Live Q&As

It really depends on how much you are looking for and the stage of your company.  Quite truthfully, it is very hard to find outside funding if you haven't already started building a product.   The D.C. area does have the benefit of being so close to federal grant funders like the NSF and NIH.  The process can be long, but worth it for non-dilutive funding.  You hear a lot of stories about entrepreneurs maxing out credit cards to manufacture their product samples.  Some companies have had recent success using crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter for launching new products.  Look for creative ways to get products built, look for people to join you who might have specific skills sets to trade for equity, find early customers who might understand your pain point and fund some development.  The bottom line..you have to be entrepreneurial about being an entrepreneur.  

Great question -- we get a lot of questions about starting businesses -- but there is a lot of innovation that happens within large corporations.  Like launching a new company, starting something new requires a lot of selling.  You need to be able to pitch your idea to the right people, to build coalitions, identify your target customers and their pain points.  You also need to be able to identify resources needed within the organization and a clear roadmap to get a minimal viable product. Be clear on the "what's in it for us" - does it help the company beat out a competitor, get to market faster or produce cheaper?  Just like a startup, you need to be tenacious and often not accept "no" for an answer. 

If you talk to employees at many startups they will likely tell you that their bosses are impossible! The mind of the entrepreneur is always on overdrive - thinking of new ideas and new directions.  The most successful entrepreneurs learn to balance between being focused while also agile.  They understand that employees can't always read their minds and that they have to slooowwww down at times and make sure they communicate the path forward.  You need to build an organization and culture where the team feels part of your dream and your vision rather than just worker bees. 

I'm sure most people won't agree with me, BUT sequester could end up being one of the best things to happen to this region.  I don't mean that we should be cheering for furloughs, but there is a federal spending bubble that is going to pop. Our region has been insulated from impact of the great recession. Rather than starting high growth technology  businesses, our top talent is working for government consultancies.   There is now a higher risk to working in/for the federal government, so the tradeoff to start a business has changed.  If you are sitting at your desk right now, unsure of what lies ahead, see a market need that matches your skill set, start thinking about starting something of your own! There are a lot of successful serial entrepreneurs in this area willing to help. 

Startup has typically referred to a technology company in a high growth field.  We rarely hear the phrase "I have a startup nail salon" or "startup dry cleaner." Those companies are typically referred to as small businesses (rightly or wrongly so -- I'd love a startup nail salon that can figure out how to get me in and out in ten minutes - huge market and I'd pay a premium!)   The difference is that the startup world is usually focused on attacking large, billion dollar markets, backing from venture capital and a potential for acquisition or IPO.  Both are just as hard to get going and are risky, just usually different paths to funding and growing those companies. 

Hmmm...I actually think the policy has nothing to do with work/life balance but on fostering corporate culture.  Just like companies have different products, they also have different corporate culture.  I need to ask some of our faculty here at University of Maryland for the exact research, but anecdotally I agree that innovation happens when people are in the same room.  I see it with my team, with the startups we work with on a daily basis, the magic often happens when people are sitting in a room together.  NOT all the time and not all magic -- but if you are Yahoo and you need to compete against Google, Microsoft, etc. you need to do everything you can to foster a culture of innovation and creativity or you won't survive.  There are other ways to offer flexibility -- on site day care, flexible work hours, etc.  We can't expect every company to have the same definition of work/life balance. 

Ooohh yes.  Just because you start a company with your best friend, doesn't mean you don't need a contract. You need to sort out equity/compensation in advance of performing any work duties.  If you wait until later you usually are having a discussion when things start to take a turn for the worse.  

I'm just going to answer this with one word - YES. These companies have shown the customer acquisition and sales costs are very high and unsustainable.  Hyperlocal is hard. Merchants haven't seen the kind of customer loyalty they were promised. People are tired of daily deal emails and can't get through the noise.  Plus there are already a few companies out there targeting that space.  

Yes, we just got back after going for the first time.  I will say that if you are out there and you have an idea about how to solve the problem of device power at conferences -- get yourself down to SXSW. I have never seen that many people fighting for iPhone chargers.  On that note -- the best takeaway is that the D.C. tech community is strong! Between the local startups that participated, Mayor Gray attending and speaking, Senator Warner working with Startup America, Springboard supporting women entrepreneurs, the list goes on.