InTheCapital

DC Entrepreneurs Talk Challenges and Solutions For Region

by Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

Hot, crowded, long, and definitely inspiring. That’s how we’d describe last night’s Ideas Summit, which kicked off Startup America Partnerships‘ launch of  the DC region. After nearly four hours of lightning talks, panels, and networking here’s our recap of the evening. We’re dedicating our own post to White House CTO, Aneesh Chopra’s Keynote address, which will follow this afternoon.

The Three Goals…

The goals of the Startup DC were laid out neatly at the beginning of the event and we believe they’re important enough to be listed first here. To really strive to integrate the startups in our region, which includes integration across the Maryland and Virginia regions as well. To build an organization of entrepreneurs that focuses on what startups and innovators actually need. Lastly, to focus on what the DC region is actually innately good at.

The Highlights…

We get that you guys are all quite busy, which is why we’re giving you the highlights from the nearly four hours of discussion and panels.

Amy Millman, President of Springboard Enterprises shed light on women in startups in the DC region (something we love to celebrate here at InTheCapital):

“What we have here is human capital, but we don’t connect it. There are more women entrepreneurs per square inch here than anywhere else. As soon as everybody realizes that we’ve built this ecosystem I’m not certain we will have to go step outside the region for resources.”

Glen Hellman, Principal at Driven Forward LLC raised concerns about the challenges that the DMV regions provide for entrepreneurs and the lure of the federal government:

“You’ve got three jurisdictions here. Competing against each other. The federal government is a wonderful thing and a curse…your developer doesn’t care about stock options they care about getting time and money to do the work they want to do and the government can provide that.”

Doug Humphrey, Legendary Tech Exec and Serial Entrepreneur changed the tone of the evening addressing ‘emotional infrastructure’ in startups:

“If you are an entrepreneur you understand risks but not really fear…As a CEO you’re always alone. Every soul in your company is on your soul…you bury your fear and don’t show it, don’t talk about it.”

Humphrey mentioned the need for entrepreneurs to find an “emotional and mental community.” If there is one thing DC tech is good at, it’s community building.

DC Has The Momentum, Baby…

In a panel discussion, Jonathon Perrelli and Jonathan Aberman had some choice soundbytes about DC’s entrepreneurial environment. Here they are below:

Aberman: “There is unbelievable energy coming out of DC. There is more wealth here than anywhere in the country.”

Perrelli: “In the 1990s here, the movement was top-down, but what we are seeing in the past few years is that this is happening bottom-up.”

Advice from Perrelli: If you have a good idea ”grow a pair and start a company. The money will come.”

What’s Missing from the entrepreneur ecosystem in DC?

Perrelli: “Check writers. We’re missing check writers. If you’ve made an exit and made money you have an obligation to give back and write checks.”

For us at InTheCapital, we couldn’t be more excited by the ideas and concerns shared by some of DC’s most vocal entrepreneurs and developers. As we continue to grow and foster discussion in DC’s innovation community we hope that events like last night’s Ideas Summit can happen every single day at InTheCapital. We hope you’ll join us as we continue to tell the stories of success and failures of innovation in this region.

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

DC-based ad agency, GeniusRocket is changing the way companies share their brand with the world. Shopping your product out to production companies can be a difficult process. It’s hard to know which companies are the real deal and which are more about smoke and mirrors than an effective advertisement. 

GeniusRocket, has taken the idea of sourcing creative production to ”a database of over 200 production companies, 100 Animation Teams, 50 Copywriters, and 50 creative directors.” GeniusRocket’s approach vets every member of its creative community and focuses on curating a quality community to ensure that the pitches as well as the final product will be of the highest caliber. Their most recent ad for Audio Technica is proof of that. Created with the DVI Group, the video features viral video sensation, Marquese Scott. Check it out for yourself.

By Charlie Warzel /@cwarzel

HelloWallet made some serious waves today with their substantial funding announcement of $12 million and expects to do some serious growing in the coming months. They are just another in a line of DC startups grabbing some serious cash and making a name for themselves on a national scale. We were lucky enough to grab a few minutes with Founder and CEO, Matt Fellowes, who shed some light on their big haul and their significant partnerships with investment research company, Morningstar and the DC-based TD Fund.

