Friday, April 12, 2013
Events are held at George Mason University's Founders Hall in Arlington.
Arlington Economic Development's Venture Camp series will round out the spring with a pitch fest and an event on 3D printing. The social venture pitch fest starts at noon Monday. Up to 20 entrepreneurs from around the region are expected to attend. "3D Printing: A Revolution on your Desktop" will be at 5 p.m. May 1. According to the event announcement, "And you thought the internet was big? 3D printing is going to change the make up of our economy and society as much as the information revolution did in the 1990s and 2000s." Venture Camp events are free, though organizers ask that you register online if you plan to attend. Both events will be at George Mason University's Founders Hall, 3351 N. Fairfax Drive. Stories from past Venture Camp …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
County will hold a hearing on the matter later this month.
Proposed changes to Arlington code governing food trucks are slated for a hearing later this month, part of the county's evolving view of mobile food vendors. Clarendon Patch this week looked at the proposed changes and their potential affects in Arlington and beyond. The full series can be found below. Part 1: Why New Laws May Turn Arlington Into A Food Truck Haven Part 2: Mama's Donut Bites Brings Fresh Treats to Rosslyn Part 3: Speak Out: What Is Your Favorite Food Truck in Arlington?
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Lemur Retail co-founders are the entrepreneurs in residence at Arlington Economic Development.
Will Fuentes and Cary Scott want to help businesses out-Amazon Amazon.com. The two co-founders of the Arlington-based tech startup Lemur Retail, who are serving as the inaugural entrepreneurs-in-residence at Arlington Economic Development, have developed software to help salespeople move products and companies maximize the return on the products they stock. Inspired by the idea of the "long tail of retail" — the line on a graph of product versus sales that extends indefinitely — Fuentes originally wanted to call the company Salamander. Scott told him people like lemurs better. "Really, it was about being able to capture the last little pieces of your inventory," Fuentes recently told Patch in his office space at Arlington Economic …
Will Fuentes and Lemur co-founder Cary Scott are the entrepreneurs in residence at Arlington Economic Development.
Arlington Patch recently sat down with Lemur Retail CEO Will Fuentes to talk about life as an entrepreneur in Arlington. Fuentes and Lemur co-founder Cary Scott are the current entrepreneurs in residence at Arlington Economic Development. Between the two of them, it's not unusual for them to talk with 10 businesses a week. Patch: What's this journey been like? Fuentes: The journey's been interesting. And the reason I think it's been interesting is I held a lot of leadership positions in the retailers that I worked in, but you always had a corporation behind you. And the decisions you were making, and at the end of the day, one bad decision that you made as a store manager wasn't going to fatally end the company. Now, as a CEO you've got to…
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Cultural arts center has had its share of successes and failures, Arlington Economic Development Executive Director Terry Holzheimer said.
The Artisphere is having something of an identity crisis. Originally conceived as a cultural arts center, county leaders concede that things haven't exactly worked out as planned. The facility didn't bring enough people in to support a bar and restaurant, providing space for area businesses to have a residency didn't work, and it costs the county more than $1 million a year just to keep the doors open. "We're rethinking it now," Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer told Patch. "There's not sufficient funding to create a world-class cultural center." But that doesn't mean arts won't be a part of the Artisphere's future. [More: Artisphere: What Does Success Look Like?] The facility opened in October 2010 under the …
Arlington Economic Director Terry Holzheimer: Scope of project needs to be scaled down and its purpose broadened.
So, what should the Artisphere be? It's the conversation that perhaps started two-and-a-half years late — and it started Tuesday with a few big questions. What does success look like for Rosslyn's cultural arts center? Should the public facility be limited to the arts? Elected officials began wondering aloud as to what the county's end game should be for the Artisphere on Tuesday after Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey questioned increasing the county's subsidy to a struggling facility while cuts are being proposed to social safety net programs. [More: Arlington Leaders 'Rethinking' Artisphere] Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer said one thing it won't be is the Strathmore of Rosslyn. "That isn't possible. It…
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Early-stage entrepreneurs get crash course in angel investors, accelerators in Arlington on Tuesday.
Getting money is like dating, Jonathan Aberman told a room full of young entrepreneurs Tuesday night: It's the questions that aren't asked that can make or break the relationship. Investors are motivated by fear and greed, he said. The fear is that they're making a bad decision by investing in your big idea. The entrepreneur, then, has to establish his or her character in a way that makes the investor want to get greedy. Like dating, starting a business can be more complicated than it seems — although politely stalking someone apparently isn't as frowned upon when what you're seeking is knowledge. Nearly 200 students and early-stage entrepreneurs got a crash course in angel investors, accelerators and other resources Tuesday night at …
Friday, February 22, 2013
First spring event focuses on resources for early stage entrepreneurs.
The George Mason Center for Social Entrepreneurship Venture Camp speaker series returns to Arlington next week. The first event of the spring series is called "Accelerators, Angels and Other Resources for Early Stage Entrepreneurs." The event, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, is free, though registration is required. It will be at Founders Hall on George Mason's Arlington campus at 3351 Fairfax Drive. Confirmed speakers include: Jonathan Aberman, managing director at Amplifier Ventures, will serve as moderator. Refreshments from Pete's New Haven Style Apizza will be served before the session begins. A post-event discussion will be held at nearby Northside Social. Venture Camp is sponsored by Arlington Economic Development and the Ballston …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Entrepreneurs will mentor startups in exchange for office space at Arlington Economic Development.
Arlington Economic Development on Tuesday announced a new Entrepreneur in Residence program to help advise, inform and grow the county's burgeoning startup community. Each Entrepreneur in Residence will serve for six months to one year, counseling and advising other area startups in exchange for office space at Arlington Economic Development. The first Entrepreneurs in Residence will be Will Fuentes and Cary Scott, co-founders of the Arlington-based tech startup Lemur Retail. The pair will hold regular office hours to meet with budding entrepreneurs and fast-growth startups in an effort to share ideas and best practices, according to a news release. They will also host quarterly workshops. “We’ve learned. We’ve made the mistakes, and we’re…
Monday, January 14, 2013
Efforts to keep NSF and land FBI are wholly unrelated, congressman says.
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, who has spent months working to keep the National Science Foundation in Arlington, is optimistic that work will pay off. "People have come to the conclusion that the best location is right near where they are — in the Ballston corridor," Moran told Patch last week following a news conference about Virginia's efforts to land the new FBI headquarters. "I think the NSF is going to stay in Ballston," he said, noting the number of its employees who live within a short distance of the facility. Moran, who brought together Northern Virginia leaders with a "singular focus" of landing the new FBI headquarters in Virginia, said the two projects were wholly unrelated. Arlington is perhaps the only jurisdiction in Northern …
Anonymous
12:56 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
This was a very honest & insightful article. What life is truly like at the beginning, its not all roses, bags of money, glitz and glamour. This was great. I'm very proud of Will and believe in him and that he will triumph. more ›