startup

Arlington startup VerticalApps acquired by Fairfax County-based MindPetal 

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

Arlington-based VerticalApps, which uses automation technologies such as artificial intelligence to streamline how federal agencies operate, will be acquired by a Vienna-based government contractor.

MindPetal, which provides IT solutions to the government, announced earlier this month that it has “entered into a definitive agreement” to acquire VerticalApps.

Effective this Wednesday, VerticalApps will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MindPetal, per a press release. The companies say will accelerate the modernization of federal agencies through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), predictive analytics and data science.

“Our team — including our leadership and [Intelligent Automation] experts — are excited to join forces with MindPetal to help federal agencies embrace the promise of AI/ML,” VerticalApps said on LinkedIn.

Founded in 2010, the Ballston startup develops software and data management solutions and specializes in intelligent automation, which applies automation technologies to making decisions and predictions and analyzing data. It works with top agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“We are thrilled to join forces with MindPetal,”  VerticalApps Co-Founder Will Choi said in a statement. “Our partnership will allow us to expand our team, share our expertise, and help federal leaders embrace the promise of AI to build better digital experiences.”

VerticalApps acquisition banner (via VerticalApps/LinkedIn)

This next step for the company comes after receiving some prestigious local and national recognition in recent years. This year, it was recognized this year as one of several federal government contractors “doing it right” when it comes to “corporate culture, mission support and employee focus.”

In 2020, VerticalApps was named one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Washington Business Journal and Virginia Business, which ranked it third among Virginia small businesses, according to Arlington Economic Development. That year, it also landed on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., with a growth rate of 336%.

Choi and executives Michael and Paul Grace will move into MindPetal’s leadership team. Choi will become Chief Operating Officer, Paul Grace the Chief Finance Officer and Michael will serve as Senior Vice-President for Program Delivery. MindPetal COO Michael Agrillo will become president of the combined company.

“This is an exciting moment for MindPetal and for our customers,” MindPetal CEO Sony George said in a statement. “VerticalApps brings an experienced team with deep expertise and superlative past performance that will accelerate our growth and deliver immediate value to our federal customers.”

Located in Vienna, MindPetal is ranked 17th in the Government Service Sector of the Inc. 5000 and ninth in the D.C. area and 147th in the country for small businesses.

An Arlington-based startup looks to diagnose and treat flaws in diabetes care

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

When Richard Gurley surveyed the healthcare field for people with diabetes, he noticed several flaws.

Whether they saw primary care physicians and specialists or used virtual platforms, diabetics often lacked support between visits, particularly for nutritional education and behavioral health.

Insurance, meanwhile, rewarded offices for less-effective care.

“The traditional way of treating type 2 diabetes in this country is just not working for the majority of people living with it,” Gurley said in a recent press release, announcing a new partnership with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

He founded Ryse Health in 2020 to change that.

“We started with a blank slate and designed what we believe is the most efficient, effective model for serving people living with type 2 diabetes, helping them manage their care in a way that’s tailored to them,” his statement continued.

Ryse Health pairs patients with an endocrinologist, a diabetes care specialist, a health coach and a behavioral health specialist. Via chat, email, video and in-person visits, they provide regular support, tips for managing diabetes and coaching, while connecting patients with diabetic peers.

These encounters make for efficient and effective visits, and result in fewer visits over time as patients get healthier, according to the company. Ryse also hires additional staff when demand surges, so that patients wait a maximum of two weeks for an appointment. It takes most major insurance.

The company opened its doors in the summer of 2021 and today employs 18 team members and serves more than 500 patients across its offices in Arlington and Baltimore, he tells ARLnow.

Half of Ryse’s 18-person team reports to the Arlington office, but only for half the week, as most of the care it provides is virtual. Providers work from home two days a week.

Ryse Health CEO Richard Gurley speaks at an event hosted by the incubation program run by the investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (courtesy photo)

Gurley says his company aims to combine the best of primary care, specialty and virtual-only providers, while avoiding their shortcomings.

“Though there are some amazing examples of care in all three of these categories, by and large, they don’t serve people living with chronic disease well,” he said.

