Two years ago, Alex Brito never would have considered himself a chocolate connoisseur.
But today, he is the co-owner of Richmond-based bean-to-bar chocolate company Upchurch Chocolate Co. — an enterprise that imports cocoa beans from overseas and transforms them into tasty chocolate confections.
Brito and his business partner and high school friend, Alexander Burlingame, who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University this year, join 22 student-led startup companies that have gone through VCU’s pre-accelerator program.
