Ballston

Ballston-Based Startup Talks Developers Through Programming for Voice Controls

By Vernon Miles

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.

The new frontier of user interface isn’t a keyboard, controller or a touch screen — Ballston-based startup Modev says it’s your voice.

Modev aims to help developers understand voice controls and fully understand the potential and challenges of programming for voice controls.

The main venue for this education is a series of summits where programmers and experts talk about the latest developments.

Pete Erickson, founder of Modev, said one of the big challenges Modev works to solve is helping developers understand just how different developing for voice controls is.

“People are building for mobile, but how do you develop for voice?” Erickson asked. “When mobile came out, user experience was the big new profession. Now, it’s conversational designers. You can’t just slap a voice on the front end — you have to build that from the ground up.”

The current market is for functional home interfaces, where a monotone robot can change the channel or lower the temperature. But Erickson said the market is going to rapidly move towards increasingly realistic conversations.

“Voice is going to be all about customization,” Erickson said. “Just as with mobile apps, voice can measure preferences and habits and be used to synthesize custom voices.”

Erickson says a person using the voice activation for day-to-day home functions will need a different voice to interact with a 7 year-old or an elderly person with dementia.

Modev started ten years ago in a pizza shop in Rosslyn. Erickson had just gotten married and moved to D.C. after years of working in the Seattle technology industry and wanted to meet with other locals who worked in smartphone development. Within a year, the group had 1,000 members.

By then, Erickson started to brand the group as Modev — a portmanteau for mobile development. The group’s first development conference had 325 attendees, and Erickson decided to turn the group into his full-time business.

A decade later, the group has events across the country and in places like Hong Kong. Erickson said most of the money comes from sponsorship, which also gave them the connections to put together the first conference on developing voice controls for Amazon’s Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant.

Rather than hold one central conference, Erickson said the team spent three months of 2017 traveling to 10 cities to meet with developers and help them build for Alexa.

Modev hosts several events every year focused around different aspects of development, like the upcoming VOICE Summit on July 22 in Newark, New Jersey or the management-focused EXO Software Leadership summit on Sept. 15 in Aspen, Colorado.

There are nearly 400 proposals currently being sifted through for Modev’s big conference planned for the VOICE Summit. Founder Pete Erickson’s team is sorting through the projects currently and narrowing it down to 75-100 projects that will have a chance to give a demonstration. The conference last July was expected to have 1,500 attendees. Over 3,000 showed up.

But as they’ve been going through the projects, Erickson said he believes there’s potential to do something newer and bigger. Erickson likes the in-person conferences, but he also has first-hand knowledge of how valuable online conferencing can be.

There are nearly 20 people working at Modev, but the headquarters is just Erickson sitting at a desk in the Ballston Techspace coworking space. Erickson said most of the company is spread out across the country now, and they collaborate online. It’s an experience that Erickson says the company can use to change the way the conferences are held.

Rather than host an in-person conference with a limited number of attendees and performances, Erickson said work has already started for a conference on Feb. 20, 2020, that will live-stream worldwide with a broader selection of presentations.

Photo via Facebook

Loosened FCC Regulations Open the Door for Ballston Startup’s Wireless Expansion

By Vernon Miles

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.

Ballston-based tech startup Federated Wireless is taking advantage of new changes to the Federal Communications Commission’s rules to expand its business partnerships.

On March 12, Federated Wireless announced a new partnership with Cambium Networks, an Illinois-based internet provider, to use frequencies newly available for commercial wireless use.

Federated Wireless works on making new frequencies available for commercial use and ensuring that those frequencies do not interfere with other signals. This allows — for example — automatic cash registers to securely interface or factories to wirelessly link their information systems.

Federated Wireless offers its wireless access through the Citizens’ Broadband Radio Service initiative (CBRS), which makes a subset of the airwaves open for commercial use.

“While the traditional licensed spectrum approach has served the largest U.S. mobile operators well, it has also constrained network operators like [wireless providers] who operate smaller networks throughout the U.S.,” Scott Imhoff, vice president of product management and marketing at Cambium Networks, said in a press release. “CBRS changes everything — unlocking a large slice of spectrum for broader commercial use.”

