Travis Weisleder, the founder and CEO of InterActive Financial, left the company around three weeks ago. A company spokeswoman confirmed his departure but would not elaborate as to why, or what he might have planned next. Weisleder could not be reached. InterActive Financial owns a series of websites including carloans.com, which helps consumers with imperfect… Read more »
Search Results for: downtown
The van is cool again, or at least cheaper than commuting solo
But the number of vanpools cruising from Richmond to Hampton Roads or D.C. could jump 20% this year alone. And for in-town commuters, sharing a van could cut the cost of getting to work by almost 70% in the most extreme cases.Peyton Youmans, manager of the Richmond office of the vanpooling provider VPSI, said he… Read more »
Shockoe Bottom-ing out?
In 2004 Richmond’s historic Shockoe Bottom was devastated by Hurricane Gaston. Drainage systems malfunctioned and overflowed, and floodwater ran freely through the streets causing extensive damage to businesses. Four years later, the area is showing a few signs of recovery, but the vacancy rate hovers above 20%. Turnover in restaurants and bars is high.
Most promising startups in Richmond?
The search is on to find the most promising startups in the Richmond area. The fourth annual Greater Companies to Watch series is now accepting nominations on its freshly-launched website. The winners will be announced on October 29 at a celebration at Toad’s Place, and will then be featured in a widely read brochure.
Locked and loaded (with a staple gun and flyers)
While waiting for my coffee one morning at the Starbucks in the Fan, I noticed a bulletin board on the wall with a handful of posters and flyers hung up for different events. A few rough drafts later BizSense had an 8×10 pull-tab flyer (you know, the ones where you tear the little piece of… Read more »
Handmade Soaps to Clean up Main Street
A transplanted couple from Arizona wants to cleanup a block of East Main Street – by making and selling soap in a formerly dilapidated store. Michael and Sharon Walsh started making soap 18 years ago after receiving a how-to book as a gag gift. “The book was horrible. I was forced to find a way… Read more »
A lathery business opens on Main Street
Row House Soaps, which sells natural herbal soaps, opened on E. Main street downtown, according to the local Monroe Ward blog. The owners, Michael and Sharon Walsh had been making soaps in their Arizona home for years before moving to Richmond and hitting the festival circuit. In response to the many requests from their customers… Read more »
Does Carytown have a vacancy problem?
Heading east along Carytown, for every 10 to 15 occupied buildings there’s a vacant one with a placard inviting you to call a commercial real estate broker. Richmond BizSense did an unofficial count of the store fronts in Carytown: 142 occupied buildings, 22 vacant buildings. That makes for a total of 164 buildings, 22 of… Read more »
More crime against businesses
On Tuesday posted a story about the rising crime against businesses. Now the T-D is reporting that two downtown businesses were robbed at gun-point yesterday. “Two men robbed the Limited Edition store at 302 Goshen St., near Virginia Commonwealth University, at about 12:25 p.m.,” writes Michael Martz. At about 4 p.m. yesterday, a man and… Read more »
Private Equity startup about to seal first deal
Local startup Boxwood Partners is putting the finishing touches on its first deal as a private equity fund. Boxwood is acquiring an out-of-state internet wholesaler/distributor (name not revealed) that can perhaps best be described as an online version of Sam’s Club. That web-based business has millions of dollars in revenue and six employees, according to… Read more »