In the DMV, the future of the local startup ecosystem is in the (pretty dang capable) hands of the area’s collegiate founders.
Seven local students competed Friday in the first annual DC University Startup Showdown at DC Startup Week (DCSW). Two founders were named finalists and competed for a $1,500 grand prize, sponsored by DC’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO).
The seven finalists were:
- Marie Brodsky, University of Maryland, WISE Cities
- Rory Brogan, Georgetown University, Torev Motors
- Lingchen Kong, George Washington University, Ellexco
- Andrew LaBerge, American University, REAL Action
- AriAnna Redmond, Bowie State University, Tony’s Kitchen and Bakery
- Arielle Rodgers Manley, Morgan State University, Bee and Buttafly
- Janae Walker, Howard University, Daatly
WISE Cities was named the winner, and Tony’s Kitchen was named runner-up.
WISE Cities works to connect older adults with resources to combat loneliness and isolation among seniors. On the portal, founder and CEO Brodsky said, seniors could find a nearby nature hike, track down public transportation to get there, and get connected to a voucher that could pay for admission to the park.
So far, WISE Cities has raised $60,000 through various awards, including an investment from the City of Fairfax, Virginia, which paid the team for the portal’s development, according to the founder.
“It’s very hard for older adults to find local opportunities through existing tools,” Brodsky said. “From the perspective of local organizations, this costs a lot of money. Each year, billions of dollars are lost because of this gap.”
Kevin Morgan, founding member of DC Tech and Venture Coalition and board member of DCSW, said he wanted to create this event to reach the next generation of founders. This, he hopes, will help continue the growth of the local ecosystem and keep talent in the area.
“When you get somebody with motivation to get things done, what happens in the DC general ecosystem is we forget that we have to prepare for the future,” Morgan told Technical.ly. “We’ve got to have this succession of who’s next in line to take over the leadership of the economy.”
The student pitch competition’s judges were Hailey Fleming Patel; Stephen Miller, deputy CTO of OCTO; Jarron Smith of Zeal Capital; and Steven Simoni of DoorDash.
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!