We are thrilled to introduce you to DC Inno’s 2018 50 on Fire.
Today, we’re officially announcing the 50 people and companies that are truly heating up the DMV’s ecosystem. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be spotlighting a number of these finalists on our site and in our newsletter, the Beat.
We invite you and your team, friends, family – and anyone that wants to network with the D.C. area's most inspiring entrepreneurs, executives, startups and businesses – to join us Nov. 15 at the National Union Building to celebrate the people, companies and ideas that continue to cement the District as the global hub of and for innovation. Tickets are on sale here.
We're announcing the final 50 on Fire, a collection of the people, companies and organizations that are heating up D.C.’s innovation economy across six categories.
Of course, it wouldn’t be 50 on Fire without a big reveal. At this year’s event, we’ll still have an action-packed video highlighting each of the 50, but we’ll also be unveiling the Inno Blazers, the top people and/or companies that a panel of local judges have selected. Each "Inno Blazer" will, obviously, receive the esteemed red blazer jacket.
Now, on to the most important question – What makes a company or individual on fire? We’re looking at the people, companies and organizations that have had a banner year in the District's innovation economy – whether that’s represented by a new funding round, a recent product launch, a milestone, a big hire, remarkable growth, a breakthrough, a successful pivot – you name it. In 2018, we’ll write several hundred stories and over 250 newsletters about local innovation. We know who’s on fire.
Winners were sourced by both internal and external nominations and selected by the DC Inno editorial team. Now, let’s get to the list.
Community & Investment
Brian Park, SparkLabs Cyber+Blockchain
Brian Park has locally launched SparkLabs Cyber+Blockchain, formerly Fishbowl Labs, to bring a global accelerator's first U.S. program to D.C. He has recruited Ray Ozzie (Lotus Notes creator), Eric Ly (LinkedIn co-founder), Micheal Crow (In-Q-Tel chairman), Charlie Lee (creator of Litecoin) for the accelerator. Park also is the creator of the Startup Grind DC community organization.
Byron Gaskin, CLYPR
Byron Gaskin, only in D.C. for a few months, is currently one of six Emerging Leader in Data Science Fellows at the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, a newly created, highly selective fellowship. In September, Gaskin led a team of data scientists at the 2018 NIH Research Festival Hackathon where they used AI to develop a web app to help doctors make predictions for tuberculosis patients. He's also the co-founder of CLYPR, a Miami-based barber-focused tech platform that he plans to bring to the DMV.
Dominic Bonaduce, Alley
Dominic Bonaduce launched coworking space Alley Powered by Verizon in D.C. and filled it without any digital marketing – word of mouth only. He's helping expand the Alley platform to the West Coast using his D.C. strategy and opening two more locations in California.
Jake Fingert, Camber Creek
Jake Fingert is a general partner at Camber Creek and former policy advisor at the National Economic Council and General Services Administration Administrator. In January, he led the firm's $30 million capital raise for its second fund. Earlier this year Fingert and Camber Creek led a round of $7 million in Series A funding for Measurabl, a software platform for sustainability data management. He is on the Advisory Board of Smart City Works in D.C. and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Jinnyn Jacob, Booz Allen Hamilton
Jinnyn leads partnerships for Booz Allen’s Innovation Center — a place where talent, clients, and the greater innovation community come together to co-create solutions to global challenges. Additionally, she manages a growing network of Booz Allen innovation spaces across the country including a cyber-focused Innovation Hub in Central Maryland. She is an active fixture in the D.C. startup entrepreneurial ecosystem and a champion for inclusive innovation.
Karima Williams, ConsenSys
Soon after Karima Williams started attending her first blockchain meetup, DC Blockchain Users Group, she was running the group and grew it to be the biggest blockchain meetup in the region. She also leads three other blockchain-related meetups, which address various communities such as women in blockchain, learning about Ethereum, and people new to blockchain who need a safe place to learn. Since March, she's hosted, planned and coordinated 22 free events in D.C. In May, Williams was hired by blockchain giant ConsenSys to lead its community-building strategy in D.C.
Lola Han, CultivatePeople
Lola Han returned from San Francisco to the D.C. area in early 2017 to help tech startups attract and retain their top talent. Her company, CultivatePeople, has boosted revenue 300 percent over last year and forged partnerships with several tech startups and emerging companies in D.C., NYC and California. Han's clients include Spotify, InVision, Giphy, and VIPKID, among others.
Matt Fellowes, United Income
Matt Fellowes is the founder and CEO of United Income, which since its launch in September 2017 has raised over $15.8 million – including a $10 million Series A round in August this year – and grown to 35 employees. It currently has $420 million in assets under management. Prior to founding United Income, Fellowes was the chief innovation officer at Morningstar and the founder of D.C.-based HelloWallet. He was selected by the Huffington Post as a Top 100 Game Changer and by Washingtonian as a Tech Titan.
