The DC Tech sector is growing rapidly as the region’s rich technology assets continue to produce new startups. The technology ecosystem in the District is more of a community, where you can connect with like-minded people no matter where you are in the startup lifecycle. Below are some of the city’s resources.
Digital DC - http://digitaldc.co/
Digital DC is a marketing and branding campaign and economic development initiative to promote Washington, DC as the leading community in the innovation and high-tech economy. As one of the fastest-growing cities in the world for technology companies and venture capital investment, Digital DC represents and supports the vibrant, dedicated, and unique community of local and international tech and innovation-based businesses that are thriving in the District. The Digital DC initiative will highlight the growing number of District-based tech companies, provide the best resources to cultivate digital companies relocating and developing in the District, and supply job and training opportunities.
Tech Meetups
There are a large number of technology focused meet ups in the District that cover a wide range of topics from learning about the Lean Start Up method for starting a business to connecting with people that have a background geospatial information systems. The largest tech meet up in the city is the DC Tech Meetup at http://www.meetup.com/DC-Tech-Meetup/.
The best way to explore the meetups is to visit http://www.meetup.com/ and search for meetups that interest you nearby.
Incubators
Incubators and shared workspaces provide start-up firms and small businesses with an entrepreneurial environment, professional network, savvy mentors and critical resources to develop and grow successful businesses. They serve as a forum for entrepreneurial development, where new companies co-habitated in a physical space or join a virtual network to exchange ideas, access key business support services and test-drive their ideas. Business incubation has been adapted to meet a variety of needs, from fostering commercialization of technologies to increasing employment in economically disadvantaged communities. Please find a list of incubator resources below.
1776
1133 15th Street
12th Floor
Downtown
http://1776dc.com/
Affinity Lab
920 U Street
U Street Corridor
http://affinitylab.com
Canvas Co/work
1203 19th St. NW
3rd Floor
Near Dupont Circle
http://canvas.co/work
Punchrock
1800 Wyoming Ave NW
Adams Morgan
http://punchrockdc.com
UberOffices
1200 18th Street NW
Suite 700
Dupont Circle
http://uberoffices.com/
The Hive DC
2027 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE
& The Hive 2.0
1231-B Good Hope Rd. SE
Anacostia
http://www.thedchive.com/
WorkDistrict
2217 14th Street NW
U Street Corridor
http://workdistrict.com
Flashpoint
916 G Street, NW
Metro Center
http://www.culturaldc.org/
Another great place that you can work on your business is your local library. Many have meeting rooms and have wifi that you can use for free. Here is a list of all the libraries.
Maker Spaces
A makerspace (also referred to as a hacklab or hackspace) is a community-operated workspace where people with common interests, often in computers, technology, science, digital art or electronic art, can meet, socialize and/or collaborate. DC has two spaces dedicated to tinkering and exploring gadgets. These spaces offer a place to learn about and work on a variety of projects including microcontrollers and 3D printing.
- Fab Lab DC - http://www.fablabdc.org/
- HacDC - http://www.hacdc.org/
DC Tech Hackpad
The DC Tech Hackpad was created to help you acclimate yourself to the DC Tech ecosystem as quickly as possible. Please find the hackpad here: https://hackpad.com/How-to-Hack-the-DC-Tech-Ecosystem-EYfL7X7gepL
Fosterly
Fosterly is a community of entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs, who span the professional spectrum from business to photography to web-development and more, have a desire to efficiently locate relevant information and connect with others in their community. Fosterly streamlines and facilitates this process. Find more information here: http://www.fosterly.com/
Know another resource we should highlight? Get in touch at [email protected]