The American Bazaar will host its signature Startup Bazaar at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, in partnership with VCU Graduate School, VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation, VCU School of Business and VCU Career Services.
Designed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, this event brings together early-stage entrepreneurs, aspiring founders, and MBA students for an immersive experience in the startup ecosystem.
Attendees will have the unique opportunity to connect, learn, and gain insights from accomplished industry leaders who have built successful ventures. Our lineup of speakers includes seasoned venture capitalists, top fund managers, influential industry leaders, visionary CEOs, and high-level executives from diverse sectors.
Whether you’re looking to launch your startup, refine your business strategy, or network with key players in the industry, Startup Bazaar: VCU is the place to be. Join us in Richmond for an inspiring and transformative event!
✅ Exclusive insights from seasoned venture capitalists, top fund managers, and visionary CEOs
✅ Networking opportunities with industry leaders and startup mentors
✅ Actionable strategies to launch, scale, and refine your business
✅ A Startup Showcase featuring some of Virginia’s most promising startups
Yotta Tech Ports Inc
Srinivas Alladi is the President and CEO of Yotta Tech Ports Inc, a Mechanicsville, VA, -based company that provides software solutions, products, and services. A former director at Capital One, he is an innovator and thought leader who has built Gen AI/ML/Data/Web/Mobile Platforms.
Senior Growth Executive
Tonya Alston is a distinguished transformational executive with over 25 years of leadership experience, driving organizational growth and operational excellence across federal and commercial sectors. With a proven track record of advising CEOs, Presidents, and senior executives, she has led organizations through strategic transformations, generating multimillion-dollar growth, optimizing operations, and positioning businesses for long-term success.Her expertise spans corporate strategy, business development, and operational restructuring, where she has consistently implemented innovative systems, enhanced standard operating procedures, and led corporate reorganizations that propel companies to their next level.Throughout her career, she has played a pivotal role in securing over $1 billion in deals, shaping acquisition strategies, and expanding organizations’ footprints within the federal and state markets. Tonya’s career began in sales and operations before transitioning into the federal sector, where she excelled as a Contracting Officer and later a Contracting Officer Representative with unlimited buying authority across multiple federal agencies. Her ability to bridge the gap between government contracting and corporate strategy has made her a sought-after leader in the industry.Currently serving as a Senior Vice President at Agile Defense, Tonya is an alumna of the University of Maryland, where she earned an MBA with an international focus, and NorthCarolina Central University, where she cultivated her foundation in Political Science.Beyond her executive leadership, Tonya is a mentor, advocate for business growth, and proud supporter of entrepreneurial success. She takes great pride in her daughter, the CEO of ACM-Advisors, and enjoys spending time with her beloved grand-pup, Lemon, a golden doodle who brings her endless joy.
Otterwise
Aliyah Desautels is a 3x founder and the creator of Otterwise, a platform that helps startups and early-career talent test-drive working relationships before committing. A VCU alumna, she was the youngest recipient of the international Top 100 Leaders in Healthcare award in 2021 while leading a MedTech startup. Now 24, she is dedicated to building a more equitable job market by designing skill-based, human-centered hiring solutions that expand opportunities for underrepresented and inexperienced job seekers. She has collaborated with startups and organizations to redefine hiring practices, ensuring potential matters more than background.
CEO, Ziva
Virginia Venture Partners
Dustin Dunbar is a Senior Investment Associate at Virginia Venture Partners (VVP), which places equity investment in founders from the state and takes Limited Partner positions in venture capital funds to generate significant economic returns for entrepreneurs, General Partners (GPs), co-investors, and the Commonwealth.
Dean, VCU
Manu Gupta, Ph.D., is the vice provost and dean of the Graduate School at Virginia Commonwealth University. He began his academic career as a finance professor at the University of Missouri Columbia in 2004, and held the same role at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, for three years before joining the VCU School of Business in 2008.
Unada Labs
Rohan Hundia is the Co-Founder and CEO of Unada Labs. A tech entrepreneur driving Unada Labs and as a serial entrepreneur, he is poised to transform three major industries, real estate, finance and healthcare, with disruptive tech.
Lighthouse Labs RVA
Debbie Irwin is the Managing Director at Lighthouse Labs RVA, a premier and nationally recognized Seed-Stage Accelerator in Virginia. Investing $20,000 per startup without taking equity or fees from founders, it has invested nearly $2,500,000 in future-focused founders.
