Here’s what to know for DC Startup Week’s inaugural Web3 and Business track

Have you ever wondered how crypto, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), the Metaverse, blockchain — Web3 in general — fit into your current business model? Want to find opportunities to build a new startup leveraging some of these revolutionary technologies?

Starting today, DC Startup Week is doing something unique.

We are excited to present the inaugural Web3 and Business track to our programming for local founders and startups. These sessions’ attendees will start to understand the foundations of what is occurring in this massive industry, as well as the opportunities entrepreneurs have to adopt early strategies that are foundationally changing the way we do business.

If you are crypto-business curious, ideating or building in the space, you will not only gain foundational knowledge on the different aspects of Web3, but also hear from and network with some of the top leaders, investors and founders in the region.

The track features 25+ sessions throughout DC Startup Week that will tackle important questions like:

• How are founders bridging from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0.?
• How are NFTs changing the world for creatives, founders, nonprofits and others?
• What are DeFi protocols and how they are created?
• How do you hyperscale a Web3 business while regulations and policies are still being built?
• What are investors looking for with Web3 companies?
• What steps is DC taking to move into the metaverse?
• How are equity and community at the heart of Web3?

We have incredible speakers and founders from the DMV like Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer and head of global policy for Circle; Executive Director Kristin Smith of The Blockchain Association; CEO Eowyn Chen of Trust Wallet; Maggie Hsu, partner and head of the go-to-market strategy for crypto at  a16z; Alex Chopan, head of product for POAP; Christopher Rodriquez and Alejandra Iriarte, cofounders of Feline Fiendz NFT; Shekinah Apedo, general counsel of DeadFellaz and founder of LEX M3TAVRSE; Flex Chapman, founder of Krauss House DAO; Shailee Adinolfi, director of Consensys; Jasmine Maietta, founder of round21; CMO Mike Chan of Panther Protocol; CEO Ikechi Nwabuisi of Tribl Inc.; Nikhilesh De, managing editor, global policy and regulation for CoinDesk; Director Ernest Chrappah of the District Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs; Bryce Johnson, founder of Loot Bolt; and more experts sharing their strategies and lessons.

For those unfamiliar with DC Startup Week…

Put simply, it’s the largest must-attend event for entrepreneurs and startups in the DC metropolitan area —- especially for early-to-growth-stage founders. Taking place between Sept. 12 and 16, it’s free to all attendees who register on our website. This is our seventh annual event and a true labor of love, made for founders by founders. It’s five full days of activation around the city with over 180 sessions of content including founder talks, workshops, expert sessions and happy hours and networking in core topic tracks. Some of the sessions will also be livestreamed and virtual.

We were honored to have so many sponsors, speakers and partners whose support allows us to share this epic community event for free. A major thank you goes to NEXT — powered by Shulman Rogers, Silicon Valley Bank, ZenDesk, Think Nimble, Velocity Growth, Web3DC, BLKWeb3, Consensys, CoinDesk and others. We look forward to providing our local ecosystems with foundational and innovative programming to build together for years to come.

On behalf of the three co-organizers — Rachel Koretsky, Cory Lawrence and myself — I can honestly tell you we brought it this year. You do not want to miss out on this must-attend event for entrepreneurs and startups. We look forward to seeing you there!