Author: Heather Mongilio

Incubator 1776 Looks to Help Arlington Startups in New Crystal City Location

By Heather Mongilio
1/9

Four months after a triumphant announcement featuring the governor and county leaders, startup incubator 1776 is starting to warm up to its new Crystal City offices.

The company recently opened its new location at 2231 Crystal Drive, less than a half mile away from the Crystal City Metro station. The new 1776 office is spacious and bright, with walls made up of mostly windows overlooking Reagan National Airport, the Potomac River and D.C.

1776 came to Crystal City after acquiring startup funder and research firm Disruption Corporation, which previously ran its Crystal Tech Fund and offered office space to startups in the space. Both companies were working on a similar system that tried to determine which startups were worth investing in.

Disruption founder Paul Singh joined the 1776 team but left shortly after the acquisition was completed, according to the Washington Business Journal; the paper later revealed that 1776 hastily acquired Disruption after Singh’s company ran out of money.

The office space is currently being redesigned to make the new place look more like 1776’s headquarters, near Scott Circle in the District. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Donna Harris, said 1776 saw a chance to expand its footprint, its network and its mission in Crystal City.

“We saw a real opportunity to try and bring together the region’s abundant resources to help empower those startups, and to drive new economic growth across the region,” Harris said.

Since its arrival in Arlington, the incubator has held a Challenge Cup and hosted Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) to celebrate the White House’s Startup Week. During his visit, startup members of 1776 talked about their products, and a couple of the startups gave demos.

The new Crystal City office is similar to the original D.C. office in that it is a hub for startups, Harris said. The company is planning to use its new location to provide classes, curriculum items, events and mentoring for startups in Arlington.

“As part of our effort to create new opportunities for local startups throughout the Washington Metro region to grow and scale, we plan to use our Crystal City campus as a hub for connecting startups to the growing innovation economy and the powerful talent, expertise, corporations, and government agencies in Crystal City and throughout Virginia,” Harris said.

1776 is also looking to help connect startups with institutions within the private sector and government that are connected with cyber security and data, Harris said, and the location in Arlington helps the company provide these resources.

“As the headquarters for the world’s most important government agencies, regulatory bodies, corporations and policymakers, we believe there is unique promise right here in the Washington metro area for civic-minded startups — and unique resources they can’t find anywhere else,” Harris said.

1776 isn’t the only startup incubator in Crystal City. Eastern Foundry, which works to connect new businesses with government contracting, is a few buildings over at 2011 Crystal Drive.

What makes 1776 unique, Harris said, is that the incubator looks to help startups in industries that are important to everyday life but are hard to change.

“Everyday, there are hundreds of startups working diligently on ideas that have the power to transform and improve our lives as citizens,” Harris said. “We are excited to see how we can work with those startups to improve Arlington’s community and economy.”

Arlington Company Helps to Expand Events Through Social Media

Startup Monday header

Editor’s Note: Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

InGo Login Widget (Courtesy of InGo) An Arlington company is using social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, to help increase the amount of attendees at events.

InGo, a company based at 2500 Wilson Blvd in Courthouse, helps bring people to events by analyzing social media activity and finding friends that would also be interested in attending an event. It then gives people the option to invite these friends to the event.

InGo runs a widget on registration pages for events. When someone registers for a large conference or festival, the InGo widget gives people the option to sign up using their Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profiles.

Once the registration is completed, InGo shows users who else is attending the event, and allows people to filter through the guest list by their social media networks. Then InGo gives a list of friends that would be interested in going and allows users to invite them.

“It is the future of events,” said CEO Michael Barnett. “It is the future of marketing.”

By inviting friends to an event, social media marketing for the event is more personalized instead of “ads and spam,” Barnett said.

“It seemed so natural to say if we’d get people to invite each other, we’ll grow the event,” he said.

InGo has helped grow attendance numbers for multiple events, Barnett said. The company now serves more than 500 events across the globe and works with 18 out of the top 20 event companies in the world. In addition to its Courthouse office, the company also has offices in Milan and London.

InGo Social Widget (Courtesy of InGo)

“One of the things I didn’t think we expected is that we’d have events on every continent as young as we are,” Barnett said.

The idea to start InGo came from companies telling Barnett that they were have trouble getting attendees to come to their events, he said.

“The challenge [for events] is how do I find you? How do I discover you? That’s what we solve,” Barnett said.

Social media was the natural answer for Barnett, and a personal invitation from a friend to attend an event grabs people’s attention more than an email ad or even an ad on Facebook, he said.