Federated Wireless said the new partnership was made possible by a change in FCC regulations on Priority Access Licenses (PAL). In October, new rules opened up the available spectrum even further for commercial development. The new FCC regulations allow those who are holding PALs but aren’t using them to lease the spectrums to private enterprises.

Part of the change allows wireless internet service providers room to work together on certain frequencies and create a market where groups like Federated Wireless can go toe-to-toe with telecommunications giants by pooling their resources.

“The proposal also opens the opportunity for a fluid and vibrant secondary market for PALs, addressing the PAL needs for many enterprises,” Kurt Schaubach, chief technology officer for Federated Wireless, said in a blog post. “The PAL rules state that the licenses obtained within a county must be used or they will revert to [general] use. This actually encourages PAL holders who aren’t using their licenses to lease them to… other enterprises, giving these properties a competitive edge in the market.”

Photo courtesy Federated Wireless

Sloppy Mama’s BBQ Open Today, Bar Opening Tomorrow at Ballston Quarter Food Hall

By ARLnow.com
1/7

The rapid-fire openings at Ballston Quarter’s Quarter Market food hall are continuing this week.

After a “soft opening” Friday, Sloppy Mama’s BBQ was open for lunch today, serving wood-smoked meats in sandwiches and platters, alongside homemade sides and barbecue sauces.

It’s the food truck’s first bricks-and-mortar location and its first major foray outside of the District — though some of its barbecue supplies are sold at Arrowine on Lee Highway.

Though it was only open for lunch today, and its hours are not yet set, Sloppy Mama’s expects to eventually be open for lunch and dinner.

Also open for a Friday “soft opening” was Ballston Service Station, which will serve as the food hall’s main bar.

Featuring 20 taps of beer — from local brews to cheap classics and popular imports — plus six wines and two cider on tap, the bar strives to provide “something for everybody.” Customers can drink at the bar or take it with them elsewhere in the food hall.

“We want to to be able to get whatever you want, so you can walk around and pair it with something to eat here,” said Andrew Dana, the co-owner of Ballston Service Station and also the co-owner of another Quarter Market vendor, Turu’s by Timber Pizza.

As it must to comply with Virginia ABC regulations, the bar will also serve food: paninis and chips.

Dana said Ballston Service Station will re-open Tuesday. Its regular hours will be 4 p.m. to close.

Portion of Wilson Blvd in Ballston Closed for Crane Removal

By ARLnow.com
1/6

(Updated at 12:20 p.m.) Wilson Blvd is closed between N. Quincy and Randolph streets, just east of Ballston Quarter mall, for the removal of a massive construction crane.

Crews appear to be in the process of disassembling the crane piece-by-piece and hauling away the pieces.

Police are on scene and traffic is being re-routed to roads parallel to Wilson. As of 11 a.m., traffic was light in the area. The westbound lanes of Wilson are expected to reopen in time for the evening rush hour, according to Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage, while the eastbound lanes are set to remain closed through Sunday.

The crane was in place to assist with the construction of the new Liberty Center building at 4040 Wilson Blvd.

The mixed-use residential, retail, and office space is scheduled to open later this year and will be the final piece of a five-building development. VIDA Fitness, a “high end fitness center and spa,” is set to open its first non-D.C. location in the building by the end of 2019, while publicly-traded apartment developer AvalonBay is expected to move from its current Ballston office to the new building.

The road closure is not the only notable closure on the block. The Sweetgreen restaurant at 4075 Wilson Blvd is closed for the second day in a row, for unspecified reasons. Some sort of a clean-up effort appears to be underway in the store, though a county spokesman noted that the temporary closure is “not related to any Health Department action.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

A Look at Bryce Harper’s Rosslyn Apartment — “For much of the time that Harper was in a Nationals’ uniform, he rented a two-bedroom, 2,000 square-foot loft condo at the Wooster and Mercer Lofts, a luxury residential development from Abdo Development in Arlington.” [UrbanTurf]

Crash Takes Out Traffic Signal Near Fairlington — Per Alexandria Police yesterday: “Use caution in the 3600 block of King St, the Bradlee shopping center. A vehicle crash caused a traffic light outage. Treat uncontrolled intersections as 4-way stops. Be patient & take turns.” [Twitter]

