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 organization founded by Wakefield High School alumna is returning to its stomping grounds this September to give back.

Founded in 2004 by Latina students and Wakefield school counselor Madeline LaSalle, Latinas Leading Tomorrow (LLT) offers young women in the D.C. area free camps and programs focused on STEM as well as professional and leadership development.

Fresh from running a STEM summer camp that targeted first-generation Latina middle-schoolers in July, LLT will next offer an after-school program for girls at Yorktown High School, Wakefield and the Arlington Career Center.

“This program focuses on leadership development, mentorship, community service and creating a safe space for the girls that breaks down barriers many of them are facing,” board chair of LLT Rebecca Singhavong said.

Likewise, the summer camp last month also showed Latina girls what they are capable of, dispelling stereotypes about who can pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, Singhavong said. About 70% of campers were first-generation and Hispanic students.

“It was pretty amazing,” said Singhavong. “At LLT, one of the main things we strive to do is break down barriers and stereotypes that Latina girls often grow up hearing, including the idea that STEM fields are only for men.”

Every day, campers participated in activities such as painting flowers, coding and 3D printing. They also met with women who have careers in STEM.

“All our programs are big on having role models, so the girls can see people who they can aspire to be,” Singhavong said.

Singhavong credited Marymount University professor Diane Murphy for her help ensuring this year’s camp was in-person, after it was held virtually for a few years during Covid. The camp was also made possible by a grant from a NASA program, NASA Inspires Futures for Tomorrow’s Youth.

In addition to camps and after-school activities, LLT offers a virtual professional development program that teaches personal branding and provides LinkedIn profile training and resume help, Singhavong said. Every LLT program is completely free.

“We are often dealing with families who would normally not have access to programs like ours because of funding concerns or accessibility,” Singhavong said. “Many of our campers came from fairly far distances each day to get to Marymount because their communities do not have any type of program like this.”

Singhavong — who is first-generation herself — said she has only been with LLT for a year, however, the organization has been running multiple programs for young Latina women for over 10 years.

Its mission, she says, is to combat a common stereotype that she has seen and faced herself: one that Hispanic women are meant to be caregivers and not dream of having professional careers.

“We focus on just girls because many Latina women are taught to be caregivers from a young age, but we want them to focus on themselves and what they want to do in their future,” Singhavong said.

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.

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.

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.

International startup accelerator ZEBOX is using Arlington office to help bridge the gap between startup companies and large corporations around the world.

ZEBOX connects startup companies with one another and provides them with a space to collaborate and expand within one office building, explained Elizabeth Ward, head of the company’s American operation.

“ZEBOX acts as a connective tissue between large corporations and the supply chain to innovative startups. We want to create new pathways between startup organizations that can benefit by doing business together,” Ward said.

Since its hub in Crystal City opened last spring, the incubator — headquartered in Marseille, France — has opened locations in western Africa, Singapore and the Caribbean, with plans to open a hub in England.

ZEBOX originated from the global company CMA CGM, after ZEBOX’s current CEO found that the gap between startups and large corporate organizations could be at least partially closed by housing startup companies together.

“The facilities are designed as a place for startups to work, but more importantly as a place for companies and startups to co-innovate. We are new to the area, but we view it as a prime spot for a lot of future innovation to take place,” Ward said. “Arlington is opening a lot of doors for ZEBOX to collaborate within our community. A lot of the team has been surprised by the innovation going on in the county.”

The accelerator’s local hub in Crystal City recently started the process of housing its fourth startup. That process is expected to be complete by September.

ZEBOX supports more than 60 startups in the U.S.

The ZEBOX office in Crystal City has hosted several fireside chats, as well as the French American Chamber of Commerce and members of the French embassy.

These events exemplify how Arlington is an ideal place for global innovation, Ward told ARLnow.

“Arlington made a lot of sense. There are so many innovative companies moving into the area with the state of Virginia doing a lot to entice young companies and startups to come to Arlington and set up their businesses here,” Ward said.

ZEBOX is now looking for ways the Crystal City office can better connect startups with federal government resources, to bolster their growth.

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 County will pay early-stage tech startups money to keep their operations in Arlington.

The intent is to support new tech startups, particularly those owned by women, veterans and minorities, while pushing down office vacancy rates.

The Arlington County Board gave the Arlington Economic Development (AED) the go-ahead to enact this program, dubbed the Catalyst Grant Program, last Tuesday.

AED will be using $650,000 of the $1 million it received in the 2024 Fiscal Year budget for its Arlington Innovation Fund, an initiative by AED to entice companies to fill vacant offices in the county.

