Startups

RISE Summit 2026

The 3rd Annual RISE Summit is a flagship, one-day event for entrepreneurs, business owners, and innovators in Southern Virginia, focused on Innovation in Business, Manufacturing, and Agriculture. Attendees will access skill-building workshops, connect with regional resources, and participate in high-impact networking. Registrants can join breakout sessions,…

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18Speakers
8Sponsors
1Sessions
24Companies · in total

Speakers

Programmed at RISE, in alphabetical order.

Adam Reeves
SOVA Fab Lab
Amy Reed
P&HCC Dalton IDEA Center
Angela Yancey
Hitachi Energy
Autumn Evans
Spark Innovation Center
Crystal Hairston
Socialize Me, LLC
Dana Knott
Longwood SBDC
DaShanna Carr
Community Investment Collaborative
Dr. Scott Lowman
Institute for Advanced Learning & Research (IALR)
Evan Jones
SEED Innovation Hub
Gretchen Clark
Hurt & Profitt
Jocelyn Forest
Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC)
Karen White
Virginia Small Business Financing Authority-VSBFA
Kathy Deacon
Business Services Manager, Southwest Virginia, Virginia Department of Small Business & Supplier Diversity (SBSD) · Virginia Department of Small Business & Supplier Diversity
Kelsey Robertson
MEERA | TECHnista
Kiana Dillard
West Piedmont Planning District Commission
Natalie Hodge Davis
Rudy’s Girl Media / Locus
Peter Raines
Get YOU Found
Taurean Russell
Institute for Advanced Learning & Research (IALR)

Sponsors

The companies behind the program. Tiers as disclosed.

SOVA Innovation HubDiamond
Virginia Innovation Partnership CorporationGold
Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)Gold
CEA Innovation Center at IALRSilver
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Innovation CenterSilver
Community Investment CollaborativeBronze
RetirePath VirginiaBronze
LocusFriend

Agenda

Selected from 1 sessions.

  • Thursday, August 27, 2026

    Opening Doors to Virginia’s Procurement Landscape – Part 2: Overview of SBSD’s SWaM Certification Program

    Virginia’s SWaM Certification can help small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses compete for procurement opportunities. This session will explain who is eligible, the benef…

Company intelligence

What does it mean when 24 companies show up, and 1 bet on three roles at once?

24 companies. one are betting more than once.

The numbers below are derived from the speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors on this page, cross-referenced into one ledger. They are the only thing here that 10times.com cannot tell you.

Who's in the room
1All threespeak · spons · exh
7Sponsoringsponsor only
16Speakingspeaker only

In all three roles

Community Investment Collaborative

Speakers by seniority
  • Manager / Lead16%
  • Other roles1794%

Of 18 speakers · classified by free-text title

Most-represented companies
Sponsors by tier
diamond1
13% of 8
gold2
25% of 8
silver2
25% of 8
bronze2
25% of 8
friend1
13% of 8