Education & Nonprofit
Byte Back is making a big name for itself as it provides free tech training from the ground up. In 2018, the organization led its first panel at SXSW, won a Global Creator Award from WeWork at the Madison Square Garden Theatre, and expanded training outside of D.C. for the first time in its 21-year history. Executive Director Elizabeth Lindsey also joined the Federal Communications Commission's Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment. Sixty Byte Back graduates were hired last year and started making $24,000 more per year than before their training.
In 2018, Echo360 launched new partnerships and features to make post-secondary learning more accessible and empower instructors to use video technology. Through a partnership with Amazon Web Services launched in 2018, Echo360 integrated AWS' transcription feature into its video platform. The company also released its universal capture tool that lets users record the screen of their device. It also successfully raised a new round of funding this year.
In 2018, Edlinguist has formed several partnerships that benefit learners along all points on the educational spectrum. In July, it became a vendor for the University of Pennsylvania providing research and writing services. In August, in partnership with Academic Ladder Inc., Edlinguist launched a group coaching program for graduate students.
GiveCampus, a digital fundraising platform for nonprofit educational institutions, signed its 500th school this summer and is on pace to facilitate more than $100 million in charitable giving to more than 600 schools by the end of the year. The company doubled the size of its D.C.-based team to 24 and struck a partnership with Apple. GiveCampus is profitable and on track to double its 2017 revenue while increasing the number of schools using its products by 60 percent. Since the start of the year, an average of four new schools have signed up for a GiveCampus subscription every week.
Mariam Adil, GRID
GRID, Gaming Revolution for Inspiring Development, is a social initiative founded by Mariam Adil aiming to develop low-cost mobile games that inspire positive behavior change. In 2018, its game MoHiM is expanding its global reach in East Africa and Pakistan, including a partnership with UNICEF. Adil and GRID are also developing games in collaboration with George Mason and Georgetown universities.
Vemo Education works with colleges, universities, and educational providers to knock down financial barriers to high quality educational opportunities by creating pay-as-you-succeed, income-based tuition plans that align price and student success. In 2018, it has signed on institutions like Norwich University, been featured in The Economist and raised $7.4 million in funding.
Government & Advocacy
Accenture Federal Digital Studio
In two years, the Studio has introduced leading practices in design and innovation to more than 150 agency leaders across 22 federal government agencies. It has grown beyond the 2016 founding group of 10 designers to 72 full-time employees today. The Studio also quickly outgrew its original space in D.C. and expanded in February 2018.
BSA | The Software Alliance, an advocate for the global software industry, recently increased its global membership by 33 percent with the additions of several companies including Akamai, Box, Cadence, Informatica, Okta, PTC and Slack. BSA launched its workforce agenda in May, highlighting five areas where the government and industry can work together to develop the workforce of the future.
This summer, the Chamber of Digital Commerce turned 4 as the world's largest blockchain trade association, representing more than 200 companies in the digital asset and blockchain industry. In the past year, it has launched a foundation to promote and educate future leaders, held its first Certified Trade Mission to the UAE, and added major innovators to its executive committee including DocuSign, Discover Financial Services, KPMG, R3 and Salt Lending.
In the past year, Octo Consulting Group has successfully continued its emergence from the small business market to add a handful of new federal customers. Among them are the Food and Drug Administration, where it was awarded a $300 million blanket purchase agreement, and the U.S. Air Force, for which it was awarded a $17 million program. This year it has landed 28 new contracts with 12 agencies, hired 166 new employees and increased revenue by $20 million.
In 2018, Phone2Action found plenty of ways to use its civic tech platform. It created a GOTV technology platform to power advocacy efforts for this year's midterms and partnered with the Women's March, companies like Ben & Jerry's and celebrities like Samantha Bee and Pearl Jam to make advocacy accessible to millions. The company also passed the 25 million advocate conversion mark – with advocates in every state.
Quorum remains a 100 percent bootstrapped company, and its software is now used by Fortune 500 companies including Coca-Cola, Walmart, and Toyota, national advocacy groups and several trade associations. In 2018, it built a comprehensive mobile application that furthers its mission to build software to fit the needs of public affairs professionals. Quorum has grown its platform to over 2,500 users around the world, doubled the size of its team from 30 to 65 employees and quintupled its office space since its recent founding.
Wendy Henry, Deloitte
Wendy Henry leads Deloitte's Government & Public Services blockchain practice and has positioned it as an early thought leader in blockchain. She has built and led a community of 130-plus practitioners spanning levels from analyst to principal. Henry is delivering some of the first proof of concepts and production pilots for public sector clients, using blockchain technology to address key problems for enterprise clients.
