Steering the bus: JAUNT’s Brad Sheffield looks to the future

From its origins in 1975 as a public service corporation transporting elderly and disabled customers, JAUNT (that’s Jefferson Area United Transportation) has grown to cover a six-county, 2,600-square-mile service area while welcoming the general public onto its 85 vehicles. Recently, the organization has been expanding into commuter routes for areas underserved by public transit. JAUNT’s […]

Start me up: HackCville nurtures tomorrow’s entrepreneurs

Are entrepreneurs born or made? Doesn’t matter to Chip Ransler, executive director of HackCville—he’ll take someone who has an idea, or wants to make a difference, and fan that spark to flame. Although HackCville may sound like a cyber threat, Ransler says “to us, ‘hacking’ is a positive—finding quick, efficient, low-cost ways to solve problems.” […]

The future of work: Shared spaces abound in C’ville

Throughout modern history, certain movements have changed how we work—the Industrial Revolution, the birth of the personal computer, and more recently, the arrival of social media. These transformations have also changed where we work (and even when we want to work). Are you an anti-9-to-5-er who likes working for yourself? An entrepreneur who isn’t ready […]

Book it: What local biz leaders are reading

Need insight to spark new thinking about your company, help you reach the next level of success, or give you a boost in creativity? We can all use a little inspo sometimes, and more often than not, we turn to books for answers. Whether you favor the feel-good vibes of Jen Sincero’s You Are a […]

Squeaky clean: Car wash business expands, but keeps it local

Last April, Jeff Kamrath opened Aqua Cville Hand Car Wash on Emmet Street, and the weather promptly turned against him. In his first year in business, he says, “It rained 41 percent of the days we could have been open.” That was far from ideal, but Aqua Cville made it to its first anniversary anyway. […]

Follow and engage: Charlottesville’s social media business influencers

The world of social media marketing—particularly Instagram—is increasingly dominated by influencers, individuals who have amassed a sizable social media following, who’ve gained their audience’s trust, and who can sway consumers’ purchases—or even what they think. Yet many businesses today—and the strategists behind them—are becoming influencers in their own right, with the power to move products, […]

Bio builder: How to grow biotech right here at home

Charlottesville’s biotech industry—of which the University of Virginia is a major driver—is lively and growing, employing around 1,800 people. Nikki Hastings, formerly an executive at two of those companies, recently took the helm at CvilleBioHub, a local industry group with an ambitious vision: “to double the size of the biotech industry over the next 10 […]