Car Careens Over Wall in Arlington Mill — A car somehow rolled over a low wall and onto a sidewalk across from the Arlington Mill Community Center yesterday. The circumstances surrounding the crash are unclear. [Twitter]

Big Hole in Road Near Shirlington — A main road between the Shirlington and Fairlington neighborhoods was blocked for a period of time yesterday due to large hole in the road. The closure happened on 31st Street S., where a new sound wall is being constructed, during yesterday’s nightmarish evening commute. [Facebook]

Ballston Startup Gets Funding — MotoRefi, an auto refinance startup we profiled earlier this week, has “announced a $4.7 million seed raise led by Accomplice with participation from QED Investor sand Motley Fool Ventures. Ryan Moore, co-founder of Accomplice, will join MotoRefi’s board of directors.” [MotoRefi]

Service Cut to Metrobus Line — Metro is reducing service to Metrobus Route 2A (Dunn Loring-Ballston), after a ridership drop. Metro increased service to the line a few years ago and that net increase is now being eliminated. [Twitter]

Nearby: Companies Worried About HQ2 — “‘Recently a company was looking to put 600 jobs in this area, and they decided not to come here because they were concerned about getting the workers they need,’ [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority Chair Cathy] Lange said, not identifying the company. ‘Many of the companies are worried that their workers in Fairfax County are going to be hired by Amazon. And they are not going to be able to have their growth plans.'” [Washington Business Journal]

Hot Lola’s Now Open at Ballston’s Quarter Market

By Airey
1/3

A new restaurant specializing in spicy chicken is now open in Ballston Quarter’s food hall.

Hot Lola’s is the one of the newest additions to the mall’s Quarter Market food hall and is helmed by Chef Kevin Tien from Petworth’s Himitsu. The menu features chicken sandwiches in four levels of spiciness, from mild to eye-watering. Each is $7.50 and topped with slaw, pickles and a special sauce.

Chicken tenders with slaw, pickles, and toast are available for $8.50 those who want to go bun-less.

Tien previously told Eater he use Sichuan chili oil and spices to flavor the signature sandwiches, making for a style that’s akin to Nashville hot chicken, but unique.

“The only question is, how hot do you want it?” reads Ballston Quarter’s website for the eatery.

Patrons can indeed order on a scale from “TOO HOT” down to “O.G. HOT” down to “Warm + Numbing,” according to the menu. A non-spicy version is also on the menu.

A 4 percent “Fair Wage + Wellness Provision” that pays for employee health insurance, as well as dental and vision, is added to the price.

“After careful research, we have come to the conclusion that this is the best way to reduce wage disparity and provide health benefits for all full time employees,” the restaurant wrote in an open letter about the fee. “No portion of this Hospitality Provision will go to ownership wages or investor dividends.”

The eatery is part of the 25,000 square-foot “food hall” in the newly-renovated Ballston Quarter mall, where only about half of the planned restaurants are open amid construction delays.

Ice Cream Jubilee opened in the space last Friday, following Hot Lola’s and Spanish small plate restaurant Copa Kitchen and Bar earlier this month. Mi & Yu Noodle Bar was the first Quarter Market eatery to open, on March 4. Korean rice bowl restaurant Rice Crook also appeared to be open earlier this week.

Second photo via Hot Lola’s Menu

Ballston Startup Aims to Make Car Refinancing Easy

By Vernon Miles

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.

(Updated 1:45 p.m.) Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about refinancing their car, which is why Ballston-based startup MotoRefi aims to make it as simple and painless as possible.

The company claims to save customers an average of $100 per month on car refinancing. MotoRefi works with credit agencies to take improvements in people’s credit score and other factors into account when it comes to car payments.

“A car is the most expensive purchase many people make, outside of their home,” said Kevin Bennett, CEO of MotoRefi. “Unfortunately, most people are driving around in cars with payments that are too high and are at risk of unexpected car expenses that could derail their finances.”

Bennett said reducing the amount people spend every month on car payments helps MotoRefi customers build better financial protection and save up to pay off student loans or other debts.