“You can imagine if you get an invitation from a friend that says I’d really like to see you. You’re going to pay attention,” Barnett said.

InGo Social Widget (Courtesy of InGo)

Invitations are personalized for each different social media type. A Facbeook invitation would be a post on the attendee’s wall that tagged the friends the person invited. Invitation’s can also be sent through LinkedIn and Twitter, and the social media sites are used based on the event. Twitter is popular with photography events, Facebook is used best with social events and LinkedIn is great for industry conferences, Barnett said.

“The entire system works because it is very genuine,” he said.

The company works with large events with millions of attendees, Barnett said. He has his eye on helping increase attendance at music and film festival South by Southwest.

The event needs more paying attendees, Barnett said, and InGo has a solution for them.

“it’s such an exciting show and a great fit,” Barnett said.

Ashlawn Elementary to Face Parking Shortage for School Year

By Heather Mongilio

One of the parking lots at Dominion Hills Area Recreation Association

(Updated at 5:55 p.m.) Ashlawn Elementary School is facing a lack of faculty parking after its parking contract with the Dominion Hills Area Recreation Association was not renewed this year.

The contract between Dominion Hills and Ashlawn allowed the school to lease parking spaces in the pool’s parking lot.

Without the renewed contract, Ashlawn Elementary School is facing a shortage of parking with 30 spots for 130 faculty members, according to a PTA statement from Ashlawn PTA President Carlin Schwartz. Currently, teachers are being told to park at the Powhatan Springs Park (6020 Wilson Blvd) and walk over to the school.

“As you can imagine, this will be burdensome to our staff,” Schwartz said.

The decision to not renew the contract was a “difficult” decision, according to a statement from the Board of Directors at Dominion Hills. Trash in the parking lot, delays in payment, increased traffic in the parking lot and “an inordinate amount of time spent by our Resident Manager attempting to enforce the terms of the agreement,” were among the Board’s reasons for not renewing the contract.

The pool also needed the parking lot spaces for the last four weeks of the pool season, which overlap with the beginning of the school year. The frequent use of the lot was also causing wear and tear damage, and the pool was using funds to resurface the lot instead of using them for maintenance of the pool, according to the statement.

“A large part of our decision came down to the fact that we are in the swim club business, not the parking lot business. As such, we need to focus our energies on safety issues, grounds maintenance and infrastructure related to that — a huge year-round task,” the Board of Directors said.

Arlington Public Schools and Ashlawn President Judy Apostolico-Buck asked Dominion Hills to reconsider, but the Board of Directors did not overturn its decision, according to the PTA statement.

“It is unfortunate that APS did not plan for sufficient parking for Ashlawn Elementary School. We strive to be good neighbors with Ashlawn, and have been, particularly through its construction period,” the Board of Directors said. “However, a renewal of the prior parking agreement is not in the best interests of DHARA.”

Schwartz and the PTA parents are encouraging Ashlawn families to call or email the school board with any concerns or questions. Suggestions for parking can be emailed to Schwartz or Apostolico-Buck.

“Ashlawn families, staff and neighbors have been incredibly patient, gracious and supportive through the many challenges that the construction process has created and it is greatly appreciated. I hope we can face this newest challenge with the same with mindset,” Schwartz said.

Ashlawn Elementary was not notified about trash issues in the parking lot, APS spokesman Frank Bellavia said.

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By Heather Mongilio

Puppy (flickr pool photo by Chaita_1)It’s Friday, which means tomorrow is the Village at Shirlington’s annual Wags N’ Whiskers.

This annual pet shopping expo has more than 60 exhibitions, where shoppers can buy treats, food and pet goods. Pets can also get their pictures taken for $5, so make sure they look their best.

The event will also have live music and kids activities. Pets are welcome to attend.

Campbell Avenue and S. Randolph Street will be closed from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the festival. Campbell Avenue will be closed from S. Quincy Street to the parking garage in front of the Harris Teeter (4250 Campbell Avenue). S. Randolph Street will be closed from Arlington Mill Drive to the alley south of Campbell Avenue.

If four-legged friends are not for you, the Gulf Branch Nature Center and Park (3608 N. Military Road) is holding a bat festival from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday.

There will be habitat walks, games, crafts and a chance to explore the nature center’s bat cave.

The event will also have talks led by Leslie Sturges, who works at a campaign helping to protect and conserve bats. Each talk is tailored for a specific audience, with two 30-minute kids talks and two 45-minute talks for adults and older children. The event costs $8, and there is currently a waitlist for the event.

