Just days ago, a new venture designed to convene and accelerate startups in the heart of the city launched from 1133 15th Street, where it has established a campus. With technology entrepreneurship on Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s front burner, 1776 is a new business incubator that will help diversify the D.C. economy and train residents for high tech careers. Already equipped with a $200,000 grant from the city and support from key partners such as Jones Lang LaSalle, 1776 has identified four main areas of focus:
Convening: Bringing startups, corporations, universities, embassies, and policymakers together at the 15,000 square feet campus, opening in March and featuring space for co-working, events and more (over time, 1776 will have options to expand in up to 60,000 SF of space).
Informing: Drawing attention to the people, startups, and trends around “disruptive ideas,” which shake up a market by doing something different, to tackle America’s greatest challenges.
Educating: Unlocking underutilized talent for startups around the world by opening a D.C. Startup School at the 1776 Campus. Accelerating: Igniting high-impact startups at the 1776 Accelerator, or incubator, and funding the most promising with the 1776 Fund.
1776 will connect some of the world’s hottest startups with available assets in D.C. It envisions turning the city into the epicenter of startups that tackle big, global problems. Local, national, and international stakeholders have already committed to this initiative, and some of 1776’s advisors include leaders from such entities as The Global Accelerator Network, The Startup America Partnership, and Fortify.vc, DC’s first startup accelerator, now also located in the BID.