“We also reduce the risk that people will face a large unexpected out-of-pocket car expense, which is important because people have enough economic anxiety and risk in their lives,” Bennett said. “We help ensure that your car is an asset to your life, not a liability.”

According to Bennett, traditional refinancing can be confusing and lacks transparency. The process starts obligation free, with offers from lenders visible with no social security number required and no impact on a credit score.

If the customer chooses to go through with the refinancing, MotoRefi charges a $399 fee to cover the costs of processing documents and retitling vehicles, which is included in the refinanced loan amount.

Moving forward, the company is looking into platform expansions on the technology and analytics sides, as well as expanding into new markets and growing the local team. Bennett made sure to note that the company is currently hiring.

The company started in 2017 out of an office in Alexandria but moved to Ballston in 2018.

“We moved [to Ballston] because of its central location, the region’s impressive workforce and technical talent, proximity to the metro and the great restaurants and coffee shops the Ballston’s redevelopment has brought to the neighborhood,” Bennett said. “We’ve got a Philz Coffee, Sweet Green, Cava and a ton of other destinations our team loves. And we’re working on a sweet new HQ in the neighborhood, so stay tuned for more to come on that.”

Photo courtesy MotoRefi

Ice Cream Jubilee Opens in Ballston

By Airey
1/3

Ice Cream Jubilee has opened its new location in Ballston Quarter’s food hall.

The ice cream store, on the mall’s concourse level, is serving 16 unique flavors of ice cream, ranging from Thai Iced Tea to Honey Lemon Lavender to Banana Bourbon Caramel.

Owner Victoria Lai told ARLnow that she’s been pleasantly surprised by the number of customers they’ve had on their first day. She added that she’s excited to be among Ballston Quarter’s bevy of local food vendors.

“Every single day there’s something new down here,” she said. “There’s so much to look forward to.”

The opening comes at the same time as some other Ballston businesses were experiencing a power outage, across the street from the mall.

Dominion Energy spokesman Chuck Penn said the outage was caused by a nearby car accident and that Dominion crews were on the scene performing repairs.

“We expect to have all that done in about an hour,” Penn said at 2 p.m.

At 12:45 p.m. Dominion’s live outage map showed three customers affected by the outage.

Cava and Philz Coffee, which are both located at 4121 Wilson Blvd, posted signs on their front doors at noon Friday alerting customers they had closed due to the lack of power.

South Block Opening New Ballston Location Monday

By ARLnow.com
1/3

South Block, the growing juice bar chain that started its expansion in Clarendon, is planning to open its newest location to the public on Monday.

The new 1,300 square foot location, next to BASH Boxing in the outdoor row of businesses at Ballston Quarter mall, will offer raw, cold-pressed juices, along with toasts, acai bowls, and smoothies.

A “soft opening” for the new Ballston location will be held starting on Monday. The location’s normal weekday hours will be 7 a.m.-8 p.m., with weekend hours of 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

South Block will be holding a “block party” in two weeks to celebrate its grand opening, with proceeds from the event benefiting the Arlington Food Assistance Center. More on that, via a press release, below.

Locally owned South Block, northern Virginia’s first juice bar known for amazing acai bowls, smoothies and juice, celebrates its ninth location with a Grand Opening “Block Party” on Saturday, April 6 in Ballston Quarter. South Block first opened in 2011 in a 700 square foot space in Clarendon on a mission to “Build Healthier Communities…One Block at a Time!” The Ballston location is more than 1300 square feet and is located next to the future Ballston BASH Boxing in the newly renovated Ballston Mall on N. Randolph Street.

“When I graduated from Virginia Tech I lived in Ballston before I opened the first South Block. It’s where the seed was planted, and now, more than 15 years later I am so excited to go back to my roots and open our ninth location. I have a strong connection to this community and am honored to be a part of the flourishing neighborhood,” said South Block’s Founder and CEO, Amir Mostafavi.

South Block’s “good vibe tribe” will be out in full force at the Grand Opening “Block Party” on Saturday, April 6 at 9:00 a.m. The first 100 “Block Party” attendees will receive a swag bag complete with a reusable smoothie cup and sunglasses plus the chance to win a $100 South Block gift card. A live DJ and boxing demonstrations by BASH boxing will keep the good vibes rolling!

