Union House is looking to give entrepreneurs fundraising in DC a place to crash

Eliot Pence has some extra space in his Capitol Hill home, and he’s offering it up for bootstrapping entrepreneurs who come from other countries to D.C. to network and raise money.

Union House is soft-launching this summer, with a pair of rooms available for short-term stays up to two months.

Over the first months of 2018, Pence bought and renovated the home, which is located a couple blocks from Union Station. Pence, who leads the Africa practice at corporate advisory firm McClarty Associates and previously founded startup Upstream Analytics and entrepreneurship-focused PR outfit Insider wanted to put the two spare rooms to use toward his passion of helping entrepreneurs.

He’ll cover room and board, as well as provide access to common areas and outdoor spaces where lunches or receptions could be held. Pence also has access to coworking at nearby Spaces.

It’s a way to help entrepreneurs cut down on the time spent worrying about logistics, and he’s also looking to help make connections. Pence travels a lot, but is intrigued by creating a community of founders.

The idea was inspired by seeing African entrepreneurs who could benefit from having a set home base, but Pence said he’s not limiting it to entrepreneurs from a specific country.

An application is available on the Union House website. Still in soft launch mode, Pence said he would like to host 5-10 people over the next six months.