

Ask HN: Startups in DC?  - djb_hackernews

I am planning a move to DC by the end of september where I will be looking for employment. I'd like to focus my search on startups as I am coming from a mature startup and really enjoyed the experience. I'd ultimately like to find a dev position with an early stage startup.<p>The problem, I can't find the DC startup scene online. I've checked startuply and npost and the other usual suspects, but there isn't much. Which I think is just an indication startups in DC aren't advertising jobs. I'd like to find the "scene" and approach the ones I find interesting to see if they have a need for someone like me.<p>OT: I feel like I am abusing Ask HN, so if there is a better place to ask such a question downvote with a link please.
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daveambrose
I went to school in DC for four years and moved to Manhattan with my roommate
(now co-founder) to start our company. At the time, the tech scene wasn't
really alive and well (this was 2006-2007), but I've seen more of my friends
enter the field with more consumer-facing companies - rather than those
startups that siphon into the government. It's a good time to be in DC now.

Here's some resources you want to check:

\- Social Times (DC based tech blog that covered a lot of DC companies) -
<http://www.socialtimes.com/>

\- iStrategyLabs (interactive PR/ad agency; Peter holds a ton of meetups in
the area and practically knows everyone; feel free to email me for an
introduction) - <http://www.istrategylabs.com/>

\- Anyvite (DC/MD social invitation/events startup; a YC company and all
around cool guys) - <http://anyvite.com/home>

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nolanbrown23
My company was part of LaunchBox Digital '09 class and I can say there is
definitely a startup scene in DC but it's in the early stages. There are some
great events like TechCocktail that highlight companies in the area that you
can look to hook up with. As for a job, you should be able to find one with
relative ease ([http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/17/the-best-and-worst-
citi...](http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/17/the-best-and-worst-cities-to-
look-for-a-job/)) although it will be harder finding an early stage startup
that can pay you a livable wage for DC.

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astine
Hmm, I'm from the DC area, but I don't personally know of any startups that
are highering at the moment.

There was a group of HN readers that meet a couple of times, but I don't know
what's happend to that.

You can find some tech events: <http://www.dctechevents.com/> and I'm sure
that there is more.

There is a lot of opportuity, given the recent and predicted growth in
government, but not all of it is being tapped; at least not in an organized
way.

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bscofield
LaunchBox Digital is a DC-area incubator along the lines of YC and TechStars -
you could try connecting with them to see if they know of any startups looking
for devs. If that fails, I could also connect you with my CEO (I work for
Viget Labs, which is headquartered near DC); he knows most of the people in
the scene.

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gms
Do you have to move to DC? Because it's very much the wrong place for what
you're looking for.

~~~
luigi
Care to explain that statement?

~~~
flatline
I'm not sure what exactly OP was referring to but I can tell you that the main
employer in this area is the US Gov't. The rest of the market is largely gov't
contractors and subcontractors and various other service providers to the
entire infrastructure. I worked for a small company in the area for a number
of years, not a startup but it was a good experience, but it takes a lot of
searching to find something that's non-gov't and a decent gig. I haven't run
across a startup scene per se but then I haven't really looked.

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corbett3000
All you need is this for a full database of DC startups and their open jobs:
<http://crossmine.com/>

Take a look at the Startup sponsors on these RSVPs:
<http://twintech.eventbrite.com> <http://twintech2.eventbrite.com>
<http://twintech3.eventbrite.com> <http://twintech4.eventbrite.com>

Oh and for an upcoming event (10/30 - big tech/creative party):
<http://techarts.eventbrite.com>

-Peter Corbett, iStrategyLabs (@corbett3000)

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yangtheman
I've lived in DC suburb, tried a startup, but had a major problem finding
like-minded entrepreneurs in the area. There are many high-tech folks there,
but they don't want to take any risks starting or joining a startup. I have
moved to the Silicon Valley in 2007 (used to be in SV from 2000 to 2004), and
every other person I meet wants to do something on their own. The drive,
desire, and willingness of people are just different between two regions.

I found this which might help.... <http://techcocktail.com/home/>

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eli
Net2DC (<http://www.net2dc.com/>) focuses on non-profits, but they're
affiliated with <http://affinitylab.com/> which is home to several very early-
stage startups.

In the past, I've also seen several Dupont-area startups hiring on Craigslist.
I assume you've already looked there?

And maybe it would help to narrow your search a bit. I know there is a active
Drupal development community in DC and I believe the Rails user group does
meetups as well.

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drcode
I'm a DCer and there are a few startups (My startup isn't hiring anyone in the
DC area right now though)

I recommend attending a techcocktail event
<http://techcocktail.com/home/2009/01/30/tech-cocktail-dc-4/>

or keeping up with Gary's Guide DC <http://dc.garysguide.org/>

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luigi
There's Social Matchbox, which recently held an event:

<http://www.socialmatchbox.com/>

Some good links on their site.

There's also the Startup Rockstars:

<http://startuprockstars.com/>

Which holds the next event on Sept. 9.

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mattrepl
I'll second Social Matchbox as a good place to learn about startups in the DC
area.

I've recently started a software company with a friend from Mason, but
unfortunately we can't afford to hire.

Hit me up if you want to grab coffee/beer (contact info in profile). Good luck
and welcome to DC!

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Perceval
When I was in college, I interned for a DARPA spinoff out in Reston, VA. I
assume you're not looking solely for startups physically in DC. If you are,
I'm not sure you're going to find much. Most of the tech community is out in
Northern Virginia, in and around Reston. Look there.

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icey
DC is a tough town for startups. You may be able to dig through In-Q-Tel's
investment list for some options though:

[http://www.iqt.org/technology-portfolio/index-
alphabetical.h...](http://www.iqt.org/technology-portfolio/index-
alphabetical.html)

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djb_hackernews
Wow. I'd just like to thank everyone that replied to my inquiry. Lots of great
ideas and great resources.

OT: This post would make a good argument for links/comments being a good
metric to test for submission worth.

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jaddison
I can't help you re: your DC startup search, but I'll vote for you because of
your OT comment. Well done. ;)