WHO: South Block Ballston
WHAT: South Block Ballston’s Grand Opening “Block Party”
WHEN: Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. (Store opens to the public on Monday, March 25).
WHERE: South Block | 700 N Randolph St, Arlington, VA 22203

All proceeds on April 6 will go to South Block’s new fundraising initiative, Fruitful Planet, to support the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), a community-based non-profit that provides supplemental groceries to Arlington neighbors in need. South Block created Fruitful Planet as a way to give back to those in need and build healthy communities. “We believe that small acts can make a big impact! The Arlington community has been so great to South Block… we want to do everything we can to support the community and show love back. We are ‘One Block!'” said Mostafavi.

South Block’s Ballston Quarter location will have a soft opening starting March 25 and will be open weekdays 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and weekends 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Download South Block’s mobile app to access their secret “Underground Menu” and order-ahead. South Block has partnered with another locally growing business, MightyMeals, to deliver their juices. Visit www.southblockjuice.com  for juice delivery options!

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

GW Parkway Closure — Updated at 9:15 a.m. — “All lanes of the GW Parkway are now closed during Friday morning’s rush hour due to a large sinkhole that was discovered overnight.” [Tysons Reporter]

HQ2 Impact to Be Bigger Than Expected? — JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and George Mason University’s Stephen S. Fuller both think many are underestimating HQ2’s impact on job creation in the region. [Washington Business Journal, Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Gets High Marks for Dog Parks — Arlington is No. 10 on the Trust for Public Land’s ranking of cities with the most dog parks per capita. Arlington has eight dog parks, or 3.5 for every 100,000 residents. D.C. ranked No. 22 on the list. [Trust for Public Land]

Wilson Blvd to Close Again in Ballston — “That stretch of Wilson Boulevard at @BallstonQuarter that’s now closed eastbound on school nights 8pm-6am for 8 weeks? It’ll also be closed both ways this weekend, Friday 8pm to Sunday 6pm. Lots of pedestrian bridge to do.” [Twitter]

Road Closures in N. Arlington — “The Nottingham/Discovery Elementary Schools 5K race will take place on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The Arlington County Police Department will close several roads from approximately 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM to accommodate the event.” [Arlington County]

Basketball Fundraiser Tonight — “New Directions High School students will play Arlington County’s heroes — including some of the police department, fire department, probation and prosecutor’s office” tonight at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School to raise money for New Directions. [Twitter]

No Hyperloop for Va. for Now — “Virginia transit officials flew to California to check out Elon Musk’s Boring Co. tunnel. They say they’re gonna stick with traditional roads and railways for now. ‘It’s a car in a very small tunnel.'” [Virginia Mercury, Twitter]

Arlington to Host Conference for Women Entrepreneurs

By Airey

This week Arlington is hosting conference dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs in the Greater Washington area.

The We Thrive Women Entrepreneurs’ Conference will be held on Thursday at Founders Hall at George Mason University’s Arlington campus (3351 Fairfax Drive) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and aims to provide business growth and social media training and opportunities to network for female entrepreneurs.

Keynote speakers include Melinda F. Emerson of the Pennsylvania-based marking consulting firm Quintessence Group who will share lessons from her 20 years growing and advising small businesses. Other keynote speakers include attorney Nicole Cober and Jen Pilcher of MilSpouseFest.

The all-day event includes break out sessions on topics like raising your capital, federal contracts, marketing tips, and pitching.

Arlington Strategy CEO Jennifer Mulchandani will moderate a workshop on marketing tips. The workshop will also include panelists Romona Foster, a social media consultant, Evelyn Powers who co-founded website design company Design Powers, Inc., and Maritza Lizama of brand developer LiMon, LLC

Tickets sell for $150 and those interested in attending can register here.

Also happening Thursday in Arlington is East Coast VentureCON 2019, which is billed as a conference for “VCs, angels, and entrepreneurs on the East Coast” looking to network, attend events, and check out the an “innovation showcase” with speed pitches from startup companies.

The conference is being held at Marymount University in Ballston (1000 N. Glebe Road) and ticket prices range from $159 to $3,000.

Photo via Flickr user Marco Verch

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