Feel free to talk about Wags N’ Whiskers, bats or any other local topic.

Flickr pool photo by Chaita_1

AHC Looking for Tutors, College Prep Volunteers

By Heather Mongilio

An AHC volunteer tutor with her student(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) AHC, an affordable housing developer, is seeking volunteers for its education program.

The housing developer needs more than 160 volunteers for its program, which includes tutoring, college prep and after school help, said Celia Slater, communication manager for Arlington-based nonprofit.

“We are broadening our program, which is why we still need so many hands,” she said.

AHC’s education program aims to help students from low-income families graduate high school and attend college. All of the students in its education programs have graduated high school since 2008, according to its website.

This year, AHC will focus on its college prep part of the program, Slater said. Volunteers will help students practice for standardized tests, like the SAT or ACT, apply for financial aid and fill out college applications.

“We’ve realized it takes a lot of extra one-on-one time to work with students to fill out applications for college, financial aid and scholarships,” she said.

Last year, all nine of the high school students in the program applied and were accepted to colleges, Slater said.

“We are also proud that they earned nearly $50,000 in scholarships and grants, which made a huge difference in them being able to actually afford college,” she said.

AHC is also looking for volunteers for its teen tutoring and after school programs.

With teen tutoring, volunteers will work one-on-one with one of the program’s middle or high school students from 6:30-7:30 p.m. every week. Volunteers work with one student for the school year to help him or her work toward graduating high school.

“The combination of enriching field trips, one-on-one mentoring and community service projects broadens students’ world view and inspires them to reach for the stars,” according to AHC’s website.

The after school program runs Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. and works with elementary school children on vocabulary, reading and writing skills. Volunteers also help children with their homework.

“Our 20+ year-old program, really works. One hundred [percent] of our seniors graduate from high school, most go to college, and elementary students significantly increase reading and math skills,” Slater said in an email. “Volunteers are key to students’ success!”

Those interested in volunteering can fill out a contact form on AHC’s volunteer page or contact Cindy Rozón by calling 703-486-0626, ext. 154 or emailing her at [email protected].

File photo

GW Parkway Ramp to Key Bridge Closed Next Week

By Heather Mongilio
1/2

Starting Monday morning, commuters will have to find an alternate route to get from the GW Parkway to the Key Bridge.

National Park Service will close the ramp from southbound GW Parkway to Key Bridge starting before rush hour Monday morning and running through Friday, Aug. 28. The ramp will reopen Saturday morning, said NPS spokesman Aaron LaRocca.

NPS will be replacing the entire surface of the ramp while it is closed. The repairs include milling the road, replacing gravel and overlaying with asphalt.

There will be no detours. NPS advises commuters to find alternate routes and to expect delays.

Accessories Boutique Lou Lou Opens in Clarendon

By Heather Mongilio
1/2

A fashion accessories store, Lou Lou, has opened its doors near the Market Common Clarendon.

The new store at 2839 Clarendon Blvd opened this past Wednesday with a soft opening. It will have a grand opening next Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The company is excited about the new location, and it is selling many new accessories at the Clarendon store, according to a Lou Lou sales associate. Lou Lou sells accessories, such as scarves, necklaces, purses and bracelets. The Clarendon store also sells some clothing items.

The store is hiring part-time employees who are “fun, fashionable, talkative with a passion for accessories,” according to a sign posted outside.

Lou Lou has existing locations in Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Bethesda, Alexandria and Reston, among other D.C. area stores. It also has boutiques in other East Coast cities from Boston to Atlanta.

Clarendon Jewelry Store to Close at the End of August

By Heather Mongilio

B&C Jewelry closing in ClarendonThe B&C Jewelry Boutique in Clarendon will close its doors on Aug. 31.

Owner Nolan Forness, who owns the store with his wife, daughter and son, said that they wanted to go back to owning two stores instead of three. The company has two other stores in Alexandria.

The Clarendon store also received less foot traffic than the two Alexandria store, he said. He declined to comment more about the closing in order to stay in good standing with his landlord.

“We’re happy that people come to visit us here and we’ll see them in Alexandria,” Forness said.

The Clarendon branch of B&C Jewelers opened in December 2012.

Arlington County Seeking New ‘Public Art Project Manager’

By Heather Mongilio

Decorative sculpture planned for Pentagon City's Metropolitan Park development (image via Arlington County)Arlington County’s public art program is seeking a new “Public Art Project Manager.”

