2011 Year in Review

Most importantly, the RBTC community is getting recognized on a national and international level as an emerging technology hub - and THAT, is what it's all about for the RBTC. 

We appreciate your continued involvement and support throughout 2011 and look forward to continued success in 2012 and the years to come. 

Sincerely,
Cory Donovan
Executive Director

Here's a recap of 2011 from the RBTC's perspective!

• Membership and Sponsorship
• Social Media
• The Roanoke - Blacksburg Innovation Blueprint
• RBTC Job Board Gets An Upgrade
• First Class Events
• Headlines from the RBTC Community
• STEM Initiatives

Membership and Sponsorship
The RBTC added 27 new members and 3 new annual sponsors this year, which is a good indicator, but the best way to determine the value of the RBTC is to listen to what our members have to say. Got something to add? We'd love to hear your feedback!    

Social Media 

The RBTC is active on the major social media networks. So, we invite you to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or join the RBTC group on LinkedIn and we encourage you to share success stories, job postings, and other postings about the RBTC community with your network of contacts to help raise the profile of the RBTC community beyond our geographical boundaries. It takes a village to raise a start-up community, so your active participation will make a difference! 

The Roanoke - Blacksburg Innovation Blueprint
The Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Blueprint aims to help create a stronger and more effective innovation ecosystem in our region. The project began with a handful of working groups looking at key challenges and opportunities we face with a particular focus on four key topics: energizing entrepreneurship, developing talent, nurturing emerging clusters, and building an innovative culture. This initiative will continue into the new year and we look forward to providing you with an update in early 2012.    

RBTC Job Board Gets An Upgrade
RBTC members can post unlimited jobs to our website and easily push those job listings to many popular job boards - and it's all FREE. In 2011, we added VTalumni.com to that list and launched a resume database to capture the resumes that were coming in from all over the country. Right now, there are over 100 positions listed on the RBTC job board promoting the opportunity available in our region. Are yours?    

 
First Class Events

• TechNite and The Fall Gala
  For the 2^nd year in a row, we hosted more than 400 people at both of our large annual events. Ted Melnik set a humorous tone as our MC at TechNite and helped introduce the RBTC name change. Graham Weston, Chairman of Rackspace, keynoted the Fall Membership Gala.
• Tech & Toast 
  Attendance at our monthly event now averages more than 120 people - probably because it's a great mix of enlightening speakers and valuable networking with like-minded people. If you missed any, you'll find video and slides from our 2011 programs in the Tech & Toast Archive.
• Lessons in Leadership Workshop
  60+ people attended this August workshop aimed at helping our members deal with the alignment, leadership, and communication challenges they face in growing their firms. What challenges are you facing going into 2012?
• Access to Capital
  • Pitch & Polish: For those seeking investors, the RBTC hosts monthly Pitch & Polish clinics to help them refine their....well, pitch. In 2011, more than 30 entrepreneurs have sought and received valuable input from the RBTC's Access to Capital Committee.
  • Access to Capital Workshops: In March, Bob Okabe presented Trends in Raising Capital, which provided an update on the current environment for raising capital; term sheet mechanics; and company valuation. Bob is the founder of Prairie Angels and serves on the Board of Directors of the Angel Capital Education Foundation. In September, the RBTC hosted "Small Bucks, Big Bang", a workshop focused on bootstrapping and raising small amounts of capital, featuring Ian Sobieski, director of Band of Angels, and an alum of Virginia Tech.
• Aneesh Chopra Visits the RBTC 
  In August, US Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra visited Blacksburg as part of a White House outreach effort to engage entrepreneurs and innovators and praised the region's progress as an emerging technology hub.
• RBTC Peer Forums Connect You with Like-Minded People 
  The RBTC hosts peer forums to help connect people with others who "speak the same language". RBTC Peer Forums include: IT Professionals, Software Developers, Life Sciences, Marketing & Sales, and CEO Forums. Learn more about RBTC peer forums. 

Headlines from the RBTC Community 

• Modea, UXB, and Harmonia made the Inc. 5000 list. Modea also announced plans to build a $10 million, 100,000 sq. ft. headquarters in downtown Blacksburg.
• Meridium renovated a historic building as its international headquarters and assumed a more visible presence along Route 581 in downtown Roanoke.
• FierceBiotech named Intrexon to its 2011 "Fierce 15" list.
• The RBTC community was highlighted in Virginia Tech Magazine (Fall 2011), which goes out to more than 200,000 VT alumni. In his "President's Message", Dr. Steger spotlighted the region's emerging tech sector and challenges VT alumni who haven't been back recently to take a closer look.
• Adaptive Technologies was recognized with a Tibbetts Award from the US SBA for exceptional innovation.
• Time Magazine recognized MiserWare on its list of "Top 20 Green Tech Ideas".
• TORC was featured on The Today Show for it's "blind driver" technology and PixelOptics emPower eyeglasses were "featured on "Live! With Regis and Kelly".
• Virginia Tech continued to invest heavily: the VT Carilion Research Institute entered its second year; the VT Corporate Research Center broke ground on Phase 2, which will double the size of the park; and the VT Applied Research Corporation hired its first CEO.
• BusinessInsider.com said Roanoke could be the next Silicon Valley while Blacksburg was named best place to raise kids in the US by Businessweek.com.

STEM Initiatives 

The RBTC collected $1,500 in donations, which will be used to fund the creation of more FIRST Lego teams in our area. The application process will open in Spring of 2012, so spread the word. The RBTC also made grants to pay for two local teams' entry into the state competition.