Brunch and networking could be the tagline for young professionals in Washington, D.C. Combining mimosas with mentorships is likely to be an easy sell here, which is why New York City-based brunchwork picked the District for the first expansion of its brunch event series.
"People are sometimes just too busy or worn out on weekdays," brunchwork's head of partnerships and community Caitlin Brown told DC Inno in an interview. "They have a lot more energy when it comes to brunch."
The basic concept is simple enough. People pay $40 and get a brunch and the chance to listen to and interact with innovative founders, VCs and other notables in startup world. But it's rather more than just another lecture or Q&A. The event also involves breaking up into small groups to perform some kind of challenge, with the chance to pitch the ideas to the other attendees and the speakers.
"[The attendees] are high achieving young professionals with really great ideas," Brown said. "There's a ton of first-time founders and lot of professionals making the transition [to startups] who haven't had a chance like this before."
Brown's background in D.C. makes the District a natural choice. Before moving to New York she worked at Arlington-based Brazen for almost three years. brunchwork has targeted a couple of high-profile D.C. names for its first event on April 17. Alexander Pessala of Middleland Capital and Allen Gannett, founder of TrackMaven, are both confirmed to attend.
"I'm looking forward to being part of the first brunchwork in D.C. As you might guess, I love brunch and entrepreneurship," Gannett explained to DC Inno. "On a more serious note, I'm always looking for ways to help other people on their entrepreneurial journey."
The first event will be held at the Dupont Circle MakeOffices and catered by local startup Power Supply. But, Brown said the plan is to start holding events as often as twice a month, anticipating a large demand based on what she's seen in New York.
"We want to offer a mixture of connection and inspiration," Brown said. "There's a lot of value in our events, and of course, brunch."
