Here's what we've found for the best startup and tech networking events in the D.C. area to check out this week.
Tuesday
Event: Digital Patriots Dinner
Location: National Building Museum 401 F Street NW Washington, D.C. Date/Time: Tues. April 14th — Reception begins at 6:30PM Price: $100
The Digital Patriots Dinner is a gala-style event to celebrate the achievements of industry and policy leaders who champion innovation. The event’s lead speakers are: Steve Case, CEO of Revolution Ventures, and Representative Bob Goodlatte (VA-6). If you have never heard of Case, the former President of AOL, then you probably don’t read our publication very often. He is highly involved in the local startup scene as an investor and regional figurehead of entrepreneurialism.
As for Rep. Goodlatte, he is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over patents, copyright, trademark law, antitrust matters, and the Internet. He also leads Congress on a number of intellectual property and technology issues and is the sponsor of the Innovation Act.
Registration remains open. All proceeds from the event will go to Girls Who Code and the CEA Foundation.
Event: Neo4j GraphDays [#AllYouCanGraph DC]
Location: House of Sweden 2900 K Street NW Washington D.C. Date/Time: Tue. April 14 — 9:00AM-5:00PM Price: Free
Neo4j is an open-source software and graph database, implemented in Java, that powers numerous organizations worldwide. In this free one-day event, Neo4j experts will teach the core functionality of the Neo4j graph database and further demonstrate how to use the graph-based applications to guests. The goal is to quickly learn how easy it is to work with a graph database, such as Neo3j, using Cypher as the query language. The session will specifically cover how to design and implement a graph database model, and how to evolve an existing graph in a controlled manner.
Wednesday
Event: CES on the Hill
Location: Rayburn House Office Building Cafeteria (B-357) Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street Washington, D.C. Date/Time: Wed. April 15 — 6:00-8:00PM Price: Free
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is holding a large consumer technology exhibition event in downtown D.C. Both new exhibitors and guests are encouraged to attend. Exhibitors will have the opportunity to demonstrate products and services at the heart of ongoing tech policy issues to Members of Congress, Hill staff, press and other registered guests.
[P.S.: Eric and I will be in attendance at this event. If you see either one of us be sure to say hello!]
The event hopes to link the latest innovations in consumer technology with current major tech policy issues — emphasizing the need for public policies that promote innovation, job creation and economic growth. This year’s event will highlight innovations in 3D printing, 4K Ultra HD, accessibility, drones, health and fitness tracking, safe driving technology, smart home, virtual reality, among other categories.
Here are some highlights from last year’s event
Event: DC TechBreakfast (4/14)
Ask a VC Boston @TechBreakfast is under way pic.twitter.com/LQx2Giys9l
— TechBreakfast (@TechBreakfast) April 10, 2015
Location: Washington, DC Economic Partnership 1495 F Street Washington, D.C. Date/Time: Wed. April 15 — 8:00AM-9:45AM Price: Free
In this month’s morning breakfast tech meetup, local developers, designers, and entrepreneurs will come together to present their ideas and talk about growing businesses over a few bagels and coffee. Registered presenters already include: Visme’s Payman Taei, Nicholas Hobar of LearningFront, Sean Tibbetts of Cyber Timez: Cyber Armz and Greenease’s Vanessa Ferragut.
Early Bird [Next Week]
Event: DCTech Meetup — College Demos/Student-led startups
Location: MLK Library 901 G St NW Washington, DC Date/Time: Tue. April 21 — 7:00 - 9:00PM Price: Free
Come see awesome startups founded and run by local college students who are developing innovative technology. The event already has over 300 people who have RSVP’d, as it will be led by several prominent local tech figures. iStrategy Lab’s DJ Saul, who will be accompanied by Shana Glenzer of SocialRadar, Stephanie Nguyen of Landmark and Contactually’s Zvi Band, will kick off the night with a brief introduction. Registration for students who would like to present at the event remains open (follow the link above).
While the event will be primarily focused on the presentations themselves, the DCTech Meetups can also provide a great networking opportunity for those interested in the local scene. Be sure to check this one out if you're a local student with an interest in the D.C. tech ecosystem.
