REGIONAL VIEW Roanoke/new river valley


Blacksburg tech company plans expansion, adding 40 jobs by Tim Thornton


pany that declares its “found- ing purpose is to solve all technology issues.” Soon, there will be a lot more of them. Ozmo, a call-center


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support tech company based in downtown Blacksburg, plans to add 40 jobs. Ozmo, which was spun out of the Blacksburg tech company Modea three years ago, started with 55 employees. Ozmo is essentially the


help desk’s help desk, serving more than 75,000 contact cen- ter agents who work for Verizon and other mobile networks. “It is not


about the King


number of jobs,” says Todd King, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.


“What matters is that a local company is able to expand in


FOR THE RECORD


Daimler AG, the German auto giant acquiring Torc Robot- ics, has created a new business unit focused on putting self-driv- ing trucks on the road within a decade. It’s all part of a $570 mil- lion investment by Daimler Trucks, with some of that work landing in Blacksburg, according to a May news release. The news adds clarity to the role Blacksburg- based Torc will play within the corporate structure of its new par- ent company pending the Daim- ler acquisition approval by federal regulators. (The Roanoke Times)


Pulaski County is in the begin- ning stages of a multiyear project that will connect the 57-mile New River Trail to Randolph Park in Dublin. About $1.3 million in fed-


Photo courtesy Ozmo/Facebook


our community and offer higher than median-income wages.” Ozmo has not said


publicly what the jobs will pay or how soon they will be created. Montgomery County’s per-capita income in 2018 was $28,277, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Reports on the employer-review website Glassdoor say Ozmo starts


eral and county funds has been allocated to the project, with $1.1 million being spent on the cur- rent phase. The federal portion of the trail project was disbursed by the state as part of a trans- portation improvement grant. The first phase of the project will connect the terminus of the trail near East Main Street in Pulaski by the Food Lion to behind Critzer Elementary School. (The Roanoke Times)


The third cohort of entrepreneurs that has taken up residence inside the Gill Memorial Building includes a former Microsoft coder, a longtime banking executive and a scientist who just won a $750,000 NASA grant. They represent some of the founders behind six startups chosen from the 20


hey’re Ozmonauts who learn by Ozmosis and they work for a com-


that we are accomplishing that goal.” Ozmo’s platform assists


Ozmo is essentially a help desk’s help desk, serving more than 75,000 contact center agents.


employees out at $12 an hour. “One of Montgomery


County’s goals is to grow capital investment and jobs in an effort to improve quality of life for our citizens and the businesses in our com- munity,” King says. “The fact that Montgomery County is a place where companies can not only find their start, but also experience growth, shows


that applied to participate in downtown Roanoke’s RAMP business accelerator. The six startups will receive training from Virginia Western Community College, office space from the city of Roanoke and mentoring organized by the Roanoke- Blacksburg Technology Council. At the end, they’ll have a platform to pitch their ideas to investors during the annual demo day event. As an added bonus, four startups received $20,000 in equity-free funding to help build their companies. The other two slots come with no funding and are instead paid for by corporate sponsors. (The Roanoke Times)


The Roanoke Regional Partner- ship, an economic development organization, has made a


www.VirginiaBusiness.com


with more than 25 mil- lion interactions per year, according to a state govern- ment announcement of the company’s expansion. The company’s products include virtual devices that provide answers, tutorials and sug- gested actions for agents. The system also helps consumers to solve prob- lems themselves through self- serve tools, as well as answers


provided through email and text, reinforcing the agents’ support.


The company plans to


invest more than $200,000 in its expansion, according to the state news release. The Virginia Economic Develop- ment Partnership plans to help Ozmo with employee training through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program.


concerted effort to recruit talent to the region. After collaborating with its eight localities, the busi- ness community, tourism offi- cials, colleges and universities, and professional organizations such as the regional chambers and Roanoke-Blacksburg Tech- nology Council, the partnership is developing new and creative ways to recruit talent, ranging from new college graduates to professionals with several years of experience. The partnership has launched the Get2Know- Noke brand to focus on bringing talent to the region. Along with it came the Get2KnowNoke summer internship program. The partnership also has taken on the Experience conference and programming for young profes- sionals. It hosted or participated in about 20 college programs


over the last six months as well. (The Roanoke Times)


In the wake of an over-enrollment crunch, Virginia Tech is offer- ing money to some incoming students as an incentive to delay attending the university for up to a year. Tech’s oversize fresh- man class, which is anticipated to number more than 7,000 students, would strain the infrastructure of the university and town of Blacksburg, officials say. To reduce potential growth pains, Tech is offering financial incentives to 1,559 incoming, in-state freshmen in specific programs to skip the 2019-20 school year in Blacksburg — or at least one semester. The university has budgeted $3.3 million for the program. (The Roanoke Times)


VIRGINIA BUSINESS | 13


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