“What we are trying to achieve with this is to provide capital to early stage tech startups that are based in Arlington currently,” Ryan Touhill, director of Arlington Economic Development, told ARLnow. “[The goal is] to really help them in the early stage of their company formation when when they’ve raised the money, and try to give them a boost to really accelerate their growth and to entice them to stay here in Arlington.”

Companies will receive anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 in funding from the program, contingent on them remaining in Arlington for at least two years. By attracting smaller businesses, AED hopes to drive down vacancy rates, which reached 23% in the first quarter of 2023.

“We know that tech companies are one of the drivers of job growth,” Touhill said. “We have a good number of tech companies here in Arlington, and we want to grow the number of home based companies that form here and grow here.”

He noted that AED is targeting these smaller, newer companies because larger, legacy ones are not looking to relocate at this time.

AED is focused on what it calls inclusive economic development. To that end, it says it is focused on generating interest in this program among entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities and would like to see half of the Catalyst Grant Program applications come woman-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses.

“If you look at the trends, you’ll see that underserved communities receive way less in terms of the number of deals and the amount of venture capital they get compared to their white counterparts,” Adam Henry, a senior business development manager at AED, told ARLnow.

“We really want to make an intentional, concerted effort to reach out to our underserved communities to make sure that we can become a model for other communities to have the inclusive economic development approach,” he continued.

The county economic development division says it will partner with various community universities, organizations and groups to reach out to entrepreneurs and small businesses, according to a report. The application period could open as early as August.

Winners could be announced this fall. If any funds remain, there will be a second application cycle this winter or next spring.

The grants can be used to pay for costs such as salaries, benefits, training and recruitment, research and development, commercial real estate and equipment, the report said.

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.

Cybersecurity company Shift5 is experiencing rapid growth as it develops technology to safeguard the world’s military fleets, plane and train systems.

The Rosslyn-based startup has been steadily raising money, including $33 million last month, adding to $50 million raised last year. Shift5 has ridden this wave of investor interest, using it to expand its office space, add employees and, most recently, launch a new program to predict and avoid failures in military, rail and aviation technology.

“This [funding] has allowed us to invest in not just our employees, but also the greater Arlington community,” Shift5 CEO Josh Lospinoso told ARLnow. “Our expanding presence in Arlington enables us to continue driving the pace of technology outside the Silicon Valley while keeping an active pulse on the decisions being made at the Pentagon to improve and advance critical infrastructure.”

Lospinoso says Shift5 nabbed the extra $33 million because investors are interested in its stability and connections.

“We’ve seen tremendous benefit from strategic investor involvement and wanted to expand their participation. Shift5 has eliminated bottom-line risk, found strategic points of connection with other industry leaders and brought them into our Series B funding,” Lospinoso said.

The most recent fundraising round, led by Moore Ventures with contributions from JetBlue Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures and Teamworthy Ventures, brings its total Series B fundraising to $83 million.

Within weeks of the funding news, the company had another announcement: a new program that will use artificial intelligence to improve maintenance and the operational intelligence services Shift5 provides, a spokeswoman said.

“Fleets generate enormous amounts of data that can be game-changing for how they’re maintained and secured, but most operators only have access to a small fraction of this data,” a press release said. “Shift5’s module will unlock this data, arming operators with the insights and context needed to secure their assets, improve performance and prevent system failures.”

While the company has racked up investors, in the last year it has also more than doubled its annual recurring revenue and number of customers representing the military and private companies.

Lospinoso said the additional $33 million will go toward making sure the company can meet the needs of its growing customer base.

“It will help us double down on our mission to unlock onboard data and increase observability for rail, aviation and military systems operators,” he said. “More specifically, as customer demand increases this extension funding will provide Shift5 additional runway to innovate for our customers and invest in our business and team.”

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.”

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.

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 sponsor for Arlington’s premier youth soccer league is helping girls hone their skills as players and coders.

Tim Yang, who owns an online coding school called 355Code, has been hosting classes for members of the Arlington Soccer Association Girls with Goals program this year.

Girls With Goals is a free, six-week after school club that helps low-income families at select elementary schools in Arlington Public Schools participate in sports. It aims to break down barriers to participation, including cost and transportation, while increasing membership in the soccer league.

Yang, who liked the mission of the program, decided to offer his services as a coding coach during a six-week session this spring at Drew Elementary School.

“I felt Girls with Goals was a great program and wanted to connect further,” he told ARLnow.

Yang says elementary school students are the “perfect age” for the first stages of instructional coding.

