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Fifteen Arlington startups will be recognized this Wednesday during an event highlighting “red hot” startups in the D.C. area.
Event company DCA Live selected more than 40 companies to recognize, including Courthouse-based data privacy startup Wire Wheel and Ballston-based GoTab, which facilitates to-go and in-person, contactless ordering.
“Red Hot Companies,” which will be held in Rosslyn, is the first large-scale, in-person event that DCA Live has been able to host since D.C. and Virginia reopened, according to company founder Doug Anderson. After 16 months of virtual offerings, he expects a big crowd — upwards of 400 people — for the sixth annual event.
“I didn’t move into the shallow end with a 100-person event,” Anderson said. “There was an opportunity for us to be first mover in returning to live events.”
Forty-four startups will be recognized, and the ceremony and networking opportunity at Sands Capital Management (1000 Wilson Blvd) will celebrate how the D.C. area tech sector survived the pandemic, he said.
“I think we’ve come out of this pandemic much stronger than we entered it,” Anderson said. “About half-way through the pandemic, it became clear one of the big winners would be tech businesses. They had the infrastructure, and they enabled the world to continue.”
These companies also found ways to use the pandemic to accelerate their business plans and the demand for their products, he said.
“They had to really focus on what their true value proposition was, who their true customer was and how to serve them,” he said.
Anderson is recognizing a number of new companies as well as a few established ones. Most are smaller cybersecurity and financial technology companies, but a few are unicorns: privately held startups valued at more than $1 billion.
He picked the companies after soliciting nominations, evaluating them and consulting with people who have a pulse on the D.C. tech startup scene.
“I try to do a fresh look every year,” he said.
The event will draw out strong Arlington startups, including Brazen, Ostendio, CareJourney and C3, he said. Arlington Economic Development and property owner/developer Monday Properties are sponsors.
“It’s got a big Arlington angle to it,” Anderson said. “Arlington is a great place to start a company and host an event.”