On The Partnership with Morningstar:

“It was one of those coming-togethers where we both looked at each other across the room and thought, ‘wow you guys look pretty interesting.’ There was no pursuer…we were really both interested. We are really very complimentary. HelloWallet is focused on saving the money to invest into savings and Morningstar is focused on investing savings.”

Morningstar’s investment in HelloWallet was $6.7 million, while DC-based TD Fund provided $4 million.

On Expanding HelloWallet:

Morningstar opens up tons of possibilites for HelloWallet, as the Chicago-based company boasts a large client base and significant cashflow. “Morningstar works with 20 million workers and now we have the ability to grow at a much swifter pace, to match that scale,” Fellowes said over the phone. HelloWallet has already expanded at breakneck pace, garnering over 300,000 subscriptions over the last six to seven months. With this new influx of cash, Fellowes gave every indication that they will be making new hires to continue to provide financial services to the employer market.

On What This Means For DC Tech Scene:

We asked Fellowes to talk a little about the burgeoning startup culture in DC and what it means for companies in DC like HelloWallet to pull down significant funding. Fellowes echoed a sentiment we’ve heard often from the supportive tech community in DC, which simply put, is to ‘pay it forward.’ According to Fellowes:

“It is really exciting to see what is happening here in Washington and we are thrilled to be part of this story. I think that, starting about 7 months ago, we’ve tried to help facilitate some of that growth in the city. We turn over our office space to various tech community meetings and people can use our space to benefit those who don’t have any. We certainly look forward to helping out even more going forward.

Here at InTheCapital, we believe that this generous and collegial attitude is what sets DC Tech apart from other communities like Silicon Valley and New York City. Entrepreneurs in DC have every reason to celebrate HelloWallet’s big announcement today, as it only signals what we in the District know to be true: Something big is happening in this city. Entrepreneurship is alive and well and innovators here have a very bright future indeed. 

Here, for those interested is a little more from HelloWallet’s press release:

This investment and new agreement with Morningstar comes at a point of significant growth for HelloWallet.  The company has sold more than 300,000 subscriptions since it launched its enterprise application in mid-2011, and is now working with some of the largest companies in the country.  During this same period, HelloWallet’s personalized financial guidance has helped its average members increase their monthly savings contributions by more than 80 percent, creating about $350 in extra savings contributions every month per person.

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

We mentioned Google yesterday in a list of big tech companies trying to assert themselves in the the lobbying arm of Washington. Today, Google continues to extend its presence in a different area of DC, with the introduction of community manager, Corrie Davidson. 

The official twitter account for the DC vertical is @GoogleDC, and judging by Ms. Davidson’s first tweet, she’s looking to jump in head first. 

Ms. Davidson’s initial post is vague as to her day to day responsibilities, but she describes herself as a lifelong DMV resident and will be exploring the city and surrounding area further in the coming days and months. Obviously, it’s great to see Google extend their network to the District. Welcome.

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

Marci Harris and PopVox couldn’t have chosen a better time to get involved with Congress. Seriously. 

In case you haven’t been watching the bizarre kabuki going on between lawmakers and the rest of the world, we’ll fill you in real quick: According to the Washington Post-ABC News approval of Congress is at 13 percent. A record low. A Gallup poll from December clocked congressional approval at 11 percent, also a record low. In fact, Congress’ relationship with the American public has been so toxic that many are surprised the figures aren’t lower. Seriously, who approves of these guys? With frustrations and the stakes at an all-time high, DC-based PopVox looks like an increasingly invaluable tool.

PopVox, for those who don’t know, is a startup website designed to foster more effective and open communication between citizens and Congress. Just writing that phrase makes PopVox sound like an exercise in frustration, but Marci Harris, co-founder and CEO, and her team have had great success during a tumultuous time in politics where activism appears on the rise. We caught up with Marci Harris over the phone to learn a little more about the company and learned a lot about the country in the process.