In the last session, Yang — who has previously worked as a software engineer for the IRS, the bank Citigroup and Nike — conducted 45-minute classes. Girls warmed up with 15 minutes of typing, moving to 15 minutes of computer activities and then 15 minutes of theory connection, reflection and discussion.

After witnessing the girls’ passionate, dedicated attitude and persistence, Yang says he hopes to continue hosting classes for Girls with Goals this fall.

“The girls are great — they work very hard,” Yang said. “There is no reason not to [continue].”

The coding lessons were in part possible through the partnership Girls With Goals has with the Extended Day after school program through Arlington Public Schools.

Christyna Haskins, a program assistant supervisor, says coding was new to the girls and they love it.

“Every day they come in asking if he is coming today,” she told Arlington Soccer Association. “They really do enjoy it. Some of the girls said they want to do coding as they get older. So it has opened new doors for them.”

Yang offers classes for Javascript and Python to students from grades 4-12. This summer, he is offering a Javascript course for one hour a week, on Zoom or in person at 901 N. Glebe Road, according to the Arlington Soccer Association.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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. 

(Updated at 2 p.m.) Participants in a county-led tech pilot program graduated on Friday and nearly all of them have jobs lined up already.

The Arlington Talent Pilot Program, hosted by Arlington Economic Development, began in 2022 as a way to bridge the workforce gap in the tech industry, according to AED. It got its start with funding from the Covid stimulus package dubbed the American Rescue Plan.

It provides on-the-job training to aspiring software engineers who miss out on  interviews owing to a lack of job experience.

During the program, the participants had temporary, full-time paid roles at the software company Exelaration and received mentorship from company developers.

AED says the company, which provides software solutions for organizations of all sizes, is the second-best tech and engineering internship provider in the U.S.

Working for Exelaration, participants saw an average pay increase of 26% and an average of 11 more hours per week of work. There were 11 participants — including one from Alexandria, who was admitted though technically separate from the program for Arlington residents. All 11 participants completed the program and 80% have jobs.

Local and state officials attended a graduation luncheon on Friday to congratulate the participants and stressed the need for more programs like this one, according to a press release from Exelaration.

The dignitaries present included Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Libby Garvey, Virginia State Sen. Barbara Favola and Rep. Don Beyer, as well as Exelaration CEO Steve Cooper.

“This program works because Northern Virginia companies stepped up to be clients of the program,” Cooper said during the event, per the release. “Our expert-led teams, staffed with our new engineers, built valuable working software that clients desperately need.”

He praised Arlington for meeting a regional shortage of tech workers. The region is also pinning its hopes for a larger tech workforce on the forthcoming Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria.

“NoVA’s tech leaders said they needed experienced tech talent and Arlington is delivering it,” Cooper said.

AED highlighted the program and its participants in a recent video.

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 fintech company Rize Money was started seven years ago with a simple goal: to help consumers navigate the opaque world of financial services.

Although CEO Justin Howell steered the company from serving people to fintech and technology companies in 2021, the underlying point of simplifying transactions stayed the same.

“Our goal was to break down the barriers between various financial siloes and enable financial user experiences that were simple and intuitive,” he tells ARLnow.

One service it offers is an “embedded payments platform,” which companies can use to provide customers with a seamless experience paying for a service, like an Uber ride, without leaving its application to make the payment.

But Howell had goals beyond what Rize could achieve on its own as a startup, though it raised several million dollars in early financing rounds.

The biggest opportunities we see in the market require a level of scale that is very difficult to achieve on a standalone basis as a startup,” he said.

Enter Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank, which acquired the startup as part of its goal to capitalize on emerging technology in the banking sector. The Washington Business Journal first reported the move.

“While there will certainly be changes moving from a stand-alone venture-backed startup to one of the largest banks in the U.S., working with the Embedded Payments team will enable us to remain tech-first; only now we’ll be more equipped than ever to have a lasting impact on the sector,” he said.

Howell is optimistic about joining forces with a banking institution that is staying on top of market trends by acquiring fintech companies.

“Fifth Third brings the scale, Rize Money, Inc. brings the technology, and by joining forces, we’re able to meet the needs of the best clients,” he said.

He said his goal is to make embedded finance a “mainstream reality” and that Tom Bianco — general manager of embedded payments at Fifth Third Bank — and his team are the perfect partners for reaching this goal.

Through the acquisition, Howell intends to add to his team of staff.

“We will rearrange the structure of our team as we integrate with the Embedded Payments team, but our team will only grow,” he said.

Howell says Rize will have succeeded when it is “attracting the largest clients and growing the high-margin revenue base.”

“Joining Fifth Third means we’ll have 100% alignment among the tech
platform and the bank as we conquer the space,” he said.