WeWork Gives $1.5M to Local Entrepreneurs and Doubles Down on D.C.

At WeWork's first annual Creator Awards Tuesday, the company's mission was front and center: "to create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living." Dozens of entrepreneurs pitched their passion projects—ranging from nonprofits providing syndicated media coverage of developing countries to coffee companies focused on job creation for those who were formerly incarcerated.

Some walked away with a much as $360,000 in grant money. Others walked away with a free one-year membership to WeWork. In total, WeWork awarded more than $1.5 million to 25 entrepreneurs at its first-ever regional Creator Awards in Washington, D.C.

WeWork General Manager for Eastern U.S. and Canada Dave McLaughlin said the company is always working to support the innovation economies in their cities—especially in the District, which is why they picked the nation's capital as the first stop for its regional awards.

"We have been in D.C. for two-and-a-half years now, so we have a really good sense of how amazing the community is here. Other people might not know that, but we are in touch with that," McLaughlin said. "We really like the idea of furthering the narrative that innovation and impact is not just coming from Silicon Valley. It's happening from locations around the country."

We really like the idea of furthering the narrative that innovation and impact is not just coming from Silicon Valley.

In D.C., WeWork sees potential in the wide range of creators. That's why you'll see locations at the Wonder Bread Factory and K Street and near the White House. Each location ends up catering to a different set of local creators. "One of the big things that we see in the D.C. community is the incredible breadth, ranging from nonprofits, for-profits, really tech-heavy to things that are more services businesses," McLaughlin said. "It's the full range and that's something that is a defining characteristic of the D.C. community."

That breath is propelling WeWork's growth in D.C. In July, the company is opening a new space at The Apollo off H Street NE. In 2016, it jumped from three D.C. locations to eight. "Now, we have buildings that cover a lot of different parts of town," McLaughlin said. "Having more buildings and different parts of town makes it easier to be a part of [the creator community]." Investing in the D.C. community has always been a part of WeWork's plans.

On Tuesday, with a full party in the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in its midst, WeWork presented the first of its Creator Awards, which were split into the "Incubate," "Launch" and "Scale" categories.

Here's who won WeWork's first regional Creator Awards in D.C.: 

Scale Award winners: "Creators who have launched, learned and have a solid approach and are ready for the next level."

Launch Award winners: "Awarding creators who have introduced their ideas to the world but are still learning to make it real." 

Incubate Award winners: ("Celebrating creators with great ideas, or specific projects that need funding, but need some help introducing it to the world." Each winner was granted $36,000)

Images courtesy of WeWork