Project managers are responsible for developing and managing public art projects for the county, as well as advising on county requests for art and design enhancements. They also help educate residents and county staff about the importance of art in Arlington.

“The work entails communication and project-related activities to publicize, advocate for, support and elevate the profile of public art and design enhancements in the County,” according to the job listing.

“The work also includes collection maintenance oversight for Arlington’s collection of permanent public art and portable works, the associated database and website, and supports the work of the Public Art Committee of the Arlington Commission of the Arts.

Project managers work under Angela Adams, the public art administrator.

The position became available after one of the former project managers moved to a different department to take a part-time job, said Jim Byers, marketing director for Arlington Cultural Affairs. Byers could not say who moved from the department because it’s a personnel matter, he said.

The public art department website currently lists Deirdre Ehlen and Aliza Schiff as project managers.

Those wishing to apply need to have a bachelor’s degree in an art or design-related field, such as fine arts, art history or urban planning. Candidates also need two years experience in arts administration, public arts or a design-related field.

The application is available online.

Arlington’s public art program recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Upcoming public art projects in the county include:

Bayou Bakery to Celebrate New Orleans’ Progress Since Katrina

By Heather Mongilio

Katrina10 logo (Courtesy of Simone Rathle)

A Courthouse restaurant owner is hosting a gathering to celebrate the city of New Orleans’ progress since Hurricane Katrina.

Chef David Gaus, a New Orleans native who owns the Bayou Bakery, is holding an event called “Katrina 10” to show how far the city has come in the 10 years since the hurricane’s destruction.

Katrina 10 will be held at the Bayou Bakery (1515 N. Courthouse Road) from 5-7 p.m. on Aug. 29. There will be New Orleans-style food and drinks, with music provided by Laissez Foure. The gathering will also have an open mic for anyone to share their Katrina stories.

“Chef David Guas, who is a fellow New Orleans native, has and continues to give back to his beloved home city through charities and fundraisers. After watching the waters ravage the neighborhoods in which he grew up and his parents’ home, he truly knows the real impact of the disaster all too well,” said Simone Rathlé, the PR rep for the restaurant and Guas’ wife.

The event kicks off Guas’ charity week, where he will donate $10 from each sale of his cookbook, DamSweetGood, to the Roots of Music, a nonprofit that helps provide free musical education to children in New Orleans. The charity week runs from Aug. 29 until Sept. 5.

“As a New Orleans native who has seen the devastating affects of Hurricane Katrina first hand, it is both with a heavy heart, and hopeful focus on the road ahead, that we think back to the day it struck 10 years ago,” Rathlé said in a press release. “Tragedy often gives way to hope and brings people together to rise up.”

Family Creates Guide to Arlington Playgrounds

By Heather Mongilio

Playground Guide (Courtesy of H.K. Park)Chestnut Hills playground at 2807 N. Harrison Street is the best playground in Arlington, at least according to a new guide to the county’s playgrounds.

H.K. Park and his two children, Avery and Spencer, created “The Arlington Playground Guide!!,” a review book of 70 playgrounds in the county.

“It’s a Zagat’s guide for kids written by kids,” Park said.

The Parks visited each playground, excluding ones at schools, and ranked them on the different features, like how challenging the playground was, how much shade each has and if it had bathrooms, Park said.

Each playground was giving a ranking out of five stars, with five stars denoting an “epic” experience.

“For a small county, there are a lot of playgrounds,” Park noted.

Park’s kids liked playgrounds that had more challenging features, like rock climbing walls or climbing nets.

Six-year-old Spencer Park gave the playground at Penrose Park (2200 6th Street S.) four stars, saying it had a good jungle gym. His sister gave it five stars.

“Cool! This is really big but not shady. It was super hot but it was worth it,” Avery Park, 9, wrote in the book.

Penrose and Quincy Park ranking (Courtesy of H.K. Park)

Avery and Spencer liked the bigger playgrounds, Park said. They also liked ones with swings and seesaws, as well as newly-installed equipment.

The playground at Quincy Park (1021 N. Quincy Street) received two stars from the Park kids, who wrote it was too small.

“This place is boring,” Spencer wrote. “Sometimes I think it’s a little cuckoo.”

Park also included “Dad views” for each playground, which looked at the amount of shade at a park or how many bathrooms it had.

Park gave a copy of the book, which contains pictures of each playground, to Arlington Public Library. Families can also request a copy from Park, he said.

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