A small firm with a long view.

Verso Ridge was founded by two friends — both U.S. military veterans, both with West Virginia roots — to rebuild the kinds of buildings other investors walk past. We're small on purpose, methodical by training, and accountable by design.

The principals

Two co-founders. One firm.

U.S. Army

Chris Fiorillo

U.S. Army Veteran

Chris served in the United States Army. He brings the operational discipline, planning rigor, and accountability that military service teaches — applied to the technology, systems, and documentation that keep a small firm credible.

On the Verso Ridge side, Chris leads the digital and technical work: property research, site management, the firm's data and reporting, and the systems that make grant-funded work auditable end to end.

Co-founder · Technology

U.S.M.C.

Jake Rotter

U.S. Marine Corps Veteran

Jake served in the United States Marine Corps. He brings the Marine Corps ethos of mission-first execution and disciplined administration — qualities that translate directly to running a property firm where paperwork, deadlines, and follow-through matter.

Jake leads the administrative, operational, and partner-facing work at Verso Ridge: acquisitions, vendor and trades coordination, compliance, and the steady drumbeat of work that turns a vacant building into a finished one.

Co-founder · Administration

Our values

Four convictions we work by.

Discipline first, optics second.

The work is the work. Inspections, paperwork, environmental due diligence — done before the press release, before the listing, before the photograph. Military service teaches that the boring part is the important part.

Transparency for partners and agencies.

Grant-funded and government-adjacent work is auditable work. We document everything we touch, so a reviewer, a partner, or a community board can follow the trail without us in the room.

Community over speculation.

We rebuild buildings that matter to the places they sit. Route 60 storefronts, Appalachian Main Streets, residential blocks worth keeping. Not flipping for theatre — restoring with intent.

Mission complete.

Service taught us to finish what we start. Verso Ridge takes on projects we can finish — at the pace required, with the care required, on the schedule we commit to.

Four convictions · One firmVerso Ridge · Office of the Principals

A note on SDVOSB

What it means

for partners & agencies

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business is a federal designation. To qualify, the business must be majority owned and operated by one or more veterans with a service-connected disability — verified through the U.S. Small Business Administration and, for federal contracting, the Veterans Small Business Certification program.

For agencies and prime contractors, SDVOSB status carries set-aside and sole-source eligibility under FAR 19.14 and corresponding state procurement rules. For grant partners — federal, state, foundation — it indicates a verified veteran-led ownership structure and a documented chain of accountability.

For Verso Ridge specifically, SDVOSB is the formal expression of who we already are: two friends, both veterans, building a firm in the country we came from. Our certification details, UEI, and CAGE code are listed on the Capabilities page.