He credited primary-care practices for providing support between office visits but said they tend to pass off people with more complex medications or support needs to endocrinologists.

While endocrinologists handle these patients and offer diet education, they rarely provide the between-visit support or address psychological barriers, he said.

Both options have scheduling issues, Gurley says, noting patients wait an average of four months to see an endocrinologist and they see their provider every three to six months. That makes virtual, app-based options attractive but insurance largely does not cover them.

He attributed poor patient outcomes to these issues securing appointments and receiving effective support as well as the “perverse incentives” insurance creates.

For instance, companies will pay offices and hospitals the same for effective visits and those where little progress is made. Also, providers may not offer critical support to patients, such as identifying barriers to getting lab work done and devising a plan to overcome them.

“Most practices don’t have a way to get paid for that work, so they don’t do it,” he said.

As part of the new partnership — a first for Ryse — CareFirst will pair D.C.-area members who have uncontrolled type 2 diabetes with Ryse providers. They will provide in-person and virtual visits through which patients will come to control their hemoglobin and blood pressure levels.

Ryse and CareFirst began conversations in 2021. In 2022, Ryse joined its incubation program run by the investment arm of CareFirst.

“We’re grateful that CareFirst has chosen to partner with us on our shared mission, and we’re excited to see the partnership grow in the coming years,” Gurley said.

He foreshadowed more partnerships and announcements in the next six months as well as expansion plans within and beyond the mid-Atlantic.

The company already has investor interest and has raised $10 million in the last 18 months.

Gurley says the money is being invested in “our team and technology, continuing to refine our model to be the most effective, efficient model for improving cardiometabolic health.”

How two startup founders overcame setbacks with help from Arlington’s business network

By James Jarvis

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

Fear nearly prevented Scott Love from starting his data analytics firm, Arlington-based Lovelytics.

“I always wanted to start a company… There was always an excuse not to do it, like, ‘Oh, I don’t have enough money. I don’t know how to do that,” he shared during a panel hosted by Rosslyn-based tech accelerator Unstuck Labs in August.

While Love admitted these were real challenges, he said navigating them became easier after tapping into Arlington’s business community.

“From the time I was one person… Arlington made me feel like I was going to be a 6,000-person company,” he said.

Anything Love needed, whether it was advice or introductions to investors, he said people made themselves available to help.

Natalia Micheletti, who co-founded Pryze, an app that encourages employees to minimize phone use at work, agrees.

“It just felt like we had a million opportunities,” Micheletti, the CEO of the Arlington-based startup, said during the panel.

Despite starting companies in different fields, both founders faced similar obstacles, including fundraising and managing employees effectively. They said talking through their struggles with startup founders who had been there before helped them persevere.

Unstuck Labs CEO Wa’il Ashshowwaf (left) speaks to local startup founders Natalia Micheletti and Scott Love during a panel discussion in Rosslyn (staff photo by James Jarvis)

For instance, Love and Micheletti noted securing investors was a “draining” process. Micheletti said she heard “No” from 100 people before finally getting that “Yes.”

“And being able to take feedback from all these people who are in the industry, or you think no more than you, without losing your essence, without losing, like what’s making you special and what made you like be crazy in the first place to start this one thing… is hard,” she said.

But Micheletti said she and co-founder Tim Hylton were able to push through that wall with support from their peers in the start world and Unstuck Labs, which gives founders like Micheletti mentorship, office space and investment.

“I think what’s keeping us here, other than Unstuck Labs… I think it is the roots that we’re planning in the community as well,” she said.

Love said pitching to investors was hard work but another challenged he faced, as his company grew, was refining his leadership skills.

“I think one of the weirdest things for me when I started, it was like, you change your title, and all of a sudden people care a little bit more about what you say and trust you… It’s a completely uncomfortable position,” he said.

Love, who oversees a team of 82, said talking with other Arlington founders made him realize the difference between delegating and leading.

“And I thought I was delegating. But in reality, I was just having them do all the work and come back to me and ask for approval. And that gets me nowhere,” Love said.

Instead, Love said he needed to learn to step back and trust his employees to handle tasks independently.

