A project in the works as part of the Gramercy District development in Loudoun County could be the largest startup incubator of its type in the D.C. area, DC Inno has learned.
The incubator, known as Hello LoCo, would have room for 400 people, according to co-founder and managing director AJ Jaghori.
Hello LoCo is one component of Gramercy District, a 16.8-acre “smart city” that began construction in December.
The incubator hopes to attract a large pool of talented technology entrepreneurs who call the D.C.-area home and it plans to facilitate housing for these members via the Gramercy District, Jaghori said.
Chantilly, Va.-based 22 Capital Partners—a private equity firm focused on real estate, technology and clean/renewable energy, is the lead investor in the Gramercy District. The start of construction on both the Gramercy District and Hello LoCo was confirmed by the Loudoun County, Virginia Economic Development group. Hello LoCo is being largely financed by a group of local, high net worth angel investors that are part of the real estate community, Jaghori said.
Minh Le, managing partner of 22 Capital Partners, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to Le's LinkedIn profile, development of the Gramercy District is planned "in several stages; phase 1a, delivered in 2016, a 55,000-square-foot marketplace and co-working space, and phase 1b 250 apartment buildings to begin leasing in 2018."
When construction is eventually complete in roughly 10 years, Gramercy District will reportedly hold 590 residential units, up to 440,235 square feet of retail and up to 513,608 square feet of office space. It will be located across from the Dulles Greenway and eventual Ashburn Metro station (anticipated in 2020), which will run along WMATA's silver line.
While final construction will not be completed until after the metro station is finished, the Gramercy District is exploring the use of temporary structures, said Loudoun County Economic Development group business recruiter Steven Hargan.
Jaghori is a repeat entrepreneur who was originally part of the team that developed Android. Locally, he is an advisor and shareholder in D.C.-based YoloData, a B2B analytics company, and the co-founder/CEO of Solebrity, which is headquartered in Ashburn, Va.
The incubator will aim to help mentor early-stage tech startups, and will not be focused on any one industry, Jaghori said. Instead, it will accept startups into the program that boast a promising product, customer base and revenue stream, he said. "Hello Loco is particularly interested in consumer and enterprise startups taking the mass market approach with a vision to serve the world's middle class. And not just the top 1 percent.
Jaghori added that he has received 600 applications to his incubator program, which is planning a "soft launch" in late 2016—before its site in Gramercy District is complete—but has yet to establish a temporary headquarters for the initial location.
Jaghori said the first class of Hello LoCo startups would include 20 companies, while next year it will reach 40.
In an email, Bryan Short, co-founder of YoloData, said that Hello LoCo's tagline is to merge "Silicon Valley with the East."
Jaghori said he plans to leverage a network of West Coast contacts to act as advisors and mentors for the incubator. He declined to name specific investors, but said that every mentor would by default also be an investor so that each mentor has "skin in the game." Details regarding how much equity stake each startup must trade—as is typical with other incubator and accelerator programs—upon entry has yet to be decided, Jaghori said.