Manipal Institute of Technology
Dr. Iven Jose is the Director of the Engineering Program at Manipal Institute of Technology, (MIT) - Bengaluru Campus. He graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Karnataka University, Dharwad in 1997. He then obtained his Master’s in Biomedical Engineering with specialization in Bio-Signal Processing in 1999 from MIT, Manipal. He completed his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Bombay specializing in Biosciences and Bioengineering. Additionally, he obtained a Higher Education Leadership Certification from the Global Leadership Institute (GLI) at Boston College in 2016.
Dr. Jose began his academic career at Padre Conceicao College of Engineering, Goa, in 1999 and served there until 2002. In 2007, he joined the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani, where he served in various capacities until 2010. He joined the School of Engineering & Technology at Christ University, Bengaluru, as Professor and Dean in the year 2011. As the founding Dean, he played a crucial role in transforming the school from its inception to an internationally acclaimed institution. He spearheaded the establishment of the Engineering and Architecture departments and developed a holistic educational approach that blends curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities. He introduced industry internships and practical learning opportunities, formulated an internationally recognized syllabus, and promoted international faculty and student exchanges.
Krystle Klear Communications
Krystle Veda Kaul is an international policy professional, strategic communications, federal business development, investor relations, educator, and advisor with 20+ years of experience. As a defense and intelligence expert, Ms. Kaul proudly spoke on climate security at the Climate Action Forum run by Indiaspora during COP28 in Dubai. Currently, Ms. Kaul is the Founder and CEO of Krystle Klear Communications LLC advising several high-profile technology and defense hardware clients with business development and strategic messaging to the Department of Defense ranging from startups to mega corporations, including Intel Corporation and Bank of New York Mellon. The business concentrates on federal business development, strategic messaging on cybersecurity and IT-related issues, and stakeholder analysis. Expertise in strategic communications in government agencies encompassing strategic messaging, stakeholder engagement, web design and development, congressional affairs, public affairs/relations, campaign building, social media strategy, improvement of agency intranet and public website, proposal development, lobbying, marketing and branding. Experience marketing integrated ISR solutions, aircraft design, sensor and mission systems, cybersecurity, space mission systems, unmanned systems, eHealth remote monitoring, AI/ML, IoT, 5G and much more. Krystle is also the Head Facilitator at MIT Sloan School of Management for an MBA Executive Management communication course through 2U. She was the first ever Director of Strategic Communications (GS-15) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Krystle recently ran for US Congress in Virginia’s 10th district. Earlier in her career, Krystle served as the Director of Strategic Communications to the Air Force through General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT). She has worked in several technology topic areas to include AI/ML, smart cities, IoT, 5G, cloud computing, big data analytics, cybersecurity etc. Before joining the government, Ms. Kaul was the Strategic Communications Lead for the National Counterproliferation Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) through Booz Allen Hamilton. Prior, she worked at Deloitte supporting several clients in the DoD and the Intelligence Community, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. Ms. Kaul has experience at the RAND Corporation, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Center for Strategic and International Studies South Asia Center and United Nations Women. She holds eleven competitive fellowships and participation in elite overseas delegations which include the “Indian American Leaders Delegation to Israel” and the Washington Leadership Program’s delegation to meet with several senior officials in India. She has experience in sixty-eight countries and speaks eight languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Punjabi and Dari. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in international studies and women in politics from American University's School of International Service, a Master of Arts in international relations with a focus on South Asian security from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Master of Arts in political science from Brown University where she has a PhD in progress.
RTS Labs
Jyot Singh is the Founder & CEO of RTS Labs. He's driven by the pursuit of innovative solutions, leveraging the technology of tomorrow to address today's business challenges. This forward-thinking ethos has positioned RTS Labs as a leading software firm in the region, renowned for its expertise in Software Engineering and Data & AI.
Throughout his journey as a technologist, entrepreneur, and mentor, Jyot has gleaned insights from numerous companies and industry pioneers navigating intricate tech evolutions.
