Techies Taking Root in DC

Much like the boom in the mid-’90s when tech companies like AOL, Network Solutions (News - Alert), Nextel, MCI and Uunet said nay to The Valley and chose the Washington, D.C. area as their headquarters, a second wave of tech startups are calling D.C. home for their new business endeavors. This time they are gaining a lot of support not only from novel networking functions, but from the new mayor of D. C. himself. and

 Recognizing the needs of the new wave of tech companies establishing roots in D.C., incoming D.C. Mayor Vince Gray has set up the Technology Business Innovation Taskforce, its major goals being to attract and retain technology companies from high-growth industries such as: alternative energy; health care; cyber security; Internet/software/social media; optics; mobile; and Gov 2.0 service providers.

Two years ago, when Tech Cocktail, a startup that helps people involved with technology connect at events, held its gathering in D.C., co-founder Frank Gruber described D.C. as “a wellspring of tech startups.” The nine startups that made presentations to the attending tech enthusiasts at that August 27, 2009 event included: AddyMate, CoastToDrive; CYNCZ; Grasshopr; Keen Guides; Legal River; Seizure Tracker; tap metrics; and thankfulfor.

Today the D.C. area is brimming with many more tech startups. Keeping track of them is proudlymadeindc.com. Started last December by Zvi Band and Michael Mayemick to demonstrate that the beltway region, which includes Washington, Northern Virginia and Maryland, is more than lawyers, lobbyists and lawmaker, the site offers a snapshot of the growing technology scene.

Commenting on the growing tech startup sector that inspired the creation of their site, Mayemick said people kept telling them that they were unaware of the growth the area was experiencing. “We kept having the conversation with people who would say, ‘I didn’t know there were so many start-ups in D.C.’”

The New York Times reported that among the 118 companies featured on the site, up from 40 in December, are HotPads, a map-based real estate search engine, HelloWallet, an independent personal finance Web site, and SB Nation, an online network of sports communities, in addition to the big players like LivingSocial, the shopping site that is projected to have revenue of $500 million this year; Clearspring (News - Alert), the Web content-sharing platform; and Opower, an energy efficiency software company that raised $50 million in third-round financing. “Many of these companies didn’t exist three or four years ago,” Band said.

The list is likely to keep growing as there is a plethora of networking events for tech-minded “D.C.ites” to keep their creative and entrepreneurial juices flowing. Among the popular events, in addition to Tech Cocktail, are Twin Tech, Ignite DC, where one can expect to meet other entrepreneurs, and Bootstrap Maryland and HacDC.

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