RBTC Featured On Cox Connections TV

Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council president and CEO Jonathan Whitt was recently interviewed on Cox Connections TV. Check out the video and summary from the Cox 9 website:

“The Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council is a non-profit member-driven association of businesses and organizations in the greater Roanoke-Blacksburg region, working together to promote the growth and success of the region’s technology sector. Each year, the RBTC holds the TechNite Awards Banquet to celebrate the amazing achievements in technology-focused-entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership from across the region! The RBTC President and CEO, Jonathan Whitt, talks more about it and which individuals were honored this year in this segment from Cox Connections.”

Interactive Achievement Entrepreneur Tells TechNite Attendees Not To Let Fear Rule

TechNite 2016 was recently featured in the Roanoke Times with an article by Yann Ranaivo highlighting the talk by TechNite guest speaker, Jonathan Hagmaier. Read the excerpt below:


“Fear should be one of the last things deterring Southwest Virginia entrepreneurs.

That’s the point Jonathan Hagmaier made Friday night to a crowd of roughly 500 business leaders, CEOs and people involved in research and innovation across the Roanoke and New River valleys. Hagmaier, founder of former Roanoke education technology company Interactive Achievement, was the keynote speaker for TechNite, an annual gala that recognizes the region’s technology business community.

The event, at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, was put on by the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council, a regional organization that promotes high-tech business in the area. Hagmaier began his talk with a recollection of his company’s nomination for TechNite’s Rising Star award six years ago…

Hagmaier called for the region to stick together and help itself grow. He said Interactive Achievement likely wouldn’t have made it without that sort of support.

In early February, Interactive Achievement was acquired by California-based education technology firm PowerSchool Group LLC, which was once part of Apple. While PowerSchool did eliminate some positions, the company promised the addition of 15 to 20 high-tech and education jobs to the Roanoke area.

Hagmaier said the region also shows much promise. While he acknowledged some departures, he said there are companies expanding locally.

He pointed to work going on between Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic and the startup scene.

“We have to think as a region. We have to act as a region,” he said. “The region is ready to explode and it’s looking for leaders to do it.”

Read the full article at the Roanoke Times website >>>

RBTC Announces TechNite 2016: People’s Choice Award Finalists

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Each year The People’s Choice Award gives the TechNite audience the opportunity to learn more about up and coming companies in the Roanoke – Blacksburg region and vote for their favorite. The highest votes receives the People’s Choice Award.

If you are attending TechNite 2016 you will have the ability to vote live at the event – all three companies will be present with exhibits and can meet with them during the networking reception.

Congratulations to this year’s People Choice Award Nominees: Follow My Vote, GoJourni, We Evolve Us. Learn more about each company below:

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Company Name: Follow My Vote
Website: https://followmyvote.com/
Description:
At Follow My Vote, we are a team of innovators with the mission of using blockchain technology to revolutionize today’s obsolete and vulnerable voting systems.

Follow My Vote began originally as a polling system designed to ensure that elected representatives were truly voting in the interests of their constituents. However, Follow My Vote soon entered into a joint venture with BitShares; effectively shifting its focus to the development of a verifiable online voting platform secured with the BitShares blockchain technology. In order to ensure the success of the venture, Follow My Vote moved from their previous location with NuSpark into a shared space in Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center.

Since then, Follow My Vote has focused on product and business development and has forged ties with election officials and voting organizations around the globe. In late 2014, Follow My Vote joined the California Association of Voting Officials (CAVO), an organization which has been a critical proponent of the open-source voting movement for over a decade. Follow My Vote also completed a proof of concept, which has been successfully demonstrated at several events.

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Company Name: GoJourni
Website: http://www.gojourni.com
Description:
GoJourni exists to show people it is possible to alter one’s reality. We bring people together who are geographically separated, reconfigure mental models, and allow you to pick your own adventure through traversing 360° video in virtual reality. We believe you are the creator of your own universe and wish to engender a sense of wonder, amazement, and excitement towards life.

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Company Name: We Evolve Us
Website: https://weevolveus.com
Description:
We are a team of developers, designers, engineers, and content creators. WeEvolveUs.com is what we spend our time building. The platform itself is made up of 3 main components:

  • A cloud platform for project management and organization. There are similar tools in the corporate world that have been around for a long time, but for some reason no one has offered these services to the general public.
  • A social sharing site for raising awareness about great ideas being built. We break everything down into locations you can quickly jump between to see what’s happening in your local city or across the entire globe.
  • A crowd-sourcing site for finding the things you need to implement your ideas. We want to help encourage the sharing economy that’s emerging and help take it to the next level. Crowd-souring not just funding for your ideas, but also the people with specific knowledge, skills, or tools you need.

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TechNite 2016 Special Guest Speaker: Jonathan Hagmaier

 

The Roanoke – Blacksburg Technology Council is pleased to announce its TechNite 2016 guest speaker, entrepreneur Jonathan Hagmaier, a long-time supporter of the RBTC and champion for our region’s technology community.

Jonathan launched his first company, Interactive Achievement in 2006 to help teachers and administrators assess and improve student performance. Having worked over sixteen years in public education as a teacher and principal, he saw first-hand the need for teachers to have tools to help students stay on track and support individualized instruction.

A dynamic leader, Jonathan is known for his dedication to the core values of being Honorable, Unselfish and Generous (H.U.G.), which guide his vision in business and in life. Earlier this year, Interactive Achievement was acquired by PowerSchool Group LLC, which now allows Jonathan some much-needed rest and time to begin working on his next exciting venture.

Learn more about TechNite 2016 by visiting: The TechNite website.

 

 

TechNite 2016: Registration and Nominations Now Open

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TechNite is an annual celebration of the region’s thriving technology community and a key opportunity to network with more than 600 influential leaders in business and innovation. Come join us as we celebrate the amazing achievements in technology-focused entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership from across the region!

TechNite 2016 will be held Friday, April 22 at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center (with after party at The Center in the Square). This is the biggest technology event of the region and we are excited to have you be a part. Stay tuned and watch for more details in the coming weeks here and on the TechNite website.

Registration Now Open (Early-bird Discounts End March 31)

Registration for TechNite 2016 is now open. Take advantage of early-bird registration discounts for both members and non-members (ends March 31). Individual and Table registrations are available – get all pricing and details by following the link below:

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Award Nominations Are Now Closed

The evening is highlighted with an awards ceremony, where leaders will be recognized in six categories: 1.) Rising Star  2.) Entrepreneur  3.) Regional Leadership  4.) Innovation  5.) Educator  6.) People’s Choice

Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations.

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Save the Date: TechNite 2016

TechNite is an annual celebration of the Roanoke – Blacksburg region’s technology community – and it’s right around the corner! It’s an opportunity to network with more than 600 leaders in business and innovation. The evening is highlighted with an awards ceremony, where leaders will be recognized in six categories: Rising Star, Entrepreneur, Regional Leadership, Innovation, Educator and People’s Choice. 

TechnNite 2016 will take place Friday, April 22 at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia. Stay tuned for information on registering early and nominating your choices for this year’s awards.