CEO, eHealthObjects
Sanjay is a global leader with 15 years of healthcare and 20 years of professional and international experience in many countries including USA, MALAYSIA, INDIA and SINGAPORE. Prior to joining eHealthObjects, he worked as the IT executive at Coventry Health care and managed multiple IT departments including application development, business intelligence, data integration, enterprise architecture and proposals. From 2003 to 2007, Sanjay held the role of Director, IT at Health Management Corporation, a subsidiary of WellPoint. Mr. Mittal holds a master’s degree in computer science (1991) and has a certified chronic professional (CCP) from Health Sciences Institute in partnership with “The Care Continuum Alliance” (2011). Sanjay is responsible to setting up the overall business direction and product strategy.
Founder, Visitor Guard
Chiranth Nataraj is the Founder of Visitor Guard® and HeeraChain.com, and CEO of International Services, Inc. Base in Glen Alen, VA, he has demonstrated success in the technology and insurance industries. The areas he is focused on include emerging Blockchain Smart Contracts and Cloud Solutions for healthcare, finance, and supply chain.
Social Entrepreneur & Philanthropic Advisor
Venkatesh "Venky" Raghavendra is a social entrepreneur with close to four decades of leadership and advisory experience in the areas of philanthropy, fundraising, and social innovation, successfully building global partnerships and mobilizing significant resources for national and international organizations.
Venky is currently associated with Safe Water Network, working to enable safe water to underserved communities and a strategic advisor to the RoundGlass Foundation. Venky was formerly with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public and promoted social entrepreneurship around the world by collaborating with business entrepreneurs and foundations.
He is involved in training and capacity building for the Government of India and is currently an advisor to the Government of Karnataka. He is a regular speaker and contributor to the media. Venky is the co-author of the book CareerSense: Build Your Career in Uncommon Times.
IntraIntel.AI
Dev Roy is CEO of both RoarTech Inc. and IntraIntel.ai. He leads two dynamic teams committed to pushing the boundaries of AI, cloud computing, and enterprise solutions. RoarTech, a minority-owned, women-led, small disadvantaged business, specializes in delivering cutting-edge cloud architecture, cloud migration, and enterprise governance solutions using emerging technologies through ATO support. IntraIntel.ai is an early-stage startup with a vision to democratize access to AI-driven insights. With an agent-based platform designed to seamlessly connect and process information from various data storage systems, IntraIntel.ai reduces search time by 40%, saving businesses up to $10,000 annually in employee productivity costs.
KSW Consulting
Kuntal Warwick is the International Trade Manager at Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Founder & CEO of KSW Consulting, based in Richmond, VA. She is a global business and marketing leader with experience across industries and with a focus on digital transformation, innovation, international trade and global market entry. She has supported national and international branding, marketing and communications projects, often times launching landmark campaigns. Expertise in B2B and B2C engagement, industry partnerships, and impactfully articulating an organization's mission to a global audience. She serves as fractional CMO for globally expanding companies.
Discover the next wave of innovation at the Startup Showcase, where some of the Virginia’s most promising startups take center stage. It will highlight groundbreaking ventures across diverse industries, offering a glimpse into the future of entrepreneurship in Virginia. Founders will share their journeys, challenges, and insights as they pitch their startups to investors, industry leaders, and fellow entrepreneurs. Whether you’re an aspiring founder, investor, or innovation enthusiast, this session is your opportunity to witness the cutting edge of Virginia’s startup ecosystem.
Get ready to hear from top venture capitalists, successful startup founders, industry leaders, and innovation experts who have built and scaled groundbreaking ventures. Our lineup includes seasoned investors sharing fundraising strategies, visionary CEOs revealing their entrepreneurial journeys, and high-level executives offering expert insights into market trends and business growth.
Startup Bazaar offers a vibrant platform where startup founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and early-stage innovators can engage with industry leaders who have forged remarkable success in the entrepreneurial landscape. Join us to gain invaluable insights, network with seasoned professionals, and ignite your entrepreneurial journey.
Are you an entrepreneur with an innovative startup? Here’s your chance to showcase your venture at the Startup Showcase! If you want your startup to be featured, reach out to us with your details. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain visibility, connect with investors, and engage with industry leaders. Our email ID is events@americanbazaaronline.com
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
Snead Hall – School of Business, 301 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284
Parking: JL – VCU Parking
200 W Cary St, Richmond, VA 23220
Name: Anil Prayag
Phone: 240-614-1627
Email: anil@americanbazaaronline.com