The mentorship the two founders received from Arlington’s business community appears to be paying off.

Pryze hired its third employee and plans to expand its services after raising nearly $1 million in venture capital, Micheletti previously told ARLnow.

Meanwhile, venture capital firms Databricks Venture and Interlock Equity made “strategic investments” in Lovelytics this June. These investments, for undisclosed amounts, will help the company deepen its expertise healthcare, media, financial services, retail, and manufacturing, Love said in a blog post.

“This investment will accelerate the growth of Lovelytics’ team and expand its technical offerings related to enterprise data environment creation, AI and [language learning models], business intelligence, data science, and cloud infrastructure,” a press release said.

This Arlington company is using a $120 million acquisition to make high-tech advances on the battlefield

By Jo DeVoe
One of AeroVironment's small unmanned aircraft, the Puma VTOL Kit, in flight (courtesy AeroVironment)

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

An Arlington-based company that builds unmanned expeditionary vehicles for war is seeking to continue its growth with the acquisition of a robotics startup from Florida.

AeroVironment said in a press release that its $120 million acquisition of Tomahawk Robotics was finalized last week.

“We’re confident that the combined experience and expertise of our two teams will result in a variety of unmatched unmanned expeditionary vehicles that meet our customers’ emerging needs and exacting standards,” said AeroVironment’s Senior Vice President of Unmanned Systems Trace Stevenson in a statement.

AeroVironment, which works with more than 55 allied nations, plans to hire on the entire Tomahawk Robotics team and retain its facilities in Florida, CEO and Chairman Wahid Nawabi said in a statement last week.

“We’re thrilled for Tomahawk Robotics’ employees to join AeroVironment and we look forward to welcoming them into our expanding team,” he said. “Tomahawk employees will contribute to the growth of our already talented workforce and are joining AeroVironment’s culture of innovation and exploration in which they can continue to develop in their careers.”

Tomahawk Robotics, a 5-year-old startup, developed a way to embed sensors and software into a single pane of glass. When applied to unmanned vehicles, the glass provides the humans controlling these machines from afar with situational awareness and helps them launch precise attacks.

“Our motto has always been ‘warfighter first,’” Tomahawk Robotics CEO Brad Truesdell said in a statement. “Everything we’ve designed or made has been optimized to better equip and prepare soldiers on the battlefield.”

AeroVironment had already been using Tomahawk solutions for about a year when it announced the acquisition, which Stevenson says will pair “the best common controller technology with the most ubiquitous unmanned systems on the market today.”

Merging the two technologies, AeroVironment says it envisions a future where warfighters can use one controller to operate several robotic solutions in the battlefield.

One of AeroVironment’s small unmanned aircraft, the Puma VTOL Kit, in flight (courtesy AeroVironment)

A national software company acquired this homegrown Arlington business

By Caroline Gage
Founder and CEO of Dalton Digital, Justin Gooderham (courtesy of Justin Gooderham)

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

An Arlington small business owner had his marketing firm acquired by a national software company last month.

The story is a case study of finding success by breaking into a niche industry.

Six years ago, Justin Gooderham founded a marketing company to help clients expand their reach with mobile-friendly websites, blog content and social media pages.

At the suggestion of a friend, however, the entrepreneur tailored his fledgling company, Dalton Digital, to a sector with little competition for his services: title insurance.

“There are tons of agencies that help lawyers, that help dental practices, that help plumbers, but the title industry was relatively untapped, so there were lots of companies that needed the help of the service that I provide, so it was just a good match,” Gooderham told ARLnow.

He leaned on resources from Arlington Economic Development’s BizLaunch to establish connections and grow the business.

“I’m an Arlington native, so I started kind of close to home, reaching out to local businesses to kind of get my name out there, introduce myself,” Gooderham said.

During the early years, the local entrepreneur oversaw quick growth. By 2019, the company won the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s Home-Based Business of the Year Award.

More recently, however, the founder said his small team at Dalton Digital was reaching an upper limit — until an offer from Jenesis Software came along. The health insurance management company was started by an insurance agent who, like Gooderham, recognized small agencies needed help establishing an online presence.

