Events

(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) Gluten-free food delivery company The Green Spoon was the people’s choice among Arlington startups at last night’s ARLive Startup Smackdown event in Crystal City.

Green Spoon founder Hanson Cheng and his team served guests lemon garlic chicken, cauliflower mash and truffled mushrooms, earning $1.48 million in “investment.” Every guest was given $100,000 in fake $10,000 bills to invest in their favorite companies. A total of $11.26 million in “venture capital” was invested.


Events

Tickets are $20 at the door or can be purchased online. The tickets cover appetizers, beer and wine, as well as fake dollars to invest in one of 17 companies. The company with the most fake money at the end of the night wins a lunch at Good Stuff Eatery in Crystal City with Crystal Tech Fund founder and investor Paul Singh.

The event is also a chance to network with Arlington entrepreneurs and see the future of business in the county. Several of the companies have secured a combined millions of dollars in angel investment and venture capital in recent years.


Events

Crystal City BID, in association with ARLnow.com, will be hosting the ARLive Startup Smackdown next Tuesday (July 22) from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. The event is being held at the offices of Crystal Tech Fund, at 2231 Crystal Drive.

Attendees can check out the products and services being offered by local startups, and will be given play money to “invest” in the company or companies they like best. The winning company will receive an exclusive lunch with venture capitalist Paul Singh.


Sponsored

Crystal City BID, in association with ARLnow.com, ClickDisruption Corp, The Falcon Lab and Grade A Marketing, will be hosting the ARLive Startup Smackdown on Tuesday, July 22 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Held at the Crystal Tech Fund (2231 Crystal Drive) space in Crystal City, the event will arm attendees with Monopoly money and invite them to check out more than a dozen local startups. Attendees can invest the faux funds in their favorite startups, and the company with the most fake money at the end wins lunch with venture capitalist and Crystal Tech Fund founder Paul Singh.


News

Morroy, O’Leary Join Call for Streetcar Referendum — The two elected officials directly responsible for managing the county’s money, Commissioner of the Revenue Ingrid Morroy and Treasurer Frank O’Leary, have joined Del. Patrick Hope and County Board candidate Alan Howze in support of a referendum on the Columbia Pike streetcar project. (Hope’s fellow congressional candidate, Mark Levine, has also called for a referendum.) “This issue has become too divisive to fester any longer,” Morroy said in a press release. [Blue Virginia]

‘Film Processing Kiosk’ to Be Removed from Zoning — In a sign of the times, “film processing kiosk” is being removed from Arlington County’s zoning classifications. The designation was determined to be “archaic,” a victim of the rapid rise of digital photography. [InsideNova]


News

Police Launch Juvenile Crime Initiative — With prom around the corner, the Arlington County Police Department’s School Resource Officers are launching a spring initiative to prevent and reduce juvenile crime. Offers will focus on preventing crimes like drug and alcohol-related offenses among middle and high school students. [Arlington County]

Woman Falls into Manhole — A woman says she fell into a manhole near Columbia Pike Thursday afternoon. It reportedly happened while crews were working on manholes in the area. The victim says she was hurt and and is considering legal action. [WJLA]


News

Same-Sex Marriages Could Crowd Clerk’s Office — Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson estimates that the approximately 3,750 annual marriage certificates his office issues annually could spike 30-40 percent if the U.S. Supreme Court allows same-sex marriage nationwide, ending Virginia’s prohibition. [InsideNoVa]

Zoobean Raises Another $400,000 — Fresh off of its appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank, Rosslyn-based kids’ book-and app-curation service Zoobean has raised another $400,000 from investors. [Washington Business Journal]


News

Rosslyn Startup to Be Featured on ‘Shark Tank’ — Rosslyn-based startup Zoobean will be featured tonight on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Zoobean, which describes itself as “a web service that recommends apps and books for children,” will pitch itself to a panel of wealthy investors, including billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. The show airs at 9:00 p.m. on ABC. The company will also be profiled as part of ARLnow.com’s “Startup Monday” feature next week. [PR Newswire, Des Moines Register]

Pentagon City Mall Expansion Imminent — Work is expected to “begin soon” on a planned 50,000 square foot expansion of the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. The expansion will add two new levels of retail, restaurants with outdoor seating, new elevators and escalators, and an expanded food court. Mall owner Simon is also expected to announce some of the new restaurants and retailers coming to the mall “shortly.” [Washington Business Journal]


Around Town

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.


News

Noise Ordinance Approval Delayed — The Arlington County Board decided to delay approval of an update to the county’s noise ordinance after hearing concern from swim clubs that the ordinance could make cheering at swim meets illegal and punishable by fines or jail time. County staff will now try to craft an exemption for the summer swim leagues. In addition to strengthening prohibitions on loud TVs and music, the noise ordinance update calls for a “quiet period” in single-family home neighborhoods that would impact morning swim meets. [InsideNoVa]

Chatman Addresses Fraud Conviction — Fresh off the announcement that Oprah Winfrey would headline her upcoming fundraiser in Arlington, congressional candidate Lavern Chatman is trying to downplay word that she was found liable for $1.4 million in damages in a decade-old fraud case involving a D.C. nursing home operator. Chatman called the case a “nightmare” and said she “didn’t pay much attention to the details” when she agreed to provide a loan to a “trusted friend” — a friend who ended up withholding the wages of nearly 300 employees of the nursing home company. [Blue Virginia]