Harris, like many on PopVox’s team was a former staffer on the Hill (formerly the Tax, Trade, and Health Counsel to Rep. Pete Stark), who couldn’t help but notice the flaws in the system of congressional communications. “One night I was at a dinner party with a few friends, talking with our co-founder, complaining about being a staffer and all the outside input and information that we had to deal with…we had a joint complaint session and I said I was actually thinking about a website that would make the information easier to get to…she and our friends said, ‘Well, do it!’

Harris left the Hill shortly after the healthcare battle ended in 2010 to found PopVox. The site soft-launched the day before election day 2010 and the team tinkered around, making improvements in the lame duck session, finally launching their beta release in January 2011 as the 112th Congress was sworn in. Timing, as they say, is everything.

Most users come to PopVox to make their voice heard on a particular bill, but as Harris notes, people usually don’t stop there. “You come in because you are really angry at a specific issue but as you look around you see other bills that are interesting.”

While Harris and company could be taking advantage of the caustic environment between lawmakers and the American people, PopVox has no such aspirations. Instead, we found PopVox’s goals ambitious, refreshing, and generally just good for American democracy. In short, PopVox isn’t looking to further divide an already fractured nation, adding to the din of a disaffected populous, but instead to foster transparency, educate, and ultimately get some results. Harris notes to us that many of PopVox’s 70,000-plus users are engaging actively and learning interesting things about themselves in the process.

We just introduced a new feature called Congress Match (which allows the user to see how well a Representative lines up with your own personal views). We’ve gotten super positive feedback…and what is interesting is how much they are saying, ‘this guy agreed with me but i realize he doesn’t…it’s surprising how people’s perceptions didn’t align with where the representatives really were.

If used properly, PopVox can be a very powerful tool, one that could even help change the tone in Washington. “With almost every bill that comes in front of Congress… you like some, don’t like others…there is a moderating influence on PopVox because everything is available and you are asked to weigh in on things…it can help constituents to see how hard this job can be.” Now, that might sound like Harris is on Congress’ side. She’s not.

Both PopVox and Harris refuse to editorialize and remain fiercely non-partisan. In fact, PopVox remains neutral almost to a fault. “One of the biggest requests from users is, ‘can’t you put this in english?’ But there is almost no way you can provide analysis of legislation and do so in a neutral way. The language in these bills is so charged,” Harris notes. PopVox leaves the editorializing to it’s users and instead focuses on results.

While Harris and her team have absolutely zero desire to capitalize on the contentious political atmosphere in Washington, it would be naive to say it hasn’t been good for business. POLITICO recently dubbed the 112th Congress the ‘worst ever’, and civic activism appears to be at an all time high, judging by recent demonstrations from Tea Party activists, Occupiers, and most recently, advocates of a free internet. It would appear there has never been a better time to be the conduit for discussion between lawmakers and the American people. 

Speaking with Harris, you could hear the excitement in her voice as turned toward the recent online movement to stop anti-piracy legislation. Given what we’ve seen transpire with online activism in just the past week, we can’t blame her. “I think this is a sea change…SOPA is evidence of what is happening,” Harris remarked. “It’s an awakening that starts to really change the calculus of a legislative campaign. Lobbyists are starting to realize that they can’t just focus on staffers and are learning they need to talk to grassroots folks and communications people. A case needs to be made to the general public.”

The resounding efforts of last week’s protests to stop SOPA/PIPA are a part of a sweeping trend in not only America, but throughout our increasingly connected world. Taking a stand is becoming more and more common. Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ was The Protestor. No longer is activism a boring, lofty practice reserved for peace-nicks or war hawks. Platforms like PopVox allow you to be an armchair activist, and as the results show, people are being heard. Just as powerful as the tools that allow your voice to be heard is the recognition that normal people are capable of creating positive change. Last week was a stark example of how ordinary Joes can get things done, which makes PopVox a scary-useful tool for democracy. Keep your eyes on Marci Harris and PopVox, folks and hold on to your hats.

