1776 co-founder Donna Harris is one of the most central figures in the Washington, D.C. tech and startup scene, with a spot on almost any list involving entrepreneurship in the area. A startup founder and investor, individually and as a co-founder of K Street Capital, she was managing director at Startup America before she and Evan Burfield created 1776 in 2013. Since then, Harris has led 1776's growth into an international brand, bringing entrepreneurs from dozens of countries together for the annual Challenge Cup, and made the central campus a standard destination for foreign leaders to visit while in the District.
How do you look for inspiration and new ideas?
It's easy to get caught up in minutia and execution, but I need to be free to see the big picture and imagine new possibilities. For me, ideating mostly comes from quiet time, I'm one part extrovert and two parts introvert. I have a bullet journal full of lots of colors and designs from lots of colored markers and pencils that gets my creative juices flowing. I use it to reveal my passions, and what's succeeding and I'm grateful looking back through them for reminding me of the big picture.
What do you most enjoy about your role at 1776 as it continues to evolve?
The thing I walk away from feeling the most energized is when I dig myself into working with other people on our team and we all see the vision make a plan to get there. I also love coaching the [member startups]. We're really, really lucky to have such passionate startup founders and I always make time in my calendar to help them make a plan and make it happen. It really gets that energy flowing. It's a couple of the most energizing hours of my week.
"There's a pool of people here trying to change important things."
What stands out about D.C. and its innovation and entrepreneurship scene to you?
D.C. is an amazing place. As for entrepreneurship, I'm glad people are starting to recognize the opportunities here. There's a pool of people here trying to change important things as opposed to tech for tech's sake, or just trying build the latest consumer app. They want to change the world, which, I know is a throwaway phrase but it's true. People used to come to work on Capitol Hill. Now, they come to create startups.
It's also an incredible community. People like Shana [Glenzer of MakeOffices and co-runner of DC Tech Meetup] and others bring people together. D.C. is doing much more of that than other places. There's this sense of 'we are all in this together,' and you don't get that sense of overall community and cross collaboration elsewhere. We all recognize we have a common vision and common goal. It really is rare. When we don't have all the answers we hope others will share their ideas.
What about your career particularly shapes your current goals?
I started as an entrepreneur in Detroit and had both successes and failures, but it was the experience there that really has informed a lot of my thinking about the need to support entrepreneurs. I didn't know how to raise capital, didn't know how to get mentors; there was no ecosystem supporting me and very few entrepreneurs around me. I floundered way more than you need to. Entrepreneurs spend way more capital and make way more mistakes because they don't know what they don't know. A lack of those are solvable problems. That's a lot of what I do now.
What kind of future do you envision based on the work you're doing now?
Well, my crystal ball prediction would be we've executed what we are doing around the world. The cities and programs are all knit together, companies that are interested in funding are getting it from wherever it can be found. It's all about eliminating the importance of where you live to get what you need to succeed. I see it emanating from our ecosystem in a few years. The industries are evolving too. Everything around connected cities is huge right now. You'll see much more connected city and smart city innovation.
1776 has a habit of hosting important politicians like President Obama and former British Prime Minister David Cameron. How do you arrange those and how does that fit into your vision?
Our team works on that behind the scenes to curate these sorts of opportunities. When a VIP is in town we always organize a visit and plan ahead. That way I can tell or show them [the 1776] members that are relevant to them because of their role. It's a beautiful win-win. It's a good chance for the [entrepreneurs] to refine their pitch.
When dealing with so many people new to the innovation scene, are there myths you have to dispel about what it's like?
There are a lot of myths about successful entrepreneurs. Society has created the impression you have to be arrogant and self-serving to be successful and it's not true. I'm not comfortable with that persona, that's not who I am. I think people see through my actions that you can be someone who wants to serve, be someone who's kind and not just taking from others.
What's your opinion of the state of women in tech and entrepreneurship?
I'll be really frank, I have been surprised over last three years and after a long, successful career, the unconscious biases I still see. People are not wired to look at a group and see the woman as in charge and we need to change that. Action reinforces the bias, so finding ways to break that cycle is the challenge. The challenge that comes with that is how to address when women are addressing women. It can be great but unfortunately it also reinforces that challenge. I'd love if Evan [Burfield] was the one getting asked about diversity, but I also understand women need role models. We need to make things better, but not get pigeonholed.
"I would love to see the day someone mistakes Evan as my executive assistant."
D.C. often gets rated as particularly good for women in tech. Do you think there are greater challenges or benefits to the city that way?
Yes, because so much about D.C. happens after hours. There's dinner or drinks and that becomes a complex problem when you're a woman and a mom like I am. Right, wrong or indifferent, most women are the primary caretakers of their kids and the happy hour culture excludes them. You sometimes do need informal interactions, [but] it would be better if they took us into account.
What sign would you look for to prove that things have changed?
I would love to see the day someone mistakes Evan as my executive assistant instead of the other way around.
