startup | ARLnow.com

Published February 26, 2018 at 10:55AM

Janice Omadeke, CEO and founder of The Mentor Method

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.

Janice Omadeke, CEO and founder of The Mentor Method, which matches mentors and underrepresented professionals, said she was always a top performer in her career. Yet she never found a good mentoring program at her previous jobs.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 21, 2018 at 8:15AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 10:31AM

Pentagon City Metro Tunnel Now Open — At long last, the pedestrian tunnel from the corner of S. Hayes Street and 12th Street S. to the Pentagon City Metro station has opened. [Twitter]

Firefighters Push for Raise — IAFF Local 2800, which represents Arlington firefighters and paramedics, is pushing for a raise in this year’s county budget process. The group says Arlington’s compensation for public safety employees “is at the bottom of the DMV.” [Twitter]

News

Arlington’s Sunniva Goes to ‘Shark Tank,’ Walks Away Without a Deal

By ARLnow.com

Published February 12, 2018 at 3:45PM

Crystal City-based “super coffee” company Sunniva was featured on ABC’s Shark Tank last night, but its three Arlington co-founders walked away without a deal.

Two of the show’s venture capitalist “sharks” were interested in a deal, but both real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran and millionaire marketing expert Rohan Oza said that they didn’t like the beverage’s aftertaste. The proposed deal was $500,000 for a 4.5% stake in the company – which meant that the three-person team was valuing their two-year-old coffee company at approximately $11 million.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 6, 2018 at 9:05AM

Plane landing at Reagan National (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Highway Renaming Bill Fails — A bill from state Sen. Barbara Favola that would have allowed Arlington to rename Jefferson Davis Highway in the county failed to get out of committee on a 7-6 party line vote. The county will likely have to wait until next year’s legislative session to try again to get a bill passed. [InsideNova]

Snagajob Heading Toward IPO — “Arlington job management company Snagajob aims to raise up to $30 million, part of a strategy to reach $100 million in revenue this year to prepare the fast-growing company for a future initial public offering.” [Washington Business Journal]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 8, 2018 at 8:15AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 10:53AM

Ice Training for ACFD Water Rescue Team — While you were enjoying your weekend, snug in your warm home amid 10 degree weather, the Arlington County Fire Department’s water rescue team was using a chainsaw to cut holes in the ice on the Potomac and then jumping in. [Washington Post]

Freezing Rain Still Expected Tonight — A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect tonight, as forecasters expect freezing rain to fall this afternoon and potentially make for a very messy evening commute. [Capital Weather Gang, Twitter]

Around Town

Ride-Hailing App Sprynt Closed Until April

By Chris Teale

Published December 29, 2017 at 1:45PM

Sprynt launched in June, promising free rides along the corridor in electric vehicles that look a bit like a stretched-out golf cart with doors.

It initially offered short jaunts around a handful of Orange Line corridor neighborhoods, including Ballston, Virginia Square, Clarendon, Courthouse and Rosslyn. Within five days, the iOS app had over 700 downloads.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 1, 2017 at 8:15AM

Fight Over Aquatics Center Operation Costs — Local budget hawks are worried that operating costs of the new Long Bridge Aquatics Center may take a chunk out of the county budget. The current staff estimate is about $1 million per year of net taxpayer support for operating costs, with a caveat that there may be a ramp-up period with less revenue and thus net higher costs. [InsideNova]

Arlington Honors ‘Fast Four’ Companies — Arlington County on Wednesday honored the fastest-growing local companies in four revenue categories. The companies honored were: Courthouse-based Mind Body Health, digital marketing company Knucklepuck, Ballston-based Deep Learning Analytics and another Ballston tech-oriented company, Apogee Research. [Arlington County]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 14, 2017 at 8:00AM

Local Entrepreneur Scores on Shark Tank — “Sharmi Albrechtsen, founder and CEO of Arlington-based tech toy company SmartGurlz, landed an investment from FUBU founder Daymond John on Sunday’s “Shark Tank” episode: $200,000 for 25 percent of the business.” [Washington Business Journal]

New Year’s Meeting Nixed Again — For the second year in a row, what was once the traditional New Year’s Day organizational meeting of the Arlington County Board will not be held on Jan. 1. The meeting is instead expected to be held on Jan. 2, according to a draft 2018 County Board calendar. [InsideNova]

News

Podcast: Alex Villanueva of Free Ride Startup Sprynt

By ARLnow.com

Published November 10, 2017 at 4:15PM

Sprynt promotional image (via Facebook)

As part of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s Secrets to Success live podcast series, we interviewed Alex Villanueva, the founder and CEO of Arlington-based free ride service Sprynt.

Listen below or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn.

Around Town

D.C. Startup Compiles Hard-to-Find List of Local Daycare Options

By Chris Teale

Published November 2, 2017 at 3:30PM

Image via Maternie

A D.C.-based startup is helping parents find daycare options in Arlington County, even those not usually easy to find online.

Maternie, founded by Meghan McCarthy, describes itself as a service to “empower pregnant women and new parents with the best information on life’s most important decisions.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 27, 2017 at 8:35AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:27AM

Arlington Startup to Appear on Shark Tank — SmartGurlz, an Arlington-based company that makes “a line of dolls that ride robotic scooters, controlled by an app built to teach girls to code,” is set to appear on an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank next month. At least one other Arlington startup has pitched investors on the show, successfully: Zoobean received an investment from Mark Cuban after appearing on the show in 2014. [Washington Business Journal]

Pop-Up Food Venue to Open in Crystal City — What was once an unassuming concession stand in the Crystal City Water Park on Crystal Drive has been renovated and is reopening on Wednesday, Nov. 1 as “The Stand,” featuring a “rotating lineup of pop-ups from the hottest local food vendors.” Among the vendors expected to take up temporary residence are La Columbe coffee, Cookie Dough & Co., B Doughnut, Capital Chicken & Waffle, Timber Pizza Company and Pinch Chinese dumplings. [Eater, The Stand]

News

Software Company Phone2Action Up For Economic Development Grant

By Chris Teale

Published October 20, 2017 at 4:30PM

Phone2Action is a software-as-a-service company that creates software for organizations to launch campaigns on public policy. That includes helping connect advocates with lawmakers and other decision-makers. It has more than 300 clients.

The firm was originally located at 1401 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, but chose to relocate to 1500 Wilson Blvd in the same neighborhood after outgrowing its previous office space.