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

Job creation. We need it and small companies founded by entrepreneurs are the ones that can help. That is the central thesis of former AOL founder, Steve Case’s op-ed out today in the Washington Post. 

Case notes that startups are down over the past five years, as well as the number of IPOs. More important, the U.S. is in danger of falling behind as innovation and entrepreneurship continues it’s boom overseas. According to Case:

 Companies that are trying to expand have found that accessing capital and securing talent have become more challenging. Meanwhile, as the American entrepreneurial engine slows, the pace has picked up around the world. Indeed, globalization has affected not just manufacturing and services but also entrepreneurship.

Reading Case this morning gave us some reason for optimism and that optimism comes from an odd place…Congress. 

Turns out that folks on both sides of the aisle agree with Case that entrepreneurship needs to be a bigger priority. They’re putting their money where their mouth is, too and have introduced two bills in the House and Senate: the Startup Act and AGREE.

The bills are important as they will help lessen tax burdens on startups, make it easier for high-growth, mid-size companies to IPO, and allow crowdfunding, where average investors can band together and give early stage companies access to capital. The bills are backed by bipartisan support and we at InTheCapital will be following their progress in the House and Senate for you. 

Case’s op-ed made us think more on the gargantuan story in the New York Times this weekend, regarding Apple’s manufacturing jobs in China and the grim prospect for growing the middle class through big tech companies. American manufacturing simply can’t compete with scale, organization, and pay model that exists in Chinese manufacturing. Here’s a good example from the article:

Another critical advantage for Apple was that China provided engineers at a scale the United States could not match. Apple’s executives had estimated that about 8,700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company’s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States.

If nothing else, the Times article illustrates that the old manufacturing model is not the answer—we have to look elsewhere. Case notes that entrepreneurs grow jobs. He pulls up research to indicate that, ”firms less than five years old have produced 40 million American jobs over the past three decades — accounting for all of the net new jobs created in that period.” 

Startups, whether they be a service or goods producers, are smaller-scale and can create and keep jobs inside the United States, without having to scurry overseas to cheaper labor and increased ‘flexibility’, which reads to us as ‘less-stringent labor laws’. 

The true challenge, which both AGREE and the Startup Act look to address, is to reverse the outsourcing trend and bring innovators to America. Case notes touchy immigration policy that would need to be amended to bring the best and brightest to our shores. “If we want to create a new wave of Googles and Intels — firms that were co-founded by immigrant entrepreneurs — Congress should pass bipartisan legislation modifying the barriers to high-skilled immigration,” Case notes in the piece today.

The road to economic recovery is long and rocky for sure, but a path exists. America is a country built on the backs of innovators and fresh ideas. If we can follow Case’s lead and lobby Congress to allow innovators a smoother path to success, great things can happen. Traditional models like manufacturing will continue to be an important pillar of economic strength, but the tide does appear to be shifting. Let’s capitalize on new ideas and new talent to help usher in the next generation of economic growth and breed a culture of sustainable success in innovation.

[Lead image by amystarrallen.com]

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

Political nerds, it’s time to swoon. Gone are the days of hurriedly rushing back to the office or the comfort of your nerdy, spreadsheet-laden den of nerddom to catch the floor discussion of HR 3783, affectionately known as, “The Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act” on CSPAN.  Now, you can do your nerding out anywhere, thanks to the DC-based company, FedNet.

They’re launching in grand style, too with an historic first-ever mobile livestream of the State of The Union address this Tuesday night. FedNet, is not new to this game either—they’ve been broadcasting Congressional coverage since the mid ’90s, putting the State of The Union address online since 1997 (56k days, my friends). 

But FedNet is moving into new territory today, with the launch of VUGUV (we’re not sure if you’re supposed to pronounce that out or not), which according to their press release is “is the first committed mobile-only public affairs network providing streaming video of Congress and Washington, DC based events. Available on wireless devices – smartphones and tablets – FREE to viewers.” That’s right, wonks. Commence drooling.