The acquisition, announced in late August for an undisclosed amount, will give Dalton Digital “access to a broader range of resources, technologies, and expertise,” according to a press release.

Gooderham says that this is a win for clients.

“It just made sense,” Gooderham said. “I felt like I was a bit maxed out in terms of what I could do myself and my small contracting team, but [Jenesis] has a bigger company with more resources.”

The founder will stay involved with the company after the acquisition, but is looking to explore other areas beyond Dalton Digital.

He says that one of his biggest takeaways after starting and growing his business has been getting to know his customers and their needs.

“Getting to know the business, asking the right questions and uncovering those layers is really instrumental in understanding a business and ultimately doing business with them,” Gooderham said.

Justin Gooderham, Founder of Dalton Digital (courtesy of Justin Gooderham)

Twenty-eight Arlington companies make 2023 Inc. 5000 list

By James Jarvis
Twenty-eight Arlington-based companies made the 2023 Inc. 5000 (via Inc. 5000)

A total of 28 Arlington-based companies are featured in this year’s Inc. 5000 list, which ranks the nation’s fastest-growing privately owned companies.

Several Arlington-based firms that made the list specialize in technology such as AI, machine learning, cybersecurity and cloud computing. Others perform various professional services for the federal government, including information technology, financial consulting and engineering.

For the second year running, Piedmont Global Language Solutions took the top Arlington spot at No. 424 — 37 places up from last year. The firm specializes in translation and language training and is located in Ballston on N. Glebe Road.

Although the numbers have fluctuated in recent years, Arlington added five more companies to the list compared to last year. Thirty Arlington companies made the list in 2021 and 2020, and 34 in 2019. Notably, only 10 of the companies on this year’s list were also featured in 2022.

Below is the list of all Arlington-based companies included on this year’s Inc. 5000 list.

  • 424. Piedmont Global Language Solutions (PGLS), 1,363% — A Ballston-based company founded by a first-generation Somali-American that provides language services and training.
  • 691. Echo Five Group, 853% — A government services company located at 4717 Old Dominion Road.
  • 938. Black Cape, 628% — A veteran-owned software company that offers machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions to help government and commercial clients. The company is based in Ballston.
  • 1,205. C3 Integrated Solutions, 489% — An IT firm that offers cyber-security to government contractors. The company announced in November 2022 it would merge with Massachusetts-based Steel Root. C3 is based in Clarendon.
  • 1,233. MarginEdge, 478% — A restaurant management software company located along Fairfax Drive in Ballston.
  • 1,391. Green Powered Technology, 420% — A veteran-owned green energy technology firm that provides policy analysis and support services in sustainable energy for businesses and government agencies. The company is based in Courthouse.
  • 1,549. PhoenixTeam, 370% — A technology company that “specializes exclusively in the design, delivery, and care of mortgage technology solution in the federal and commercial spaces.” The company is based in Ballston.
  • 1,807. Simatree, 309% — A human resources business consulting firm located in Ballston.
  • 1,827. HUNGRY, 307% — A corporate catering company located along Fairfax Drive in Ballston.
  • 1,867. Competitive Innovations, 301% — A technology services and consulting firm serving federal government agencies. The company is based in in Buckingham.
  • 1,874. Elite Strategy Global, 300% — A security consulting and risk management firm located in Ballston.
  • 1,952. Interos, 287% — A financial technology firm based in Ballston involved in supply chain risk management. The company is the first private Arlington startup to reach a billion dollar valuation in 2020.
  • 2,098. Lovelytics, 267% — A data visualization company located in Courthouse that helps clients gather, organize and visualize their data. The company was featured last year by ARLnow for doubling its staff.
  • 2,242. Allied Title & Escrow, 247% — A real estate company headquartered in Clarendon.
  • 2,343. Blake Willson Group, 236% — A veteran-owned business located in Courthouse that provides technology services, such as accounting, IT and cybersecurity , t0 the federal government.
  • 2,647. Nuvitek, 203% — A digital platform company in Rosslyn that provides cloud computing services to the federal government.
  • 2,721. Spartan Shield Solutions, 197% — A veteran-owned accounting and finance outsourcing firm
    Financial Services located in Clarendon.
  • 2,899. Fors Marsh Group, 182% — A research and communications firm based in Ballston.
  • 2,967. Level Access, 176% — A business management consulting company located in Courthouse.
  • 2,989. Organizational Development Resource Group, 174% — A woman-owned company based in Rosslyn that provides “professional services to the federal government.”
  • 3,117. Clarendon Partners, 166% — A woman-owned financial consultancy firm located in Clarendon.
  • 3,177. Matlock, 162% — A woman-owned software company headquartered in Clarendon that provides information technology services for the federal government.
  • 3,614. Aminad Consulting, 135% — A management consulting firm that provides “dedicated to generating realistic and implementable change” for federal agencies, specifically the Department of Defense. The company is based in Ballston.
  • 3,772. Bullpen Strategy Group, 126% —  A public affairs advocacy and strategic advisory firm that has offices in Rosslyn.
  • 3,901. 540.co, 120% — A company that describes itself on its website “we are a forward-thinking company that the Federal Government turns to in order to…#GetS***Done.” It’s based in Crystal City.
  • 4,205. STEMBoard, 106% — A woman-owned engineering firm that provides “professional services and technologies” to the federal government and businesses. The company is headquartered in Clarendon.
  • 4,712. Royce Geo, 85% — A tech company that provides geospatial intelligence, training and data modeling for the defense and intelligence community. The company is located in Ballston.
  • 4,852. Erickson Immigration Group, 79% — A law firm that “focuses exclusively on providing legal guidance on strategic corporate immigration.” The company is located in Courthouse.

