80amps2-300x114GRID Magazine’s feature article on 80amps:

Richmond is well-rounded. Within the city limits there are nationally ranked academic programs in arts and advertising, Fortune 500 companies, top-tier branding agencies, and a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. That’s why it’s no surprise that the unique mash-up of creative and business in Richmond is exactly what prompted an impressive group of partners to found 80amps.

Simply put, 80amps builds companies. In 2011 when Richmond natives Eric Martin and Charles Merritt began working together, they talked constantly about how early-stage companies with strong brands have advantages in the marketplace. At the time, Merritt had just left the New York City tech startup scene for the VCU Brandcenter, and Martin, a Harvard M.B.A. and entrepreneur, was co-directing the Entrepreneurship Center at UVA and running his Richmond-based consulting firm Boost Partners. With the addition of Denton Freeman, a fashion designer with a background (and Ph.D.) in immunotoxicology, and Brendan Richardson, another entrepreneur and co-director alongside Martin at UVA, the team began exploring the gaps between creative advertising and business.