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 Wednesday, we officially revealed the 150 finalists for our flagship, winter award show, 50 on Fire, which celebrates the entrepreneurs, advocates and investors behind D.C.'s growing innovation economy.
50 on Fire is a celebration that recognizes the area's most influential characters, many of whom lead businesses and have spurred economic development in the region. Organized into nine categories, including marketing, design and tech, the nominees hail from a variety of industries. One of the most interesting categories this year is "Smart City."
In an effort to introduce the hot companies that are heating up D.C.'s smart city movement, we've provided a convenient mini-profile listicle.
Here's the 14 finalists that made the smart city innovator list:
Aquicore - one of the first investment targets for D.C.-based tech incubator 1776's new $12.5 million seed fund, Aquicore is a rising greentech software and hardware developer that's building energy management products.
Arlington Economic Development (AED) - this economic growth catalyst of an organization is funded by the Arlington County Government and has taken steps to ensure that more tech companies and startups establish themselves in Arlington county. The group focuses on providing consulting services as a branch to the local government. AED works with Arlington’s business and arts community, its tourism industry and the area's real estate development sector.
City Lab - City Lab is a smart city focused news publication that offers original reporting, visual story telling and daily breaking news regarding the innovation occurring in different metropolitan areas. The company is a subsidiary of The Atlantic, which recently expand its footprint in D.C. wile downsizing the workforce behind another asset, The National Journal.
cove - a competitor of WeWork in Washington, cove was founded in the district and offers a new twist on the co-working office space market. By employing open office plans that do not have divided desk areas or limited access conference rooms, cove locations can be best described as a fusion between a coffee shop and home office. A convenient app-based experience layers underneath every membership to tie together the cove community into one cohesive city unit, enabling a social network with messaging options. Over the past year, the company has expanded to Boston and opened numerous D.C. area locations, including a flagship, two-story Chinatown location.
Events DC - Formerly recognized as The Washington Convention and Sports Authority, Events DC organizes countless, popular large-scale D.C. events spanning from the arts to music festivals. Over the last year, the group has staged a number of high profile events, including D.C.'s first professional skateboarding competition. Known as the "official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia," Events DC has continued to grow in influence since their merger in 2009.
Washington Area Women’s Foundation (Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat) - a nonprofit organization located in DC that brings together women to act as both sponsors and activists in order to improve the livelihood of the city's low-income female population. In May 2014, Lockwood-Shabat was selected to become the next CEO of the organization after years at the head of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association.
D.C.'s Director of Technology Innovation Matt Bailey - In May, Bailey was brought on my D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser to become the city's first director of technology innovation. Since taking the helm, he has helped connect the local government with the city's innovation and civic technology communities, namely via tech incubator 1776. His responsibilities have included "closing the innovation gap, using technology to stimulate job creation, and improving access to innovative solutions to serve the District’s most overlooked communities."
Vornado/Charles E. Smith LP President Mitchell Schear - Under Schear's guidance in D.C., Vornado Realty Trust, the $20 billion New York-based real estate firm, has been focusing more on its NYC and Washington markets. And the affect has been immediate, adding investor confidence to the publicly traded company. Roughly half of Vornado's local holdings are in Crystal City, which has subsequently gained popularity within the local tech scene, as WeWork is preparing to reveal their first WeLive franchise in the area and 1776 Crystal City launched earlier this week. Vornado is on a roll in D.C.
Riide - these electric bicycle makers have been steadily gaining in popularity after employing a leasing option to their nearly $3000 price tag commuter vehicle. Riide's 20 MPH, 25 mile range bikes are both high quality and adept at dealing with the fast paced commuting lifestyle inherent in D.C.'s busy roadways. More and more daily D.C. commuters are using bikes to get to work. Riide is a simple and innovative evolution within this trend.
Smarter DC Director Tommy Wells - Smarter DC, better known for its signature initiative the Smarter DC Challenge, is a new, tech-centric sustainability program that encourages the development of environmentally conscious practices by D.C. businesses and nonprofits. Wells, who is currently acting director, was previously a D.C. council member for Ward 6. He's a big supporter of smart cities, walkable communities and protecting the Anacostia river.
TransitScreen - TransitScreen collects and aggregates transit data, including metro, bus and car options, to display onto physical, digital dashboards in high traffic areas. The company also sells its data directly via integrated information feeds to some clients. In 2015, the company won a number of awards and just earlier this week, they won the local 1776 Challenge Cup competition.
Urban Insights - this D.C.-based consulting and data service firm is a subsidiary of quickly growing, transportation data analytics player Cubic Transportation Systems.
Greenease Vanessa Ferragut - a mobile app-enabled company that works to connect consumers with restaurants, cafes and grocers that in-turn buy specifically from local and/or sustainable farms. Founder Vanessa Ferragut, a GWU alum, is a 14 year sustainable meeting and events professional.
WeWork DC - The D.C. area has quickly become one of WeWork's most active markets, with a WeLive soon to launch in Crystal City, Va., and two new franchises slatted for the District within the next 12 months. WeWork is the dominant name in co-working space providers and D.C. figures to be a city of continued interests, as the startup and freelancer scenes continue to expand while general employment remains steady, locally.
Thank you to our event sponsor.
