The hundred-plus people who crowded into iStrategy Labs April 18 for Tech in the City wanted to know more about the growing tech sector in the District and what factors continue to play a role in its growth. Thanks to a well-informed panel, a spirited but respectful debate initiated a conversation about D.C.'s tech sector, how it's funded, where it's located and what place it holds on the national stage.
Geoff Anderson, president and CEO of
Smart Growth America (SGA), welcomed attendees and introduced the panel, which included
Ilana Preuss, chief of staff at SGA;
Peter Corbett, founder and CEO of iStrategy Labs; and
Harriet Tregoning, director of the D.C. Office of Planning.
Preuss asked both Corbett and Tregoning to identify two things that need to happen for D.C. to be the best city it could be.
Corbett said, "We need to attract one hundred superhuman entrepreneurs to create one hundred superhuman businesses." He cited the journey of Blake Hall, founder of
TroopID, as an example of an entrepreneur who successfully launched a startup and has turned it into a viable enterprise that has created jobs and brought attention to the region.
“There’s not that many Blake Halls in the world,” he said.
"We need to attract one hundred superhuman entrepreneurs to create one hundred superhuman businesses."
Corbett also stated that the District needs a "perception shift." "We have to differentiate 'Washington' [the federal government] from D.C., the real District of Columbia," he explained. "The 'I hate Washington' perception has to change."
After joking that everyone attending should run out and get "stars and bars" tattoos to show their love for D.C., Tregoning disagreed with Corbett about attracting outside talent. "We have some of the most well-educated entrepreneurs here [already]. Why can't we grow our own?"
Tregoning said that, instead, inexpensive office space and open data are the two things necessary to "create efficiency and innovation. All of you take it up so fast," she said, referencing the attendees' quick adoption of technology and apps.
Roughly 35 percent of attendees self-identified as "tech geeks," 70 percent as "urbanists," and 20 percent as "other," according to Preuss' informal survey at the beginning of the event. The questions from the floor reflected those demographics. An entrepreneur shared his perception about how difficult it is to secure angel funding in D.C. Corbett disagreed.
"It is easier to get angel funding in D.C. than anywhere else," Corbett said. He cited three angel groups in the District, among others—NextGen Angels, K Street Capital, and Dingman Center Angels—which all fund startups in the D.C. area.
Since the tech scene in the District is fairly new, Corbett explained, angels are eager to fund. "The seed round—a quarter-million to a half-million—is harder. But it's still easier in D.C. than ever. And Living Social proves that you don't have to be in Silicon Valley to get Series A funding."
"We have some of the most well-educated entrepreneurs here [already]. Why can't we grow our own?" Harriet Tregoning
Another attendee suggested that cities that are successful are "places that embrace their space." He asked the panel what assets D.C. should leverage to distinguish itself from other cities with a strong entrepreneurial scene. Tregoning said that the government uses technology, needs apps and funds research. She also reminded the audience that the city has "70 museums, 90 performing arts venues, 180 missions and foreign embassies, the IMF and the World Bank….It's also a university town," Tregoning said. "There are 100,000 college students; 80 universities have programs here."
The discussion of universities and training led to one of the biggest revelations of the evening. Josie Keller announced the creation of
Geek Chic Programming, a startup to help women learn more about programming.
Finally, the importance of location and building density for startups was a hot-button issue for some. "Chat happens in Silicon Valley. It's starting to happen in Dupont," Corbett explained. By chat, he means the informal interactions between people that allow innovation to occur, whether on the street or at a bar or coffeehouse. A neighborhood has to be densely populated enough to support those types of businesses and have enough residents in order for those types of interactions to occur. The discussion provided the most-tweeted quote of the evening, by Corbett: "Density is the X-factor."
Tech in the City was organized by Smart Growth America and cosponsored by Elevation DC. It is the first of a series of panel discussions about the intersection of place and the economy. The Storify of the event, with more quotes from the panelists that didn't make it into the final article, is available here.