George speaks with Melanie Charlton and Julie Weber, the partners of Brllnt on this episode. We talk about the stark realities of running a marketing agency, the art of compromise in entrepreneurship, and their journey of keeping a marketing design firm afloat during a rough patch. They also talk about what they've learned working for some of their clients, and how they lead their company with both candor and compassion. Send us a text Support the show...
Jan 23, 2019•1 hr 3 min
In this episode you'll hear from Casey Berman the Managing Director of Camber Creek, a strategic venture capital firm with offices in DC and New York. Their portfolio includes local start-up companies Fundrise, GoCanvas, and WhyHotel. Casey talks about the real estate technology market, Camber Creek's approach to "de-risking" investments, and what he looks for in a start-up as a venture capitalist. Send us a text Support the show...
Jan 09, 2019•38 min
George speaks with Toya Gavin the founder of Legally Bold, a consulting business designed to help women lawyers find a path to career satisfaction. She's also the founder of Toya Gavin Law a virtual law firm set up to help entrepreneurs with business formation, contracts, and IP law. Toya has a J.D. from George Washington University Law School and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Rutgers University and is licensed to practice law in New York and New Jersey. Send us a text Support the show...
Dec 26, 2018•28 min
George speaks wth Eric Kozlik, founder of the Modern Bar Cart podcast and Embitterment Bitters where he talks shop about entrepreneurship, podcasting, cocktails, and poetry. The Modern Bar Cart Podcast is a cocktail podcast for home bartenders and industry pros alike and features interviews with bartenders, distillers, and cocktail authors. Eric regularly does deep dives into the most important topics in mixology, creating your portal into the shaken, stirred, strained, and garnished world. Send...
Dec 12, 2018•28 min
George speaks with Gareth Lewis, founder of Sekoyia, a subscription box company that offers environmentally friendly products. We talk about how he is helping build an eco-impact movement empowering subscribers to make a positive environmental difference. Gareth also speaks about why we need to focus on sustainability and creating green-collar jobs. Send us a text Support the show...
Dec 05, 2018•27 min
This episode features the Fourth Annual Timmy Award Winners from the event that took place on October 25 in Washington, DC. Featured are Andrew Aragon, Melissa Theiss, Theresa Hebert of Best Tech Startup Quorum; Best Tech Manager Rochelle Sanchirico of mHelpDesk; Mitch Phillips and Nazanin Ramezani of Whereowhere, Best Tech Work Culture; and Grant Elliot, CEO Ostendio, Best Tech Workplace for Diversity. Also featured is a conversation with Peter Korbel founder of StoreMe an app-based luggage sto...
Nov 25, 2018•56 min
Marcus Bullock, CEO and founder of Flikshop talks about his journey into entrepreneurship as a returned citizen after he served a prison sentence in his youth. Flikshop is a tech startup that allows users to communicate with an incarcerated family member or friend via a mobile app which prints their digital message out as a postcard and mails it for 99 cents. The idea came from when Bullock remembered how meaningful it was to hear from the outside world while in prison. Bullock also talks about ...
Nov 14, 2018•27 min
Sheena Franklin, former lobbyist and creator of Well-Kept Beauty is this week's guest on DC Entrepreneur. We talk about how she changed her career path, the state of the FDA's regulations of the cosmetics industry, and how the app she created helps people learn about expiry dates for their makeup and skincare products. Send us a text Support the show
Nov 07, 2018•30 min
Sahaj Sharda, CEO and founder of Dynos and author of the book Extinction of the Price Tag is guest on this episode of DC Entrepreneur. Sharda speaks about his book, which he published with New Degree Press as part of his studies at Georgetown. He speaks about how companies are benefiting from dynamic pricing, who is using it, and how he became interested in the topic. Sahaj also talks about his company Dynos and how he applied the concept of dynamic pricing to drive customers to the the local re...
