15 Downtown RVA Start-ups & Ventures to Keep an Eye On in 2021

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Jackson Ward Collective is a digital-based business incubator program aimed at Black entrepreneurs offering networking, mentorship, investment and funding opportunities, panel discussions, and programming.

Open now at 715 E. Fourth Street, Suite 4 in Manchester, Hour Cycle Studio focuses on bringing the world of cycling to a more diverse audience and breaking down the barriers that keep Black riders at a beginner level from exploring the benefits of indoor stationary cycling. Hour Cycle offers an inclusive environment featuring Black instructors and hip hop music with package offers and single sessions for only $20!

Lokii is an app-based marketplace and delivery service for small retailers that features more than two dozen local brands like downtown’s own Little Nomad and Ledbury and offers delivery up to a 30-mile radius in Richmond.

Roundtrip drives better health outcomes by coordinating non-emergency medical transportation for hundreds of healthcare organizations across the country connecting patients with access to care.

Short for “Eat Like Your Ancestors,” ELYA has re-imagined the vending machine into an opportunity for healthy snacks, breakfast items and lunch bowls. Try out ELYA’s contactless café at 7 E. Third Street in Manchester.

DropAlley.io delivers a fashionable, high-powered environment by improving the online shopping experience and focusing on “product drops” with a mix of marketing and technology that creates a one-stop streamlined shop for new releases from different brands and designers.

Buddy is a Shockoe Bottom-based insurance start-up offering the world’s first and only on-demand accident coverage to individual and group adventurers who mountain bike, rock climb and fearlessly enjoy all that the outdoors have to offer.

Trolley Eats offers multiple restaurant concepts without a physical dining space, a culinary concept known as a ghost kitchen, which has become increasingly popular in Richmond. Trolley Eats restaurant concepts consist of Parterre Express (upscale Southern cuisine), Get Stuffed Empanadas, 1888 Pizza Co., Torpedoes Sub Shop and Wow Bao (Asian street food).

AnswersNow is a tele-therapy tool supporting parents and caregivers of children with autism by connecting them with a certified expert over a mobile app.

Drive-Thru is a mobile app designed specifically for takeout food orders. The app compiles restaurants and their menus, and provides in-app communications between the customer and restaurant to facilitate food purchasing and pickup.

Naborforce uses a tech-enabled platform to connect aging adults needing light assistance and companionship with compassionate people in the community seeking flexible income and an opportunity to stay connected and do something with meaning.

What started as a shared kitchen space for entrepreneurs looking to build a food and beverage business from scratch, Hatch has expanded to also offer Hatch Packaging, Hatch Butchery and Hatch Café: a space to host small, culinary events and pop-ups. Hatch's newest venture, Hatch Local Food Hall, is coming in Spring 2021. Some current pop-ups and concepts you can try at Hatch include Oro, JW Beef, Sincero, Kalispera & more!

RVATukTuk is a fleet of three-wheeled electric vehicles called “tuk-tuks” offering rides around RVA for tours, special events and weddings. The vehicles can seat six passengers and a driver, and has amenities like heated seats, speakers and a battery life of up to six hours.

Fringe is the world’s first lifestyle benefits marketplace that enhance employees' lives and are completely personalized to the individual and self-selected by each employee.

Social Auto Transport is a local startup that uses an on-demand app to transport cars short distances for dealerships, rental agencies and auto shops to provide them with the ability to move vehicles without the need to hire, train and insure an in-house team of drivers.

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