District of Innovators: Takeaways From DC Startup Week
This September, the metro area convened for DC Startup Week — a five-day, 180+program occasion hosting more than 11,000 entrepreneurs. The event showcased just how robust DC’s tech community has grown — but that wasn’t always the case. Just ask our Chairman and CEO, Steve Case, who built AOL in Northern Virginia in the 1990s. Over the next few decades, the company served as a tech engine throughout the region. Today, the nation’s political hub is gaining increasing traction as an innovation capital where game-changing startups start and scale, including Revolution-backed Sweetgreen, FiscalNote, Homesnap, and Cava. During the week, our investment teams had the opportunity to join a few of our DC portfolio companies onstage to discuss the ecosystem, as well as its progress and potential. Here are a few of the insights gleaned.
The conversation: The facets of a strong startup ecosystem with Rise of the Rest VP, Mahati Sridhar, Broccoli City co-founder, Marcus Allen, Cambium Carbon founder and CEO, Ben Christensen, and Rise of the Rest Director of Portfolio Success, Amira Ouji, moderating.
The takeaways: It takes a village to foster a strong startup ecosystem; While there is no hard and fast science to building a community where startups thrive, several factors play an essential role: local media, corporations, accelerators and incubators, startups and tentpole companies, universities, local government, and investors; Tapping into the power of each of these seven spokes can feel daunting, particularly for founders at the early stage — prioritizing which makes sense in your startup’s timeline is key.
The soundbite: “I tell my team, ‘don’t do good things,’ you’ll spread yourself too thin. Instead, save your time and effort for the great things.” — Ben Christensen
The conversation: Starting and scaling a proptech company and shaking up the real estate innovation scene, featuring Revolution Growth VP, Curtis Oberg, Curbio VP of Marketing, Olivia Mariani, and National Multifamily Housing Council VP of Business Strategy, Sarah Yaussi, with Revolution Ventures VP, Alex Shtarkman, moderating.
The takeaways: Whether it’s single or multifamily housing, traditional industry players are in need of disruption, but legacy organizations are wary of change; As interest rates rise and the housing market cools, average days on market have gone up, leading to more investment in pre-sale renovations; A cautious but confident approach is essential to raising money in a risk-averse real estate environment; In an industry where you have more laggards than early adopters, use the early adopters to create a flywheel of momentum for your proptech solution.
The soundbite: “Talk to people in dollars, cents, and time saved” — Olivia Mariani
The conversation: Revolution Chairman and CEO, Steve Case, joined Cherry Blossom Intimates Co-founder and CEO, Jasmine Jones for a keynote discussion on his experience scaling AOL in the region and takeaways from his recently released book, The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream.
The takeaways: Starting and scaling AOL in Northern Virginia was difficult because of a lack of network density and resources. Today’s ecosystem is much more supportive; Most good ideas come from lived experiences that solve real-life problems; Startups play a crucial role in American job creation; There is innovation happening all across the country, and DC is a prime example of the momentum building beyond Silicon Valley.
The soundbite: “Investing in more people from more places with different backgrounds isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.” — Steve Case
It only seemed fitting to close out the week by surprising the ecosystem where Steve Case got his entrepreneurial start with the first signed copies of his newest book, which officially launched on September 27. Order your copy today.
Thank you to the DC Startup Week team for hosting us!
