Photo Credit: American Inno
The current space was once the Stanley Motor Company factory building. (Photo courtesy of Paytronix)
50 on Fire will bring together D.C.'s best and brightest to recognize the disruptors, luminaries and visionaries that are pushing our city forward. Buy your tickets now and join us on Dec. 10 at Howard Theatre for the celebration and winners reveal.
On December 10, DC Inno will host 50 on Fire. A flagship event at the Howard Theatre to celebrate the innovation, companies and key figures behind the area's quickly maturing business scene. Behind the local brands, startups and firms that garner headlines you'll find a small albeit supremely influential cohort of venture capital firms, angel investors and fund of funds.
"2015 has proven that this group is ready to make big moves"
Without the support, guidance and ultimately, the resources offered by these local investors, organizations and law firms the D.C. area's tech ecosystem wouldn't be what it is today. 2015 has proven that this group is ready to make big moves, and for any regional startup looking to raise funds this list is also comprised of names to know.
Here are the 50 on Fire finalists for this year's investment category:
- Part venture capital firm and part growth equity fund of funds, Accolade Partners has invested in numerous big name VCs like Accel, Amplify Partners and Andreessen Horowitz that have in turn made big investments in the D.C. area. Located in downtown D.C., the firm invested in TigerText earlier this year, a secure digital messaging software company. At the moment, they're currently in the process of raising a new $200 million fund, according to documents filed with the SEC.
- Arlington Capital Partners is located in Chevy Chase, Md. The firm is focused on making a range of investments into industries that are adjacent to the federal space. This includes businesses that build innovative aerospace and defense, government services and technology, healthcare services and software products. Arlington Cap has made numerous investments in high growth potential tech contractors throughout Virginia, like cloud infrastructure and software maker Apogen Technologies (acquired by Qinetiq North America), business management software developer MicroPact and big data cybersecurity company Novetta.
- Miller is the co-founder of Fundrise, a real estate crowdfunding investment platform developer that is headquartered in NW D.C. Currently a managing partner at WestMill Capital and US Nordic Ventures' principal, he is an experienced investor with a vision for next generation crowdfunding services. Prior to Fundrise, Miller co-founded Popularise, a service that crowdfunds real estate development projects for specific communities.
- The Case Foundation, founded by Steve Case and wife Jean Case, is traditionally known as the internet mogul's philanthropic organization. What you may not know, however, is that the same organization also makes several "impact investments" per year via different programs and initiatives into social good companies. These are companies with stable business plans that boast a mission to improve social and/or humanitarian issues. In 2015, the foundation partnered with Forbes magazine to throw a massive social good startup competition, which in turn offered funding packages as prizes.
- Grayson is a partner at New Enterprise Associates in D.C., where she specializes in making early stage investments in promising technology companies. Many of these companies have originated regionally. She is on the board of directors for OnShape Technologies, APX Labs, FiftyThree, Curalate, Pocket and Framebridge, among others. APX Labs and Framebridge have both had active years, having garnered further investment by NEA. Prior to NEA, Grayson worked as an investor at North Bridge Venture Partners in Boston.
Jen O'Daniel, Virginia Tech Investors Network
- O'Daniel, a Virginia Tech alum, is an investment director with CIT GAP Funds, the venture arm of state-funded Center for Innovative Technology (CIT). CIT has made a long list of early stage investments in recognizable D.C. tech companies, like event software company Nvite and promising cybersecurity startup ThreatQuotient. A quick review of the firm's investments will show a consistent focus on companies that have since matured and become stable. She is also a member of NextGen Angels, an angel investor club founded locally, and helped start the VT Investor Network.
Jim Hunt, Blu Venture Investors
- Hunt has had an exciting year. The angel investor firm he founded, Blu Venture Investor, has made numerous local deals, including follow up investments in Avizia, ID.me and ThreatQuotient. The firm focuses on early-stage tech companies in the Mid-Atlantic region, with a typically invest range between $500K and $1M per round. In addition, DC Inno has confirmed that Hunt's latest venture, Lavrock ventures, is raising a substantial fund to investment in more companies. Lavrock will be a VC fund focused on post-seed and Series A investments in B2B software, cybersecurity and gov-tech.
