Startups

As it rolls out its first fundraising programs for local high schools as a proof-of-concept, the upstart company’s efforts just got a boost from a new, deep-pocketed source.

“If the commonwealth feels so strongly, they should be slamming shut every vape shop and every gas station (that’s selling kava and kratom),” Bryant said. “If it’s really a public health issue, that’s the response that should be happening.”

The local startup, which launched last year as Sudsy Shoes offering sneaker-cleaning services, is expanding into refurbishing dress shoes, boots and handbags.

Undeterred by a zoning snag it encountered at the former Innsbrook After Hours property, an upstart food truck park is now planning to open in a different spot a short distance away.

The entry into Whole Foods is the culmination of work that started last year for co-owners Grace Mittl and Eli Bank, who started the company in a University of Richmond entrepreneurship course.

See which 25 companies made the cut in BizSense’s annual list of the region’s fastest-growing companies. The full rankings will be unveiled at the Nov. 6 awards ceremony.

The company, which offers moving and related services with a focus on seniors, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week in federal court in Richmond.

Founded in 2018 by Vincent Vu, the company recently completed a proof-of-concept prototype for a new insole product designed to predict the wearer’s risk of falling.

Scott’s Addition-based Babylon Micro-Farms, which sells and leases modular vertical indoor micro-farms to businesses and individuals, is one of 10 finalists for the Verizon Climate Resiliency Prize.

Left scrambling after a failed merger, the once fast-growing company is moving rapidly to restructure by shrinking from nearly 500 employees to 50, leaving only its Richmond operations intact.