Local startup provides students personalized tools to succeed during online learning

By Hallie LeTendre

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ALRnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

When Covid hit, online learning became the new normal for students across the globe.

Not everyone fared well, however, and some students struggled to stay focused and understand the material, says Arya Rashidian, the CEO of a local online tutoring company, TutorDudes.

The company was founded to combat these downsides to online learning. It offers tools and tutors tailored to individual student needs, such as adding closed captioning and visual cues to lectures for visual learners.

“With this platform, I wanted to create something that isn’t a quick fix, but something that is going to promote real change for online learning,” Rashidian said.

TutorDudes can be used by any type of learner and some students with disabilities, including those with mild autism, Rashidian said. He added that tutors are trained to accommodate different learning styles and in how to improve the online learning experience.

“The company was made so that everyone, regardless of the type of learners that they are can be accommodated by our virtual platform,” he said.

Part of the TutorDudes team, including CEO Arya Rashidian, center (via TutorDudes.com)

Rashidian, who graduated from George Mason University this past May, took on TutorDudes from its original founders.

After taking charge of the startup, he revised the company’s mission, services and structure to improve and expand the brand. Rashidian said that without the help of his team none of their success today would have been possible.

The startup has expanded and now offers enhanced tutoring services through TDULTRA.com, which can be accessed through a TutorDudes account.

Rashidian said he hopes to continue this growth so that universities and schools can also adopt the services TutorDudes provides. To do this, Rashidian said he and his team are looking for investors to fund this brand and technology expansion.

“We want to make this company the best it can be,” Rashidian said.

TutorDudes CEO Arya Rashidian (courtesy photo)

Local startup combines social media with banking to appeal to millennials and Gen Z

By Hallie LeTendre

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

A local startup is providing younger generations with a new way to understand banking and finances.

Wellthi is a software tool that grants financial advice on a social media-like platform. It can be used through its independent app that is available to download, or within mobile apps of participating banks.

“Think of it as a Facebook or LinkedIn within a mobile banking app,” founder and CEO Fonta Gilliam said. “We are helping banks rethink their mobile banking experience.”

Fonta Gilliam and Nneka Ukpai of Wellthi (via Wellthi)

The company, initially named Invest Sou Sou, officially launched in 2021. Since then, it has formed partnerships with Mastercard, Discover Card, Galileo Financial Technologies and IDology. Citizens Bank recently became the first banking partner to launch with Wellthi, Gilliam said.