VUGUV will be broadcast on iPhones, iPads, Androids, Microsoft and Blackberries for the low, low cost of absolutely nothing. If you live and breathe politics, this is a pretty big deal. Here’s what FedNet President, Keith Carney had to say about it:

“For 20 years FedNet has been providing the most advanced, comprehensive coverage of Congress. Now with the launch of our new product, VUGUV, anyone with a smart device can now watch Congress - wherever they are. Anytime. Anywhere. No cables required.”

This could be an enormous tool for bloggers and broadcasters everywhere—real-time looks into congress from an iPad or Blackberry from anywhere. It seems like FedNet is finally bringing an antiquated Congress into the 21st century. Bravo.

[image via todayinah]

By Carl Pierre / @Carlpierre

These guys have done incredible things for the DC startup community but are not the kind to hog the spotlight. Like a good Milford man, they are neither seen nor heard. Yes, I had to throw in an ArrestedDevelopment reference.

[image via Twitter]

·      Dan Berger – Dan is an entrepreneurial titan that stays fairly low-key. Working at a couple of startups as a developer at a young age, he eventually made his way back to entrepreneurship after working at a management-consulting firm and realizing the rat race was not for him. He founded Social Tables, a web-based software that takes seating organization to another level for event planning.

[image via bizjournal]

·      Jamey Harvey – Another giant in the DC tech community that keeps it real, Jamey is known best as the man who runs Geekeasy, a DC workspace for VC’s and startups on Florida Avenue. Jamey is also the CEO and founder of Sponto, a mobile social networking platform that delivers real-world party detection and discovery to college students.

[image via findingzuckerman]

·      Adam Zuckerman – Adam is an entrepreneurial attorney and a name everybody in the DC tech world should get to know. He prides himself on bringing people together in the startup community, and being an advocate for innovation in the District. He has worked with the best and brightest DC has to offer including companies like JESS3, as well as contributing to tech blogs like Lifehacker and Gizmodo.

[image via Twitter]

·      Jonathon Perelli – ·      Jonathon Perrelli – Jonathon is the founding partner at the newly launched VC fund Fortify.vc, which has a startup accelerator that has the DC Tech community buzzing called ‘The Fort’. Jonathon has lead and exited four different startups over the past 17 years, with positions that ranged from being a founder to CEO and from startup to IPO. Having been a founder, an angel, and now running an accelerator, Jonathon is the renaissance man of the DC startup community.

[image via Twitter]

·      Patrick Smith – Patrick has that undeniable zest for Tech and startups, as well as a love for DC. He founded Catalyst Meals, a site that curates meals specifically for Crossfitters that abide by the Paleo Diet. Patrick is also the co-organizer of the DC Lean Startup Meetup which collaborates with founders to create a great product in the most efficient way possible. Patrick has also helped organize the TEDxPotomac lectures. 

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

Now here’s what we like to see, politicians stepping forward with innovative ways to educate students. We dig. 

According to the Associated Press and as first posted by the Washington Post, Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell and Va. Sen. Mark Warner are teaming up to help students understand and better use the technology that’s all around them. 

Here’s the scoop:

The program, “My Digital Life,” is a joint effort by technology company Neustar and digital education platform provider EverFi. The curriculum is designed for students in grades eight through 10 and includes topics such as cyber bullying, good texting practices and online research.

“Technology and the individualized tools it provides can fundamentally and positively change education,” said Governor Bob McDonnell at the launch event today. Sen Mark Warner also noted that,  “Our kids are living their lives on-line, and this is a great new partnership to try to make sure that young people learn how to use the Internet and social media tools in a safer, more positive and responsible way.”

We at InTheCapital love this for a few reasons. Students currently in 8th-10th grade are native to the digital culture—they don’t know a world without internet access and probably only a handful can remember dial-up access. These are the students who are more likely to send their information to the public world of the internet before they flag down their friends and, consequently, are the people who need to know the inherent risks involved in living a digital life.  Plus, we love seeing two DC-based companies working together to innovate and bring about change to the DMV.

[Lead Image via serc.carleton.edu]