24, director, Canvas
During her senior year at VCU, O'Keefe began working as an event coordinator intern for Richmond-based The Broad, a coworking space for women. It was there that she was led to her current role as director at Canvas, which was founded as a space designed to offer a creative environment for people working in the corporate, non-profit and government worlds to host and film in-person and virtual events and team retreats. As its director, O'Keefe, has helped expand the startup into four studio spaces. She is also tasked with managing Canvas' Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
Additionally, O'Keefe is a part of Canvas sister-company Envoy, where, as summit producer, she uses tech on a daily to facilitate and produce national and global leadership meetings, non-profit events and fundraisers. Most notably, she hosted Rebelle Con 2019, a three-day, virtual women's thought leadership conference through online platforms like Zoom, Vimeo Live and YouTube Live.
Ian Ragland, 25, program manager, Dominion Energy Innovation Center
Ragland is a Randolph-Macon College graduate with a master's degree from VCU's da Vinci School for Innovation. He was hired as program manager for Dominion Energy Innovation Center, an Ashland-based startup incubator, in June 2019. Ragland's responsibilities range from working to secure new partnerships and managing programming budgets to facilitating events, mentoring new startups and helping to grow the innovation center. He also worked alongside the rest of the DEIC to help launch its first-ever startup accelerator, which began earlier this month.
Joshna Seelam, 24, founder and CEO, Kilo Medical Solutions
Seelam, who earned her undergrad and master's degrees from VCU, founded health tech startup Kilo Medical Solutions in 2018 during a global entrepreneurship program. Kilo is an early-stage company that developed the Brisesolette, a device designed to mimic the environment of a mother's womb while in the neonatal incubator. Seelam and Kilo have steadily gained state, national and international recognition for the device, including first place at the RichmondSCORE 2019 competition and a semi-finals finish at the National Academy of Inventors. Under Seelam's direction, the startup was also awarded a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant and a Venturewell E-Team grant.
Seelam also spent two years as a student leader and engineering student chair for VCU's College of Engineering HealthHacks hackathon. In 2019, she was invited to give the VCU HealthHacks keynote address.
Taylor Seibert, 22, marketing and operations, Brandefy
Seibert, the youngest innovator on this year's list, obtained her associate's degree from Piedmont Virginia Community College and went onto the complete her bachelor's degree at McIntire School of Commerce. In June, she was hired as a marketing and operations associate for Richmond-based startup Brandefy, a mobile app that gives users the ability to find quality, affordable dupes to pricey, cult-favorite beauty products. Seibert's education and background in marketing and digital media has allowed to her work effectively with one of the startup's top portfolio companies.
Yash Tekriwal, 24, co-founder, LifeSchool; senior associate, JJELLYFISH
Tekriwal dove headfirst into the startup world upon graduating from the University of Virginia in 2018 when he and three friends founded Radify Labs, an edtech platform built to teach students skills in things like data science, digital media, software engineering and web design. Last year, Tekriwal made the decision to leave the company but stayed in the Richmond area to continue working in the edtech and startup community. In January 2019, he founded a second edtech company, LifeSchool, aimed at helping those in the early-and mid-career stages change the way they think about entrepreneurship. LifeSchool was an integral part in helping launch UVA Launchpad, an online immersive and internship program.
In May, Tekriwal also joined the team at JJELLYFISH, a company that helps B2B founders successfully scale inside the U.S. and internationally. During his first four months, he's helped create automations to increase workload capabilities and build a data infrastructure that allows the team to use startups' insights to help them scale.
Aaron Varella, 23, founder, Cove of Advice
Varella, a VCU graduate, is a recruiting and staffing specialist for Dominion Energy by day. In January, he decided to use his professional background to help his peers. Varella created Cove of Advice, an Instagram page where he aims to connect college students and young adults to growth opportunities while sharing lessons he's learned on his own path to growth. With a following of nearly 450, Varella answers questions related to life and career and has collaborated with teachers, business professionals and notable names like entrepreneur, investor and motivational speaker Daymond John.