There are few areas more energized and engaging with entrepreneurs than DMV. Short for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, DMV is quickly becoming the haven if youβre looking to form your own company or find bright minds to partner with. The proximity to large cities and an ever-evolving entrepreneurial spirit makes the area a perfect place to be if youβre in the business of starting a business. We wanted to hear from some of those business owners on why they believe the DMV area is such a good place for being an entrepreneur.
1) Outside Investors
I believe the Baltimore/Washington region is about to attract significantΒ attention from outside investors. Venture capitalists are tiring of theΒ high sticker price valuations coming out of New York and Silicon ValleyΒ startups, and they are craving companies that serve distinct niches.Β Maryland and Virginia entrepreneurs have significant expertise in areasΒ like ed-tech, medical research, and government relationships. OurΒ entrepreneurs dive deeper and offer meatier products and services than theΒ standard app of the month. The DMV CEO is bootstrapping and keeping theirΒ costs so low and thatβs incredibly attractive to investors. If there isΒ anything I would encourage our founders to do more of, itβs dream biggerΒ and scale faster.
Thanks toΒ Kelly Keenan Trumpbour,Β See Jane Invest!
2) Access to Capital
Though for the time we've moved our company to Austin for theΒ TechStars program and to expand our operations, Washington DC remains theΒ catalyst that allowed our business to reach the point it's at today. WeΒ founders all met at Virginia Tech, where we had a variety of amazingΒ resources to help us start the business. We tested our product in ArlingtonΒ because we grew up around there, and we realized the need for disruption.Β Nobody I knew liked dealing with seedy lawn care companies, so we created aΒ technological solution to fix the kinks in billing, customer service, andΒ scheduling. It turned out, Arlington was the perfect test market because ofΒ the variety of different consumer profiles in theΒ area, and the lessons weΒ learned there have allowed us to expand. The DC area is great forΒ entrepreneurs because of the access to capital and the access to some ofΒ the nation's top talent through great Universities. Young people rollingΒ out of consulting firms, government roles, cyber security jobs make this aΒ great place to attract talent. There's a reason DC is one of the fastestΒ growing tech scenes, and we're glad we started there.
Thanks toΒ Steve Corcoran,Β LawnStarter!
3) A Dynamic Upward Trend
Having launchedΒ Solo Trekker 4 UΒ onΒ Dec. 12, 2012, I find Washington ideal for entrepreneurs. The District andΒ suburbs have been on a dynamic upward trend in the past decade. The largeΒ number of technologists and networking options make for synergy for everyoneΒ from millennials to Baby Boomers looking to create the next disruptiveΒ technology. For those of us connecting solo travelers with well priced 4-5Β star travel services, the numerous embassy delegations provide a directΒ connection globally without leaving home. The local universities haveΒ global reach and provide both research options and access to aΒ well-qualified pool of potential employees. Lastly, Metro DC is lessΒ expensive for self-funding entrepreneurs than Silicon Alley and SiliconΒ Valley. As a result, the image of Washington as a government-only town isΒ now completely out-dated.
Thanks to Elizabeth Avery,Β Solo Trekker 4 U!
4) Intellectual Level
Most people would probably say that Washington‘s geo-location attracts orΒ at least forces top talent in the world of finance, politics, policy andΒ health to at least come through the city a minimum of once or twice aΒ year. This exposure is great for any entrepreneur. To me personally, theΒ higher than average intellectual level of the general DC population is theΒ main attraction. It almost seems as if majority of the residents possessΒ at least a master's degree in a particular field and a whole lot have aΒ doctorate. If you can get this type of demographic to buy into theΒ concept, scaling out should not be a terrible problem. The insight andΒ advice received along the way is also priceless.
Thanks toΒ Zlatan Beca,Β Repair Jungle!
5) Three Reasons
The Talent: The D.C. area is home to a ton of young talent. Lots of recent collegeΒ grads gravitate to the D.C. area because it is a cool/fun place to be, withΒ lots of free activities and nightlife available along an expansive networkΒ of public transportation. Many of these recent grads are looking for jobsΒ in marketing, sales, and customer service. While there is a bit of aΒ tech-talent shortage in the area (when will Georgetown start an engineeringΒ school?), where isn't there a tech shortage?Β The Resources:Β The D.C. metro region has a solid and growing network of resources forΒ entrepreneurs, particularly tech entrepreneurs. The Internet itself wasΒ born here, companies like AOL and UUNet were started here, and today manyΒ web and software companies are thriving in the D.C. area. EntrepreneurΒ networking groups such as Mindshare and EO are very active. StartupΒ accelerators and shared office spaces such as 1776 and The Fort went fromΒ being virtually nonexistent when we started Capterra in 1999 to now beingΒ great options for getting started in a collaborative and entrepreneurialΒ environment.Β The Most Bang for Your Buck:Β Office space and overall cost of living in the D.C. area, while not cheap,Β is a fraction of the cost of the major tech hubs – San Francisco, SiliconΒ Valley, and NYC. There are many viable options for setting up shop, rangingΒ from downtown D.C., to Arlington, the Dulles Corridor, and the I-270Β Corridor. This helps to keep prices in check. Itβs also worth mentioningΒ that D.C. offers lots of opportunities unavailable elsewhere. We haveΒ amazing restaurants and museums, the Monuments, and we're less than twoΒ hours from both the beach and the mountains. Entrepreneurs need to takeΒ breaks too!
Thanks toΒ Mike Ortner,Β Capterra!
6) Young and Driven
There are two major advantages for starting and owning a business in the D.C. area. First, the area is a hub for young, driven and well-educated talent. A lot of recent college graduates from great institutions flock to the area, and businesses – especially startups – benefit from that. The second major advantage in the area‘s proximity. It is centrally located on the East Coast, so If you look at a map, there are a lot of major cities within a three-hour flight or less – New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Atlanta, even Toronto and Montreal. You can set up meetings in these cities and be in and out in the same day.
Thanks toΒ David Boice,Β Tier10!
7)Β The Streets Are Paved With Acronyms
In spite of the extreme polarization that characterizes Washington today,Β we're here because everyone agrees that open and transparent government is aΒ high priority goal that we must strive mightily to achieve. IncomprehensibleΒ government jargon is a persistent problem. James Madison once said, “AΒ popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiringΒ it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both.” OurΒ GovlishR program is dedicated to preventing the farce and tragedy thatΒ Madison so feared. When we cannot understand what our government is saying,Β democracy ceases to function. Govlish deciphers the language of government.Β We are a data-driven solution to navigating the inscrutable government maze.Β We aggregate, analyze, organize, format, contextualize, and curate aboutΒ 100,000 government terms. That includes acronyms, initialisms,Β abbreviations, codes, cryptonyms, aka's, dba's, and other terms that defyΒ classification. Successfully mapping the language of government can only beΒ done from here, where decision makers grasp the seriousness of the problemΒ and the need to fix it. If we fail, government risks going down a roadΒ toward irrelevance and alienation, the consequences of which are very scaryΒ indeed.
Thanks toΒ Robert R. Mander,Β GovlishR!
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