Name: Civic Futures | Homegrown Innovators Roundtable – Scaling Success in Charlottesville
Start: 2025-04-16T13:00:00-0400
End: 2025-04-16T13:55:00-0400

Wednesday April 16, 2025 1:00pm - 1:55pm EDT

Common House South Room

This session is proudly presented in partnership with Venture Central.

What are the biggest challenges high-growth entrepreneurs face when building and keeping their businesses in Charlottesville and Albemarle? And what is this region doing well to seed and cultivate the next big thing?

This roundtable brings together local founders who are scaling cutting-edge companies in biotech, AI, advanced manufacturing, and consumer goods to discuss the opportunities and barriers of growing in our region.

Let’s dive into the real-world needs of startups, from funding and talent pipelines to infrastructure and industry support. What will it take to ensure that Charlottesville remains not just a launchpad, but a long-term home for innovation?

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Note: This Conference session is ticketed.

Please purchase your tickets on Eventbrite. You will then receive an email from Sched with login information that allows you to make your personal schedule.

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A special thank you to our sponsors: The 13th Annual Tom Tom Festival is presented with the University of Virginia, UVA Innovates, Virginia Tourism, RL Beyer Custom Homes, and Ludwig Kuttner.

Speakers

Cameron Hardesty

Founder & CEO, Poppy

Cameron's path to Poppy actually started in the basement of The White House. She had a great job, but was longing for more creativity in her life and so she started volunteering in The White House Flower Shop, learning floral design from Chief Floral Designer, Laura Dowling.Igniting... Read More →

James Garrett

CEO, Luna Labs USA

Dr. James Garrett is the CEO of Luna Labs, a product development company solving complex challenges in the defense, industrial, and healthcare markets. With a PhD from Penn State and an MBA from William & Mary, he has built a career at the intersection of technology, business strategy... Read More →

Payam Pourtaheri

CEO, AgroSpheres

Payam started AgroSpheres in 2016. As Cofounder and CEO, he leads business development and manages AgroSpheres’ day-to-day operations. He also leads the regulatory and intellectual property strategies for the company. He is on the board of CvilleBioHub, VA Bio, and Venture Cent... Read More →

Rebecca Haydock

CEO, Venture Central

Rebecca Haydock is CEO of Venture Central, board member of Charlottesville Angel Network, and continues to be an owner and advisor in expanding businesses. She is an entrepreneur, facilitator, educator, convener and ecosystem strategist and accelerator. Her work in Virginia accomplishes... Read More →

Sherry Gray

Assistant Controller, Buildertrend

Sherry Gray is the Assistant Controller at Buildertrend Solutions Inc., a leading cloud-based project management platform serving custom home builders and remodelers. Her career journey began in the call center, automotive, and postal industries, where she gained 14 years of diverse... Read More →

Sponsors