Oct 21, 2018•35 min
CEO and co-founder of LePrix Elise Whang talks about the rebranding of her luxury fashion consignment startup from the initial concept called SnobSwap. A first time founder, Whang talks about how she found her footing as an entrepreneur, how she's gone about fundraising for her company, and her experience as a female founder in the startup ecosystem. Elise has been recognized as one of DC's 40 Power Women, DCA Live Red Hot Entrepreneur, and 40 under 40 in Tech. Send us a text Support the show...
Oct 07, 2018•49 min
Nathan SooHoo is guest on this episode of DC Entrepreneur. Nathan served as Business Development Manager for Trulioo where he helped build partnerships and worked on strategic sales for the company's GlobalGateway product before moving to Facebook. Nathan is also an investment committee member for the UCLA VC Fund whose portfolio includes Cloudera, DogVacay, Twitter, SolarCity, SmartestK12, RivalMe, Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, and Vicept Therapeutics. He is also formerly the lead analyst for Ven...
Sep 30, 2018•42 min
Monica Kang is this week's guest on DC Entrepreneur. Monica is the author of Rethink Creativity: How to Innovate, Inspire, and Thrive at Work. The book was born out of her own challenge of becoming 'unstuck' by changing up the daily routines and habits to which we are accustomed. Monica is also the Founder and CEO of InnovatorsBox where she helps companies and leaders transform their organizations through the power of creativity. Monica teaches entrepreneurship at BAU International. Send us a te...
Sep 23, 2018•44 min
Gbenga Ogunjimi is an identity strategist, speaker and advisor who redefined his career as an international entrepreneur. He is the author of "Borderless Voice, The Power of Telling your Story and Defining your Identity" and is the founder of GO Global, Inc. where he is a coach and consultant who regularly speaks to groups about how they can find their brand identity. Send us a text Support the show...
Sep 16, 2018•50 min
Meet entrepreneur Jonathan Wossene who shares his story about creating Melted Element candles, a premium retail business he started from his apartment in Alexandria, Virginia. Melted Element candles are destination-inspired, soy-based candles which burn clean, something that differentiates them from the rest of the marketplace. Jonathan tells the story of how his cat inspired the business and helped launch him on a new trajectory to create the premium candles, which have appeared at the West Elm...
Mar 09, 2018•34 min
Dr. Gerald Gordon, President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority is guest on this episode of DC Entrepreneur. He discusses the resources available for business startups in Fairfax County, which is home to some of the largest private sector employers in the region. Fairfax has the highest density of startups in NoVa according to Fosterly's 2016 census, and is also home to many large IT and government contracting businesses. Send us a text Support the show...
Feb 16, 2018•32 min
George speaks to Jay Kim, Chief Strategy Officer of Upskill. We talk about the Skylight platform for smart glasses, the internet of things, and how Augmented Reality will take over the world as part of Industry 4.0. Send us a text Support the show
Feb 09, 2018•40 min
This episode of DC Entrepreneur Radio features Brett and Alex who started Grape Intentions, a wine club that helps do good by giving a percent of their online purchases to select charities. Brett who had training as a sommelier and Alex had run a rowing repair shop, a sport the two friends have in common. They talk about how they developed the startup, the issues and challenge behind shipping a product like wine, and how they developed a 'palate picker' algorithm to help customers confused by fo...
Jan 20, 2018•27 min
George speaks with Sam Sabin, tech reporter with DC Inno, a local blog that covers what's happening in the technology startup scene in Washington, DC. In this episode, we review some of the big tech headlines of 2017 and speak about what's in store for the future of the region. [Full Length edit] Send us a text Support the show
Dec 21, 2017•53 min
George speaks with Isaac Oates, founder of Justworks, via remote conversation in this episode of DC Entrepreneur. The company raised $33 million dollars after their last Series C round for a total of $53 million over the past five years. Isaac talks about his career path from being in the U.S. Army reserve, to selling his company Adtuitive to Etsy. He also speaks about Justworks' value proposition, the tech behind the scenes that runs the company, and the unique regulatory challenges of working ...