- A regional leader in the seed and early stage investment game, the Maryland Venture Fund (MVF) is a state-supported firm under TEDCO that makes deals with Maryland-based companies to foster the regions business scene. Earlier this year, MVF invested $600K into quickly growing cloud data cybersecurity startup, Luminal. The firm's largest exit came via Visual Networks in 1999, when the network and application management solutions brand was acquired by Fluke Networks for about $75 million.
- One of the best kept secrets in D.C., Middleland Capital is the personal equity investment firm, a family office, of Columbia Capital co-founder David Mixer. Middeland Capital has made a long list of local consumer tech startup investments, most notably in Contactually, Speek (acquired by Jive Communications), Avizia, FiscalNote and SocialTables. Their 2015 has been especially notable, however, as multiple portfolio companies have seen other investment activity. Middleland Capital specializes in making a wide range of investments into two distinct groupings. The first being: e-commerce, data analytics, software services, health-tech and communications startups. While the second bubble is all about food-tech, specifically technology companies that influence agricultural production "yield."
- Global law firm Cooley LLP partner Michael Lincoln heads up the venture capital, mergers and acquisitions practice groups. He is also responsible for "firmwide lateral recruiting and strategic growth efforts at Cooley." Lincoln co-founded Cooley's Reston, Va.-based office in 1999. Earlier this year, the Washingtonian named him a top dealmaker in its Tech Titans list for the fourth consecutive year. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar.
- Militello Capital is a venture capital and real estate fund that dips into the local tech scene for early stage investments every so often. Their portfolio, however, while small is pretty strong, as it includes Brazen, ExecOnline, Onevest, Social Tables, Hinge and Distil Networks. The firm is located in Lansdowne, Virginia.
- A SaaS-centric business news and analysis publication with a heavy tech component, Motley Fool provides insight and analysis about stocks. The company continues to grow in both affluence and staff size.
- With offices now in Austin, NYC, Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C., the localized angel investor member club is rapidly expanding and taking on new locations. The organization defines itself as an "early-stage venture partner for exceptional entrepreneurs." Acting as a network, NextGen can either directly fund a company or a couple of its members can individually get involved.
Patrick Hendy, Columbia Capital
- Hendy originally joined Columbia Capital in 2002. He previously served on the boards of multiple companies that successfully exited for investors, including Virtustream (acquired by EMC), mindSHIFT (acquired by Best Buy) and New Global Telecom (acquired by Comcast). Hendy focuses on investments being made into data Center and enterprise IT service software companies.
- Herndon, Va.-based Razors Edge Ventures is made up of former and current national security executives and entrepreneurs. The firm invests in private technology companies that work with the defense and intelligence communities. This includes, but is not limited to, data storage, satellite, drone services software and IT service companies. The firm made 3 new investments this year: $21M into Spaceflight Industries, $11.6M into 908 Devices and CounterTack raised $15M.
- Revolution is a D.C.-based venture capital firm that was founded by former AOL chairman Steve Case and D.C. sports mogul Ted Leonsis. The firm may be the most famous venture capital brand from the District. Divided into multiple divisions that respectively focus on different industries and growth stage companies, Revolution is a force in the local tech scene. The later stage investment fund, Revolution Growth, is in the midst of raising another substantial fund.
- Glass, the founder and CEO of GBS Health, is an active angel investor. He previously co-founded university education software company Higher One (ONE) and District-based B2B software startup accelerator Acceleprise.VC. He has invested in more than 40 private companies and numerous venture funds. These investments include General Assembly, ZoomData and ExecOnline.
SWaN & Legend Venture Partners
- Swan & Legend is currently in the process of raising upwards of $150 million for its third fund. Founded in 2012 and led by Fred Schaufeld, Clifford White and Anthony Nader, the firm is a major investor in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Ted Leonsis-run group that owns the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals. They are also investors in McLean-based CustomInk, Jose Andres’ Think Food Group, fast-growing supply logistics startup Optoro, BigTeams, Anonymous Content, KIND, La Lumiere, SocialRadar, Tango Card and Quad Learning.
