Over 45 exhibitors showcased their products and ideas in tents lining the sidewalks of Emancipation Park Sept. 22. Amidst live bands, food trucks and beverage stations, attendees and companies had the chance to connect with one another.
“It’s in the rest of the block party, which makes it different from another tech fair or career fair,” said Virginia Nelson, Tom Tom Founders Festival partnerships manage.
The Tech Mixer was part of the two-day Tomtoberfest, honoring innovation and entrepreneurs with a multidisciplinary festival including music, food and art.
“The mission of the Tom Tom Foundation is to celebrate founding, connect resources and leave legacies,” Nelson said. “At a Tech Mixer a couple years ago, people met who realized that they were all doing something similar, so they started this thing called the CvilleBioHub … So the, kind of, legacy of a new company has been made.”
Many types of companies were in attendance, including finance and investment, solar energy, tech and health. The Tech Mixer also featured Startup Row, a section dedicated to mostly high school, college and Darden School of Business students exhibiting new companies.
Many of the Startup Row companies were reached through the i.Lab at the University.
“i.Lab is an incubator for new startups, and so they sent out a description of what Startup Row was to the companies that are affiliated with them and we got some Startup Row companies that way,” Nelson said.
Several companies had more hands-on displays. Babylon Micro-Farms brought their table with plants to showcase their hydroponic growing system. Acac, a fitness and wellness centered company, brought massage chairs.
The Tech Mixer gave many exhibitors the opportunity to present different components of their companies. Some of acac’s services include physical therapy, spas and kids zones, according to acac Co-Marketing Coordinator Meg Welch.
“We try to offer the opportunity for, maybe, someone who works in the spa or someone who works in our physical therapy department a chance to come to an event and talk about their specific department at acac, but also be able to enjoy themselves at the event and also put themselves out into the community,” Welch said.
One of the exhibitors, E-N Computers, was founded in Charlottesville 20 years ago. CEO Ian MacRae said he was hoping to raise awareness of their presence in the area.
MacRae discussed E-N Computers’ connections to fellow exhibitors at the Tech Mixer.
“We really help startups as they scale. We’re working with CoConstruct here,” MacRae said. “They’re a software company with about 60 people now, and we’re helping support their networks.”
Over 100 people submitted their resumes to Tom Tom Founders Festival to include in the resume book exhibitors had access to.
“We’re always hiring,” acac Co-Marketing Coordinator Molly Rossberg said. “We’re always looking for great people, and at an event like this where you’re interacting with lots of different people, it’s a great way to find new employees or find great people that might join our company.”
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