AI Ready RVA

Tonight, Chris Clark walks through how he built real finance infrastructure at Gelati Celesti with no coding background and a two-person team.

Daily sales pipelines. A rolling cash-flow forecast. An agent that reads payroll PDFs and posts journal entries automatically. A custom ERP in progress.

Six months of work. One finance leader who decided to figure it out.

This is what AI adoption looks like inside a small Richmond business. Not a pilot program. Not a proof of concept. Production infrastructure, running today.

There is still time to register. We cannot confirm or deny whether the Director of Finance at an ice cream company is bringing ice cream tonight.

https://www.aireadyrva.com/events/fsi-cohort-building-ai-powered-finance-infrastructure-inside-2026-06

The AI Ready RVA mailing list is where Richmond stays informed.

Every week, something shifts in the AI landscape. A local employer makes a hiring decision based on AI skills. A cohort member finds a workflow that saves their team hours. A tool launches that actually matters for how people in this region work.

Most of it never makes the news.

Our newsletter cuts through the noise. No hype, no trend-chasing. Just what's worth knowing, what's happening locally, and what you can do with it right now.
Join the mailing list. Get the newsletter. Stay ahead of what AI means for Richmond's workforce, businesses, and community.

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Taco Tuesday and Cinco de Mayo landing on the same day feels like the universe looked at everyone’s stress levels and decided to intervene.

Somewhere in Richmond right now:
One person is explaining prompt engineering over queso.
Another is using ChatGPT to find the best taco specials within a 10-mile radius.
And someone just asked an AI agent if it can DoorDash margaritas.

This is the kind of innovation we can all support.

Happy Taco Tuesday.
Happy Cinco de Mayo.
And if your tacos arrive before your AI-generated meeting notes, your priorities are probably in the right place.

🌮🤖🍹

AI is already reshaping manufacturing, logistics, and supply chains.

The leaders who win in the next 3–5 years won’t be the ones talking about AI.
They’ll be the ones applying it to reduce cost, improve quality, and eliminate inefficiencies across operations.

That’s exactly what we’re building with the Supply Chain & AI Cohort at AI Ready RVA.

We’re kicking it off with a panel of industry leaders bringing real-world perspectives across:
• Machine Learning in operations
• Generative AI for planning and decision-making
• Robotics and automation on the floor

No hype. Just what’s working, what’s not, and where this is going.

📍 Virginia Commonwealth University - School of Business
📅 May 20th

:30 – 7:30 PM

AI is already reshaping manufacturing, logistics, and supply chains.

The leaders who win in the next 3–5 years won’t be the ones talking about AI.

They’ll be the ones applying it to reduce cost, improve quality, and eliminate inefficiencies across operations.

That’s exactly what we’re building with the Supply Chain & AI Cohort at AI Ready RVA.

We’re kicking it off with a panel of industry leaders bringing real-world perspectives across:

• Machine Learning in operations

• Generative AI for planning and decision-making

• Robotics and automation on the floor

No hype. Just what’s working, what’s not, and where this is going.

📍 Virginia Commonwealth University - School of Business

📅 May 20th

⏰ 5:30 – 7:30 PM

If you’re in manufacturing, logistics, or supply chain, you need to be in this room.

This is where Richmond starts leading.

Thank you To our amazing host and sponsors for this event VCU School of Business Masters in Supply Chain Management.


If you’re in manufacturing, logistics, or supply chain, you need to be in this room.

This is where Richmond starts leading.

Thank you To our amazing host and sponsors for this event VCU School of Business Masters in Supply Chain Management.

Most product managers are still talking about AI.

The best ones are already using it.

That gap is growing fast.

On April 21, we’re putting real operators on stage. Not theorists. Not influencers. Product managers from Richmond who are using AI inside their workflows right now and seeing the impact.

How Product Managers Actually Use AI: Lightning Talks from RVA

📅 Tuesday, April 21, 2026
🕠 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
📍 CoStar Group

This isn’t a panel. It’s not a keynote.

It’s a series of fast, focused lightning talks. Each one built around a simple question:

How are you actually using AI in your day-to-day work?

You’ll see how product teams are applying AI across:

• Customer research and insight generation
• Writing PRDs and internal documentation
• Prioritization and roadmap decisions
• Communication with stakeholders
• Ex*****on speed across the board

No theory. No recycled talking points. Just what’s working.

Here’s the truth most people won’t say out loud.

AI isn’t replacing product managers.
It’s exposing them.

The ones who know how to think, structure problems, and move fast are pulling ahead. Everyone else is falling behind.

This session is about getting on the right side of that line.

If you’re building products, leading teams, or trying to stay relevant in this shift, be in the room.

🎟 Corporate Members: $13.50
🎟 General Admission: $15
🎟 Subscribers: Free

👉 https://aireadyrva.com/events

Richmond doesn’t follow trends.

We build what’s next.