Awesome Jonathon Perrelli: Fools Are A Necessary Part Of The Economy

February 9, 2012 by Leave a comment

Here is an awesome inspirational message by Jonathon Perrelli with Fortify.vc to those who are as fool as me, currently struggling to find employment, and have at least 10% entrepreneurial DNA. Given our current economy and unemployment rate, I don’t think I need to remind you that most of the existing successful companies including Google, Microsoft, and GE launched their ventures during the poor economy. So, his message below is SIMPLEMENTE PERFCTO!

Message to Fools:
“If you have a day job, and you love it, shout hooray! If you woke up and realized that you are being pimped by an evil corporation and not being treated fairly, or you are bored out of your mind, or too smart to be locked down, get up and grab your red stapler and walk the F out the door. Fools are a necessary part of the economy and I too have been a fool more than once in my career, so I too “get” that it is quite difficult to leave the day job, etc. So either explore your business as a hobby (but not for too long) or live vicariously through your Founder and Farmer friends. Turn your dream into an innovative product or service. Be bold, but be careful. Know your personal financial situation and speak with others who have made the jump from Fool to Founder, prior to grabbing your stapler”  Jonathon Perrelli with Fortify.vc.   Read more of this post

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Incentives for Your High Tech Business in Awesome Washington, DC

February 7, 2012 by Leave a comment

How the DC High Tech Incentive Program Can Help You Grow Your Business

Washington, DC has emerged as a hotbed of entrepreneurship and technology in the Mid-Atlantic region and nationally. High technology startups located in DC are eligible for incentives to help them reduce costs and grow. If you are the owner of a high technology startup with at least two employees, or you may soon find yourself growing to this level, then you may be eligible for DC’s High Tech Incentive program. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about this program, then look no further than a panel discussion with representatives from the DC government, area financial professionals, and startups taking advantage of the high tech incentive program. Read more of this post

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DC Technology Business Innovation recommendations – Presentation Transcript

December 9, 2011 by Leave a comment

The pretty one is me, Jamey is the other one

A few month after Vincent Gray, our new mayor was elected last year,  one of the most awesome Washingtonian entrepreneurs, Jamey Harvey, founder of the DC based startup, Sponto and Marullus Williams, President and CEO of Limbic Systems, the DC based IT solution provider led a group of civic minded, entrepreneurial technologists and investors in a conversation about what we could do to make DC more awesome for Startups. The group included Peter Corbett, Jonathan Aberman, Doug Humphrey, Susan Banta, Julie Silard Kantor, Adam Rubinson, Wolf Ruzicka, Dutch Dunham and me, the awesomizer.

The mayor has declared this to be the technology startup month and he’s hosting a group of tech CEO’s soon to continue this conversation face-to-face.

Thanks to Jamey who put this slide together, here is the summary of what we did. Feel free to share it with those in your network. Read more of this post

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The Magnificent 10 Speeds up the Path to Innovation in Awesome Washington, D.C

July 8, 2011 by 1 Comment

FounderCorps that launched earlier this year and currently run by the magnificent 10 including one of my former Board member, Mark Walsh just launched their awesome “Fellows Program”. The program is to provide mentorship and support to emerging entrepreneurs participating in Awesome DC region business creation programs.

The program will work with partnering organizations that are having business formation competitions — they will provide a prize and mentorship. But, they will go through their partners, such as the University of Maryland, the George Washington University, the George Mason University and so forth. They are not trying to create another silo – They work with the folks who are already working with entrepreneurs and making things happen. Read more of this post

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GWU Entrepreneurship Seminar: Marketing – How to Find Your Customers [EVENT]

March 17, 2011 by 1 Comment


GW School of Engineering and Applied Science is hosting an excellent event next week for those who are interested in finding  customers with minimum or even ZERO budget.  If you are around DC next week, I urge you attend.  The program is free and open to the public and is a great networking opportunity for students, professionals, faculty and even others from outside the GW network.

The panel consists of me and two other Washingtonian serial entrepreneurs who will share and discuss our experiences.  The program provides for ample audience participation and is a unique opportunity to learn from the experts on effective ways to get your message to the right people.  For those on a shoestring budget, we will have tips and ways to market at low or no cost!

Read more of this post

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The New Sheriff of Washington DC Is In, So Are the Washingtonian Entrepreneurs

January 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

The Good looking one is me, Jamey is the other one

I am very excited to announce my involvement with the Technology Business Innovation Taskforce of the incoming DC mayor, Vince Gray. The task force is being co-chaired by my awesome entrepreneur friend, Jamey Harvey, CEO of another exciting DC startup, Sponto.

I think that this will be a good opportunity for me as I try to help tackle some of the problems that I’ve been bitching about, from an entrepreneur’s perspective for the DC area. I hope my participation to the team brings me closer to my goal in positioning Awesome Washington, DC as a technology hub.

The Technology Business Innovation Taskforce will focus on attracting and retaining technology companies from these and other high growth industries:

  • Alternative Energy
  • Health Care
  • Cyber Security
  • Internet/Software/Social Media
  • Optics
  • Mobile
  • Gov 2.0 service providers
    Read more of this post

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Washington DC Got a New sheriff: Vince Gray

January 3, 2011 by 1 Comment

Thanks to my web 1.0 era buddy Jamey Harvey, CEO of sponto, I was invited to the inaugural ball for the mayor last night.  It was freaking awesome, except for the food; there was no Kabob, no caviar, no Persian style rice :-( . Having said, the  ambiance, the laughter and joy from the beginning to the end of the party made it easy for me to overlook the food, which I’m actually not sure anyone minded but me, being the spoiled brat I am. Read more of this post

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African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Brings Women to Washington, D.C.

July 27, 2010 by 1 Comment


The African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) started yesterday in Washington, D.C., and will go on through August 3 in conjunction with the 2010 United States/sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA Forum). Women from AGOA-eligible countries will participate in the program. The AWEP is organized by the U.S. Department of State and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the auspices of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

AWEP aims to empower African women entrepreneurs to become part of their national and global business network by increasing opportunities for women to use the AGOA program and expanding opportunities for exports and U.S. investment in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more of this post

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Is Entrepreneurship Just About the Exit?

July 25, 2010 by 3 Comments


Here is an excellent article I just read on Techcrunch written by Vivek Wadhwa, about entrepreneurs and  entrepreneurship:

David Park and Eric Bahn are earning more at their startup, called Beat The GMAT, than they ever did in the corporate world. Every penny of profit from the business goes directly into their bank accounts. They enjoy being their own bosses; have become experts in sales, marketing, customer support, computer programming and graphic design; feel good about helping students gain admission to business school; and are grateful that they can spend their time doing things rather than discussing things—because they don’t answer to anyone. Why should they sell their business and be back to working for companies like Intuit or McKinsey & Co., they ask? Read more of this post

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ACS Green Chemistry Institute To Host Green Chemistry Conference In Washington, D.C.

May 13, 2010 by 1 Comment


by Kamran Abdi

The American Chemical Society‘s (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute will host the 14th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference next month in Washington, D.C.

With an overarching theme of “Innovation and Application,” this year’s conference will celebrate recent innovations and applications at the cutting edge of green chemistry. The conference also will address environmental challenges and explore sustainable solutions of today for future generations, which will heighten the efforts of D.C. city officials. Read more of this post

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