"There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur locally than today," said Ted Leonsis, keynote speaker for Mid-Atlantic Venture Association's TechBUZZ at his alma mater, Georgetown University.
That's a bold statement, considering the amount of traction he's been able to make in the city's business scene since the early 70s and the hard-to-match boom of telecomm in the early 90s. But after watching presentations of TechBUZZ finalists, narrowed down from a pool of more than 200 entries, and listening to the responses from investor and mentor panel members, it became apparent that he's on to something.
The young talents showcasing their new companies at TechBUZZ Friday were eager about their ideas, to say the least. Jeff Stefanis, CEO of Riide, a transportation startup producing an affordable electric bike, couldn't take a grin off his face as he explained his prototype bike to passersby. You could tell he loved what he was doing and was excited to tell people about it. But the great thing is that Stefanis and the other entrepreneurs, all similarly as enthusiastic, were not eager to catch on to the latest trend and get a piece of the money (well, okay, money probably has something to do with it). Instead, they seemed more eager to revolutionize the world.
From ideas about reducing energy waste to managing social media overload for big brands and helping universities understand their incoming classes to a virtual software that makes physical rehabilitation gamified. The money may follow these ideas at some point, but the ideas are chasing innovating the world.
Of course, the investor panelists with the money to offer (hypothetically at this point) talked more so on which companies had the best market potential based on business models, presentations and experience in their industries. The big money offered advice to the presenters on giving customer feedback to potential investors and showcasing expertise to captivate the audience. But after talking about dollars, even they reiterated that it's often the energy behind the idea that sells it.
As a mentor to growing businesses at Exhilarator, founder Michael Goldstein said, when he sees someone with a simple ideas that they are very excited about, "It's contagious."
Similarly, Sever Totia, principal of Edison Ventures, said, "Go big, or go home. It's the power and energy behind an idea that sells it."
There were not actual winners or losers – though the panelists did highlight which companies did certain things well in rapid four minute presentations. However, every presenting company gained invaluable feedback on what worked during the event and is working best in D.C. for entrepreneurs starting companies in general. And overall, TechBUZZ highlighted the fact that, though D.C. may not be the hugest startup ecosystem, it has an intensity and an excitement to it that is propelling it in the direction to be a top hub nationally in the near future.