Lifestyle
In 2018, &pizza continued to accelerate growth in East Coast markets including expansion to Boston and Miami. In addition to opening nine shops in a year, the chain introduced multiple new retail formats and initiatives, allowing it to experiment in new markets and scale competitively.
Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters
Commonwealth Joe is a local coffee roaster, retailer, and cold brewer that is the leading provider of nitro cold brew on tap to offices in the DMV. CWJ launched its office coffee service in 2016 with just a few customers and has since grown exponentially in the DMV area and has expanded to New York City, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. In the last year, the company has grown its roster of customers nearly 200 percent.
Goodfynd launched in January 2018 primarily supporting the DMV area. Since then the app has accumulated 400 users and over 100 food truck owners and has been a resource for customers looking for hard-to-find local eats. In August, Goodfynd launched apps for both operating systems while winning an IATA incubator program which will facilitate bringing its technology into airports.
Founded in D.C., LifeCents is a financial health and wellness app that in 2018 raised a $3.8 million Series B round of funding, doubled its workforce, redesigned and re-launched its premier product and acquired several noteworthy clients and partnerships – including DC Goverment. It's moving to a larger space in Rosslyn in January.
Margaret Gerety, Squash On Fire
As executive director of Squash On Fire, Margaret Gerety oversees operations and programming, including hosting the collegiate individual national championships in the facility's first year of operation. Squash On Fire is the country's first pay-as-you-go squash facility, and its programs are designed by award-winning coaches.
Mason Dixie Biscuit Co. now has its CPG products in more than 2,200 stores across the country, including Giant, Safeway, Kroger, Publix and Whole Foods. The woman-owned company is opening its newest location in Shaw this year, cementing its hot year in both the CPG and restaurant spaces.
Philippe Lanier, EastBanc
Philippe Lanier and EastBanc have reimagined retail in the historic Georgetown shopping district with brands including Aritzia, Reformation and Outdoor Voices. EastBanc introduced a "showroom model" to the Georgetown retail landscape and brought several brands to the D.C. market, including Illesteva, Aurate, Bonobos, Rent The Runway and Brilliant Earth.
With $20,000 in sales in December 2016, $180,000 in 2017, and now approaching nearly $2 million in sales in 2018, remodelmate is growing like wildfire. The company currently has $420,000 in commitments for its seed round, which began in March 2018, and now has more than a third of that raise already closed.
TwentyTables launched in 2018 and grew to almost 100 D.C. restaurant partners already, with 300 $6 lunch options available daily and with thousands of meals donated to local local charities. It was the runner-up for DC Tech Madness after just launching, and has more than 2,000 registered customers.
Media, Marketing & PR
In less than two years, Axios has established itself as a rising star in the media industry that has gained a massive audience for news and analysis delivered across a variety of digital platforms. This year the company is on track to grow to over 150 people and double revenue from 2017.
Greg Kihlstrom, Yes&
Marketing entrepreneur Greg Kihlstrom released his second book, "The Agile Brand," this summer, was named chairman of the American Advertising Federation's National Innovation Committee, became a contributing writer for Forbes, and sold his agency Carousel30 to Yes& and became their head of digital.
Kate Glantz, Lyft
As Lyft's Mid-Atlantic Marketing Manager, Glantz has led the launch of several campaigns to better connect passengers and drivers across 2018. Glantz and Lyft have also worked as official rideshare partners for large regional events like Trillectro and Broccoli City to ensure that festival-goers get home safely and traffic is minimal during special events. 2018 will continue to be busy for her, with two additional campaigns later this year.
Technology & Cybersecurity
Amelia Friedman and Param Jaggi, Hatch Apps
Hatch Apps was accepted into the Morgan Stanley Incubator, raised capital from Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, hired more than eight new employees, and was featured in Forbes, Business Insider and Entrepreneur Magazine. Jaggi was named one of DC Inno's 25 Under 25, and Friedman leads Vinetta Project, a women founder organization.
Aquicore has quickly become an industry leader in commercial real estate tech for monitoring energy consumption, in an effort to both reduce carbon footprints and operational expenses. In 2018 alone, Aquicore launched four new product features to its existing platform, making its technology well known in the commercial real estate space. This fall, it will announce its new data sharing marketplace, leveraging its platform as the central hub for smart building data in D.C.
More than 4,000 healthcare facilities and 500,000 physicians nationwide are now using Binary Fountain's patient feedback management platform. In April, it partnered with U.S. News & World Report, a global authority in hospital rankings. U.S. News now publishes patient experience ratings from Binary Fountain on many of its doctor profile pages. Also this year was the launch of its Binary Review Manager platform, designed for small and medium-sized businesses.
