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Account Strategist:
Will Melton

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Client:
AI Ready RVA

Case Study: Accelerating AI Adoption
Xponent21’s Role in Launching Richmond’s AI initiative

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Background

AI’s transformative potential was gaining traction in Richmond, but efforts to explore its applications remained fragmented across industries and institutions. While some businesses and universities had begun experimenting with AI, there was no unified effort to connect professionals, educators, and organizations in a meaningful way.

Recognizing the need for a collaborative initiative, Xponent21 CEO Will Melton took action. Inspired by discussions on AI’s impact during a ChamberRVA-sponsored trip to Washington, D.C., he convened weekly meetings with industry professionals to explore AI’s opportunities, challenges, and ethical considerations. As interest grew, it became clear that Richmond needed more than a discussion forum—it needed a dedicated initiative to equip businesses, individuals, and communities with the knowledge and tools to confidently engage with AI.

From this realization, AI Ready RVA was born—a nonprofit dedicated to making AI education and adoption accessible to all, ensuring Richmond remains competitive in the evolving technological landscape.

The need:

The fast-moving nature of AI left many organizations hesitant to engage with the technology due to uncertainty and a lack of clear guidance. The rapid pace of change and proliferation of AI tools threatened to overwhelm individuals and made the new technology seem inaccessible for many. 

Without a dedicated AI-focused community, businesses and individuals navigated these changes independently—resulting in slower adoption, missed opportunities, and the risk of falling behind. 

AI Ready RVA was created to bridge this gap—demystifying AI and fostering a supportive environment where Richmond’s professionals, educators, and organizations could learn, collaborate, and implement AI with confidence.

Our Approach

Recognizing that speed and strategic implementation were essential for Richmond to establish itself as a technologically advanced city primed for economic development, Xponent21 took an action-first approach. Instead of waiting for AI adoption to unfold in isolation, AI Ready RVA was built to rapidly educate, engage, and empower local organizations and individuals—ensuring that Richmond would not lag behind other innovation-driven cities.

Community Building

  • Facilitated six months of stakeholder meetings before determining that a nonprofit model was essential for achieving the desired community impact.
  • Attracted a dynamic, growing community of business leaders and individuals eager to embrace AI-powered transformation.

Web Development

  • Developed a bootstrap website to support events, ticketing, and membership subscriptions.
  • Created website pages to engage both current and prospective members, encouraging participation in community events based on specific interests.

Video and Content Development

  • Produced a video recap highlighting key takeaways from AI Ready RVA’s first large-scale event, which brought together over 450 professionals exploring the future of AI.
  • Developed engaging website and social media content to fuel ongoing AI discussions and learning.

Branding

  • Developed the brand from naming to brand identity, crafting a compelling identity that resonated with businesses, technologists, and community leaders.
  • Designed a logo that incorporates the human mind’s power when connected with the full understanding of technology, symbolizing the synergy between human intelligence and AI.

Events

  • Helped plan and host live in-person and virtual events as well as on-demand programming that provided hands-on guidance for AI adoption for specific industries.
  • Supported the establishment of volunteer-led cohorts focused on areas like finance, ethics, and education, ensuring targeted events with topics and speakers tailored to each group’s specific interests.
By focusing on practical implementation and real-world applications, AI Ready RVA harnessed community curiosity and emerging AI developments to foster connections, skill-building, innovation, and economic growth in Richmond, VA.
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The Results

Through Xponent21’s strategic guidance and the contributions of a dedicated team of volunteer board and committee members, AI Ready RVA rapidly evolved from an idea into a fully operational nonprofit, empowering businesses and professionals with the knowledge and tools to embrace AI.

  • By leveraging Xponent21’s digital expertise and brand-building strategy, we attracted over 2,000 organic followers to the AI Ready RVA LinkedIn page.
  • Through six months of stakeholder meetings, Xponent21 helped define AI Ready RVA’s mission and determined that structuring it as a nonprofit was the best approach to ensure long-term impact and broad accessibility.
  • Xponent21 supported the launch and marketing of AI Ready RVA’s inaugural event, The Power of Possibility, which attracted over 450 attendees—demonstrating Richmond’s strong appetite for AI education.
  • AI Ready RVA established volunteer-driven cohorts focused on areas like finance, women in AI, AI ethics, education, and governance, each with unique programming.
  • Recognizing the importance of AI literacy across industries, Xponent21 helped position AI Ready RVA as Richmond’s leading AI knowledge hub, ensuring continued growth and impact.

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Closing Reflections

Richmond needed an AI initiative that was accessible, action-oriented, and built for scalability—and Xponent21 played a key role in delivering an organization to lead the future of rapidly evolving tech.

By moving quickly and focusing on practical implementation rather than theoretical discussions, AI Ready RVA has provided members of the Richmond community with the clear guidance, resources, and community support they needed to confidently explore AI adoption. 

The combination of branding, digital infrastructure, live education, and strategic marketing ensured that the initiative would not only launch successfully but also sustain its momentum as Richmond’s go-to AI resource as the technology evolves to impact users across demographics, industries, and interests.

With a results-driven, growth-oriented approach, AI Ready RVA solidified its role as a key driver of AI readiness in Richmond—demonstrating that with the right strategy, businesses and communities can confidently embrace AI together.

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