Dec 08, 2017•29 min
Listen to my conversation with Lance Kramer about starting Meridian Hill Pictures, a production company he founded with his brother Brandon, both of whom created the documentary, "City of Trees" (now on Netflix). Send us a text Support the show
Nov 17, 2017•28 min
Podcaster Jennifer Crawford is guest on this episode of DC Entrepreneur. We discuss the upcoming DC Podfest on November 10-11, and why she thought DC needed to have its own conference focusing on podcasters. Jennifer discusses the challenges creative entrepreneurs face, and why it's even tougher for creative class to get recognized for their talent. She also talks about her work helping people with their social media campaigns, her work for Podbean, and her improv troupe: the Improv Imps, and ho...
Oct 20, 2017•27 min
Nicole Gallub is guest today on D.C. Entrepreneur. We talk about her transformation from cybersecurity analyst into pink-haired DJ Neekola and founder of Pelonkey, an artist management agency that works with performers, DJs, performers, fire spinners, photo booth vendors, graffiti artists and more. You'll also get to listen to her DJ mix at the end of the broadcast. Send us a text Support the show...
Sep 22, 2017•26 min
This episode features Alex Villanueva, founder and CEO of Sprynt, a shuttle service for North Arlington. Sprynt differentiates itself from other ride share services with free rides. Their business model derives from selling advertising to local businesses to get the word out. Alex also talks about his switch from being a CPA to becoming an entrepreneur. Send us a text Support the show...
Sep 01, 2017•26 min
Amelia Friedman is our guest on this episode of DC Entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Hatch, a Y Combinator-funded app and software development startup. Amelia also helped establish the Vinetta Project's DC chapter which helps women entrepreneurs around the region. Her first startup was a non-profit called the Student Language Exchange when she was a student at Brown University. Amelia talks about her experience as a startup founder, her work in the DC tech scene, and how she and her partner...
Aug 18, 2017•28 min
In this episode, George speaks with Sarah Van Dell, CEO of Plum Relish, a District startup that offers lunch catering for office workers and events. Sarah speaks about her path as a startup founder, and how the idea began while she was working for the Advisory Board Company. She also talks about her all-women advisory board, her business partnerships, and why "Food Tech" is the next big thing. Send us a text Support the show...
Aug 04, 2017•25 min
George talks with social entrepreneurship founder Kate Glantz who built Heartful.ly Registry, a wedding registry website where couples can raise money to help charities and non-profits. Kate, a Tory Burch Foundation fellow is director of DC Entrepreneur Initiatives at SEED SPOT and involved with Halcyon Incubator, and Vinetta Project. Kate speaks about her journey from serving in the Peace Corps in Tanzania to becoming an entrepreneur, navigating the DC Tech scene, and her take on failure vs suc...
Jul 21, 2017•27 min
Today's DC Entrepreneur features a conversation with Pierre Malko, President and CEO of Ouli, a mobile concierge app that serves the local DC area. Ouli helps connect people with local merchants that have great offers for people looking for a place to eat, go out with friends, and celebrate life’s occasions. The business model lets merchants pay for only when customers have come through the app. Send us a text Support the show...
Jul 07, 2017•27 min
In today's episode of DC Entrepreneur, Grant Elliott, Founder and CEO of Ostendio speaks with George. The word Ostendio in Latin means to show or demonstrate, and Grant helps illustrate his journey from working in the corporate world to founding a Cyber Security & Information Management company. He talks about his work as a Mentor and Instructor to startups and his own unique journey as an entrepreneur. Send us a text Support the show...
Jun 24, 2017•48 min
Hal Shelton, board member of SCORE Association, and angel investor with Blu Venture Investors, LLC is today's guest on D.C. Entrepreneur. Shelton, the author of "The Secrets of Writing Successful Business Plans," shares his advice to entrepreneurs starting to map out their business. Send us a text Support the show
Jun 09, 2017•27 min
George speaks with Daniel Turissini, owner of Recharj--a modern meditation and power nap studio in Washington, DC. Daniel left a career in cybersecurity to focus on creating health and wellness options for District residents. We talk about mindfulness, meditation, and how proper sleep are essential tools for today's entrepreneurs. Send us a text Support the show...
May 19, 2017•28 min
