Engineer Your Success

From Building Designs to Building a Tech Community: One Architect’s Unexpected Journey

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Guest: Nick Serfass | Host: Dr. James Bryant
Episode Description

What happens when the skills you built in one profession turn out to be exactly what another field needs — even though you never planned for it? Nick Serfass trained as an architect, spent years designing healthcare facilities, and then accidentally built a career leading one of Richmond’s most impactful tech organizations. As executive director of the Richmond Technology Council, Nick has spent eight years shaping the region’s tech community from the inside. In this episode, Nick breaks down what’s actually driving Richmond’s tech growth, why AI’s explosion reminds him of a ketchup bottle, and how design thinking transfers to building communities, events, and entire city ecosystems. If you’ve ever wondered what an “accidental” career pivot really looks like — and why it works — this conversation delivers.

Key Takeaways

  • Architecture gave Nick “design thinking” — the ability to look at the total landscape and put pieces together — and that skill travels across industries in ways most people don’t anticipate
  • The Richmond tech community has shifted dramatically: technologists who once stayed behind their screens are now out, engaged, and building relationships in ways that are changing the culture of the field
  • “Not everything we do is for everyone, but there’s something for everyone” — the RTC runs events across cybersecurity, data, women in tech, product design, and software development, intentionally serving different slices of the community
  • Richmond’s biggest challenge isn’t a lack of activity — it’s brand clarity; when everyone is trying to highlight everything, the message lands for no one
  • The most successful companies start with a specific, focused mission — and Richmond’s tech story is most powerful when it’s told with that same discipline
  • AI’s growth isn’t just about the technology itself — it’s about the pace of advancement, and COVID accelerated that by driving an entire global population online almost overnight
  • Nick’s approach to career: he volunteered his way into a new path, gave himself two years to try it, and those two years became eight — the best career moves aren’t always planned, they’re followed

    • Timestamps

    • 00:00 — Introduction to the RVA Leaders Impact mini-series
    • 02:15 — Nick’s take on Richmond’s current tech ecosystem
    • 04:49 — How an architect ends up running a city’s tech council
    • 07:24 — What’s changed most in tech — the ketchup bottle AI analogy
    • 10:05 — How the culture and people of Richmond’s tech community are evolving
    • 12:32 — Inside the Richmond Technology Council: mission, events, and the “Tech’s Most Creative City” campaign
    • 14:37 — Richmond’s biggest challenge: defining a brand identity that cuts through
    • 20:40 — The mic flip: Nick asks James what he’s reading

      • About the Guest

      Nick Serfass is a licensed architect who spent the early part of his career in healthcare design before transitioning into association leadership. He has led multiple national and regional organizations, including the national organization of architects and its student body, before joining the Richmond Technology Council. For the past eight years, he has served as the executive director of RVATech, driving events, community building, and Richmond’s positioning as a creative tech hub. He is reachable at [email protected] or on LinkedIn, and RVATech’s website is RVATech.com. On the side, he documents his reading on Instagram at @NickSerfass and on TikTok at @ArchNick.

      About the Host

      Dr. James Bryant is an executive coach, leadership strategist, and host of the Engineer Your Success podcast. His mission is to help professionals win at work and at home by developing the leadership skills and presence that technical training alone does not provide.

      Get Weekly Leadership Insights at Win By Design: www.winbydesign.co

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      Engineer Your SuccessBy Dr. James Bryant
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