Since launching its Change the Numbers campaign in 2016, when women made up only 20 percent of Blackstone Federal's workforce, the company has more than doubled its female headcount. Now women make up 44 percent of employees, 16 percent above the national average. It also helped launch the D.C. chapter of Women in Product last winter.
Blackstone Federal has hosted two HopeOneSource code sprints with local nonprofit Hope With Love so far in 2018. And team members helped launch the DC Atlassian User Group in summer 2017.
Bryson Bort, SCYTHE
Bryson Bort is the cyber entrepreneur behind SCYTHE, which provides a cyberattack simulation platform. Launched in late 2017, the company announced an initial funding round of $3M led by Ron Gula in September this year. Bort is also the founder of GRIMM, an engineering and consulting firm that grew its customer base to include four of the Fortune 50s and was recognized as a fastest-growing company in the Inc. 5000 list this year.
Capango, a retail job-matching platform that connects job seekers to opportunities without resumes, launched in July this year and has already surpassed its yearend goal for number of companies registered to use the app. In 2018, it partnered with retail association Shop!, which has more than 350,000 job seekers and 2,000 companies in its network, to transfer positions to its app. Capango also partnered with 3Pillar Global, a global software and digital product development company, to create the flagship job-matching mobile app under the same name for the retail sector.
Cybersecurity firm Cofense is having a quietly powerful year with several big-time contracts in the pipeline and a slew of products added to its capabilities. In May it released one of the industry's first phishing-specific defense platforms, and was a finalist for best work culture at D.C.'s 2018 Timmy Awards.
Dipanwita Das, Sorcero
Enterprise AI startup Sorcero, led by Dipanwita Das, launched in April and already has booked $250,000 in revenue and raised $850,000 in venture capital. It was a finalist for the Vinetta Project and the only D.C. company accepted in the Village Capital cohort this summer.
D.C.-based Kerb Technologies launched less than two years ago to collect foot and vehicle traffic data using car-mounted cameras and image-recognition software. Thousands of people have signed up to drive for the company, including 400-plus in D.C. It has run two successful pilot programs – in New York City's Greenwich Village and The Wharf – and has several big-name clients in the pipeline before yearend.
Level Access is a fast-growing company working to ensure digital systems are readily accessible to users with disabilities, and has boasted three-year revenue growth of over 270 percent. It has supported the accessibility initiatives of more than 1,000 organizations in that time, from government agencies to enterprises to small businesses.
Neil Kataria, Basket
Under Neil Kataria's leadership, Basket secured $11 million in Series A funding in October 2017, increased its users from 400,000 to 800,000, and increased the Basket team from six to 21 in the first half of 2018. Basket also soft launched its B2B platform for retail data in March and already has five major brands as clients.
Launched in June 2018 after raising $2.5 million from venture capital firms including D.C.'s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund and Middleland Capital, as well as Lerer Hippeau and Founder Collective, Ordway is already automating billing and revenue recognition for companies in healthcare, performance management, hospitality, real estate, media and restaurant industries nationwide. The company is saving current customers hundreds of hours each month, and continuing to expand its client list.
Pie Insurance, which helps small businesses purchase workers' comp insurance online, stood up a full insurance operation in less than 12 months. It launched its offering in seven states in June this year, with more states to launch by yearend. In late July it closed its $11 million Series A funding round, and in September it won an SMA Innovation in Action Award. Pie doubled its headcount this year and plans to continue that rate in 2019.
On the heels of a funding round and strong financial results, RiskLens came into 2018 strong and is on track for back-to-back years of double digit growth. More than 10 of the Fortune 100 companies now use the RiskLens platform enterprise-wide, and new strategic partnerships – including with RSA – have helped expand the company's global reach. The company also just appointed well-known risk management expert James Lam to its board.
Rooam, a mobile payment platform for the hospitality industry, has raised a total of $3.3 million in seed funding and is currently wrapping up its undisclosed Series A round. The startup has commitments from over 330 DMV bars and restaurants, and also launched at The Anthem as the only way to keep a bar tab open. Rooam also plans on expanding to Chicago and Los Angeles before yearend.
TransitScreen this year released its newest product, MobilityScore, which tells users how easy it is to get around a given location without a car. MobilityScore aims to redefine the way people search for new living arrangements in unfamiliar cities, and visualize a potential commute. While releasing the new product, TransitScreen also grew to include projects such as The Wharf, Audi Field and corporate clients including Pinterest, Zillow and Grubhub.
Zvi Band & Tony Cappaert, Contactually
As a leader in real estate technology, the local startup is using technology to make people more human and more productive at the same time. Contactually has burst onto the scene as a CRM for real estate agents, with eight of the top 20 brokerages in the country as customers and a recent partnership with Rezora to add more marketing intel to its platform.
