Crystal City will soon be the home to dozens of early stage technology companies, housed in the just-opened Crystal Tech Fund coworking space.
Located on the 10th floor of 2231 Crystal Drive, the $50 million Crystal Tech Fund — founded by Paul Singh, an early partner in the venture capital firm 500 Startups — provides office space to companies while also giving each of them significant capital investments and entrepreneurial mentorship.
The fund’s office space opened this week with six companies inside, and partner Brooke Salkoff said the floor — which has an acre of space — can fit up to 30 or 40 companies. The idea isn’t to bring in new startups and be an incubator or accelerator, she said — the startups eligible for space must already have an average of $1 million in annual revenue.
“These startups need more money in order to grow,” Salkoff said. “We fund startups to scale nationwide, and it’s scalable because once they grow, there’s more space around Crystal City.”
Sen. Mark Warner (D) toured the space this morning and Gov. Terry McAuliffe will do the same tomorrow morning, meeting the companies, some of whom are D.C.-area natives and others that moved to Crystal City from other tech hotbeds like Austin, Texas. Warner was briefed on the concept by Singh and Vornado/Charles E. Smith President Mitchell Shear. Vornado contributed $10 million in investment capital as well as the space.
“The combination that’s taking place here is the kind of thing I want to see all over Virginia,” Warner told a group of reporters. “I think Crystal City is being remade. If we could create a tech entrepreneur hotbed here, that would be great for Virginia.”
Among the space’s first tenants are Power Supply, a platform that allows chefs to deliver healthy meals directly to customers, and SupplyHog, an e-commerce platform for contractors. Warner, a former tech investor and one of the founders of Nextel, asked each company to give him “an elevator pitch.”
“We’re going to find the best companies from around the world,” Singh said, “and bring them to Virginia.”
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For Immediate Release
Progress for All Announces Inaugural Black Men Vote Virtual Town Hall
Date: April 19, 2024
Contact: Marc M. M. Peters
The Award is available to recent high school graduates and non-traditional students (see the application for more details). Each recipient may be awarded up to $20,000. Applicants are required to submit an online application form as well as a short video application.
The applicant must be an Arlington resident pursuing a career or technical education accredited program, within a high-growth career, that will be completed within two years.
The careers and programs include, but are not limited to:
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Audio, Video, and Sound Engineering Technicians
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Broadcast Technicians
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Commercial Drivers
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Culinary Arts
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Early Childcare Education
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Healthcare
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Information Technology and Computer Science
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Manufacturing and Skilled Trades (including welding, auto and aviation mechanics and technicians)
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Public Safety
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Sweeney Todd
A victim of a gross injustice that robbed him of his wife and child, Sweeney Todd sets about exacting a terrible revenge on society.