She aims to bridge the gap between the financial services banks provide and the places younger generations turn for finance tips: social media.

“We found that a lot of banks don’t know how to talk to millennials and Gen Z. 80% of us get our financial advice not from our branch managers or a financial advisor but from places like Reddit, TikTok and Facebook,” Gilliam said. “Wellthi gives users an experience that feels like say Reddit or TikTok but in a space where users can talk to certified financial advisors versus random influencers on social media.”

Wellthi received funding from Virginia Venture Partners (VVP), an equity investment program within the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation. The funds given to Wellthi from VVP were partially through the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative for a confidential amount.

She hinted at a few other undisclosed partnerships with banks.

The VPP funding follows on a seed funding round in December worth $2.1 million, Washington Business Journal reported. Gilliam says she moved her startup from D.C. to Arlington to take advantage of the various types of support available for startups, as well as the county’s hub of tech companies.

“Arlington had incredible incentives. I was looking for a [place] that could provide venture capital for early-stage companies like mine,” Gilliam said. “I was excited about the growth happening right now in Northern Virginia from Amazon’s HQ2 to the welcoming business feel the area gives.”

She says she hopes that this proximity will turn into more interest from local consumers and small businesses in the near future.

Wellthi promo (via Wellthi/Instagram)

Arlington-based catering company HUNGRY almost profitable after latest funding round

By Hallie LeTendre

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

After raising tens of millions of dollars, Ballston-based catering startup HUNGRY says it is on the verge of being profitable.

Last week, the company — which partners with chefs who prepare meals for offices and events — announced that it raised $10 million in possibly its last fundraising round. HUNGRY has raised $60 million to date and is now valued at $270 million.

A number of professional athletes, including players from the Portland Trail Blazers, the Seattle Seahawks, the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans, contributed to HUNGRY’s $10 million Series C1 funding round.

The company has also received funding in previous years from rapper Jay-Z and comedian Kevin Hart.

In a statement, co-founder and CEO Jeff Grass he is proud that HUNGRY has attracted the attention of big-time investors and leading investment funds.

“It’s a recognition of the unique strengths of our business model and how far we’ve progressed since inception in late 2016/early 2017,” he told ARLnow. “It represents a step-up in valuation during a time where average valuations have fallen a great deal. It also represents investor confidence in our team and a recognition that, with Return-to-Office driving accelerated growth in office catering, we’re a fast growth company in a fast-growing industry.”

Indeed, Inc. 5000 has recognized HUNGRY as one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies.

Since the recognition last summer, the company has been setting new sales records monthly, Grass said. The company also acquired NatureBox and now delivers health-conscious snacks to offices in a bid to lure workers back to the office after Covid and the embrace of remote work.

HUNGRY founders Eman Pahlavani, Shy Pahlevani and Jeff Grass (photo courtesy HUNGRY)

The startup has expanded to 13 U.S. cities, according to its website. The chefs and meals available vary based on the location of where the order is placed.

Through this expansion, Grass emphasized the importance of HUNGRY’s Arlington roots.

“Most of our senior leadership team works out of our Arlington office,” he said. “We’re proud of where we come from, as Arlington provides us access to some of the best talent in the country.”

Arlington-based startup’s travel product expands

By Hallie LeTendre

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARMnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

Legroom while traveling tends to be limited. With small pockets on the back of airplane seats to store belongings, one tray that opens to set things in front of you and no cup holder. Passengers can be uncomfortable for hours.

However, a Clarendon resident’s product is working to change that.

The Airplane Clip by FLYGA — previously known as the Sip n’ Clip — was created in 2017 to benefit travelers.

The product clips to an airplane’s backseat tray table — in its upright position — to hold drinks and provide more leg room, or to be used as a phone stand to watch movies on during a flight, owner and inventor Seth LaPierre said.

The Airplane Clip by FLYGA (photos via Seth LaPierre)

He explained how his company and product have changed since last speaking to ARLnow, when the clip first gained traction on Amazon and in airports.

The first change LaPierre made was transitioning to a new product name that aligned more with the one product and its use.

