Mentors: MATURE BUSINESS

Tom Lawrence

Tom Lawrence

Summary of Qualifications In Tom Lawrence’s forty-year entrepreneurial career, he has progressed from owner of a Valpack franchise, to President of the Valpak Dealers’ Association, to VP of franchise operations for Valpack. As founder and CEO of Richmond-based FranNet, Tom makes time to consult, teach, and speak at the Small Business Development Center, the SBA, and SCORE. He enjoys putting his experience to use helping others who wish to start their own business. Tom began his entrepreneurial career in 1975 with the purchase of Valpak of Virginia. Initially specializing in direct sales, in 1981, he became President and the sole owner of that business. Valpak of Virginia was repeatedly ranked in the top 5% of the over 200 Valpak franchises. In 1987, Tom was elected President of the Valpak Dealers’ Association and served three terms in this position. In this role (held concurrently with ownership of his own franchise), Tom represented, to the franchisor, the interest of all Valpak franchisees, heading policy-making and marketing committees and was the chief adjudicator of intra-franchise disputes. In 1991, Tom sold the Valpak of Virginia franchise and was hired by Cox Enterprises, the corporate parent of Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, Inc. His new role involved the design and implementation of Valpak’s first Field Support program and involvement in the recruiting of potential franchisees. In 1994, he was promoted to Vice President of Franchise Operations. In this position, he retained responsibility for field support, had increased involvement in franchisee recruiting and was given management responsibility for Valpak’s five franchisor-owned operations. Additionally, he assumed responsibility for designing training programs for new franchisees as well as...
Jerry Fox

Jerry Fox

Jerry Fox is a Managing Partner and Market Leader of Richmond Practice at Cherry, Bekaert, & Holland, LLP and the Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee and Chairman’s Circle of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce.

Christopher Gatewood

Christopher Gatewood

Chris is a lawyer, startup founder, and tech industry guy who departed big law firms in 2010 to build better things. Chris is the founder of Threshold Counsel, a Richmond law firm with a focus on startups, intellectual property, and outside general counsel services.

Jeff Kelley

Jeff Kelley

Summary of Qualifications Jeff is a founder of Kelley Communications and has helped companies large and startup with communications guidance, issues management, and public relations strategy. A former business reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jeff Kelley has worked in PR and digital agencies. Prior to starting his own communications group, he served as director of marketing and public relations for Health Diagnostic Laboratory, a national cardiac lab in downtown Richmond. He has a particular interest in media and public relations, content development and digital strategy, and crisis and reputation management. He regularly contributes to the city’s Grid magazine, and can probably found on or in the James River, with his family, or firing up a charcoal grill. Ready to meet with this mentor? Talk with your Lead...
Larkin Garbee

Larkin Garbee

Summary of Qualifications Larkin is the Chief Imagination officer of 804RVA, a Richmond based technology coworking space. She is a civic instigator, a professional community curator and a full stack ecosystem builder. Larkin is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for small businesses, growing the technology sector in Richmond, and community building. Larkin has a diverse background with careers and businesses in real estate, the spa industry, construction, and technology. Within one year of graduating, she purchased her first business, James River Tile & Stone Art which she owned and operated for eight years until 2012 when she caught the startup bug and decided to closed down to focus full time on launching 804RVA, a technology coworking space. As the founder of 804RVA, Larkin has proven her business acumen and professional community building skills by turning 804RVA into a sustainable business. Within two years, 804RVA has become a leader and educator in the technology sector. Larkin has grown the membership base to 80 paid members and hosted over 350 meetup events with a growing community of more than 1,300 attendees. Ready to meet with this mentor? Schedule An...