He also landed a deal with 40 Boxes, the website linked to the Deals & Steals segment on Good Morning America.

“They liked my product and wanted to make a deal,” he said. “This is hopefully a good first step to eventually get the product on an episode of Good Morning America itself.”

In April, LaPierre was able to sponsor the Airport Customer Experience Symposium by giving away branded clips with the event’s logo. This led him to gain Freeman, Deloitte and the Charlotte Airport as new clients.

The local inventor says he also received “verbal yeses” from Peet’s Coffee and InMotion’s National Airport locations, as well as the San Diego Airport to test sales of the product in their stores.

After setbacks due to Covid, LaPierre expressed his excitement over travel resuming post-pandemic since the official launch of the clip in 2022.

LaPierre started his company in Arlington and explained how influential the county has been in the creation and success of the clip.

“My product was designed throughout my journeys flying out from DCA. Access to that airport and living in Arlington were instrumental in my design process,” he said.

The attractions in the D.C. area allow for Arlington to be a hub for business travelers and tourists.

“Being a travel product in an area with so much travel has been… important for my business,” he said.

Arlington resident formulates sustainable, non-toxic skincare from France with love

By Anya Wareck

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that highlights Arlington-based startups, founders, and local tech news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn. 

Arlington-based entrepreneur Elodie Cally will be in New York this week showcasing her clean, sustainably made products at a trade show focused on non-toxic beauty brands.

Cally will be displaying the cleansing balm, serum and men’s aftershave from her brand, Elodie’s Naturals, at Adit Live, which connects makers like Cally with retailers as big as Costco and Saks Fifth Avenue.

The chance to network with household-name retailers is a big opportunity for Cally, who currently sells her wares at Virginia Mercantile in Clifton, Slow Down Market in D.C., Atlas Bodyworks in Falls Church and Pura Piel Skincare Studio in Annandale. Her eventual goal is to sell through third-party platforms that focus on sustainable products, such as Credo.

Cally started Elodie’s Naturals in response to the need for clean, non-toxic skincare in the United States, getting her start by running camps teaching children how to make organic skincare. Now, she offers classes to kids and adults as well as ready-made products, which she began developing in the last two to three years.

A French lab has tested all her products to ensure they meet standards for products sold in France. It is a high standard high in her home country, where people talk of le bombe toxique when discussing the list of chemicals and hormone disruptors in everyday products — from skincare to furniture glue to cleaning supplies.

In America, by contrast, skincare brands are not similarly regulated or have as stringent product testing requirements.

“When you put a product on the market, there’s no regulation in the U.S.,” she said. “In France, you need to go through so much testing.”

That is starting to change, however. She is starting to see a shift among her American customers, who are beginning to care more about what goes into their products and the packaging they come in.

“People want to know it’s healthy for them and good for the planet,” she said. “It’s a good trend, I love it.”

Elodie Cally of Elodie’s Naturals skin care (courtesy Elodie Cally)

She notes that her customers 50 and older frequently request details about ingredients, as they want to know what they’re putting in their bodies.

That may be plum oil, shipped directly to her door from France, but it won’t be the more than 2,000 ingredients banned in Europe, of which most are permitted in the U.S.

“The less you use, the better (the product) is,” Cally said.

Her younger customers, meanwhile, are attracted to the sustainability of the packaging. Many send their used products back to her or by way of the stores where she sells her products.

“Almost every week, I have a bag on front of my porch from people giving back to me the containers so I can recycle them,” Cally said.

She says her minimal ingredient list and sustainable packaging will be points in her favor at Adit Live. The retail expert assigned to Elodie’s Naturals by Adit Live told Cally the brand will stand out among other clean skincare businesses attending the show, where she hopes to land a contract with a retailer as well as press from attending magazines, including Glamour and Elle.

For Cally, going to New York City culminates months of work.

“It’s challenging to be honest, it’s been a year and a half to make this product,” she said. “Not only developing a formula but also the manufacturing process — it’s very difficult, very technical.”

Elodie’s Naturals hyaluronic acid serum (courtesy Elodie Cally)
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