Lisa Friedlander

Where female founders in the DMV meet to access capital, community and connections.

One billion people have a disability, making disabled people the largest minority in the world and the only one you can instantly become a part of. This diverse and vibrant community however, is often associated with pity and limitations, which has a direct impact on their acceptance into the workplace. People with disabilities disproportionally unemployed worldwide. In the United States, the disability unemployment rate is close to 20% since COVID-19, almost twice that of individuals with no disability. We are flipping the disability narrative. We work to unleash the entrepreneurship mindset of disabled people.

Citrine Angels is an angel investment organization composed of more than 80 women angel investors committed to empowering female founders and funders through investments, education and mentorship. Our focus is to provide the necessary resources, networks, and expertise to cultivate female angel investors into helping female-founded businesses grow and succeed. In an industry where capital disproportionately goes to men, Citrine Angels is the only angel investing organization in the mid-Atlantic region pledged solely to supporting female founders and funders. Since our founding in late 2019, our members - many of them first time angel investors - have invested more than $1.75M in female founded companies.

Since 2010 the DMV Food Truck Association has been fighting for food truck small businesses. Founded by 17 owner-operators who defeated a proposed food truck moratorium in DC, the FTA has quickly grown into one of the largest food truck associations in the country. In 2013 the FTA led the Save DC Food Trucks campaign that defeated a proposal to shut out food trucks from most of downtown. Since then the FTA has been at the forefront of removing obstacles to vending and promoting mobile entrepreneurship across the Washington metropolitan area, working to pass new food truck laws in the City of Alexandria as well as in Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. In 2015 the FTA successfully worked to lift a statewide ban that prohibited food trucks on state-maintained roads and streets in Virginia. At the same time the FTA has championed vendor education and professional development and produces the Capital City Food Truck Convention, the only food truck conference and trade show in the Atlantic region. The FTA organizes some of the region’s most popular food truck events including its annual signature festival Curbside Cookoff. Today the FTA represents more than 100 food truck small businesses across the DMV and totals more than 15,000 supporters. The FTA is a proud supporter of Children’s Charities, DC Central Kitchen, Miriam’s Kitchen, Mid-County United Ministries, and No Kid Hungry. The FTA is a 501 (c) 6 trade association.

Main Street Connect, Inc. (Main Street), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is the first community-oriented, affordable, accessible housing solution to redefine the concept of inclusion in a large, vibrant community space within the apartment complex itself. Just steps from a subway stop and adjacent to the town center in Rockville, Maryland, our thoughtful and purposeful member-based programming breaks down barriers to improve quality of life and community-building for everyone, no matter their age, ability or background. We are a mindset and culture of hope and opportunity, meant to flourish beyond Main Street’s walls and inspire a new generation - without barriers, without judgment and with genuine inclusion for all.

Main Street Connect, Inc. (Main Street), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is the first community-oriented, affordable, accessible housing solution to redefine the concept of inclusion in a large, vibrant community space within the apartment complex itself. Just steps from a subway stop and adjacent to the town center in Rockville, Maryland, our thoughtful and purposeful member-based programming breaks down barriers to improve quality of life and community-building for everyone, no matter their age, ability or background. We are a mindset and culture of hope and opportunity, meant to flourish beyond Main Street’s walls and inspire a new generation - without barriers, without judgment and with genuine inclusion for all.

Startup founders navigating the complex world of fundraising now have a powerful ally in My NEXT Raise, an innovative platform built to revolutionize how startups secure capital. After a highly successful beta phase, the platform is officially launching with sophisticated tools and services designed to prepare founders for the fundraising process from start to finish. Building Smarter Fundraising Solutions for Entrepreneurs Created specifically for founders, My NEXT Raise leverages advanced technology to address the most common challenges in fundraising. The platform offers an AI-powered data room to organize your legal documents and share with investors, tools for financial modeling and management, a runway calculator, an equity dilution calculator, a pitch deck creator, an investment finder that help startups to identify investors tailored to their industry and funding stage, and founder/funder events and VC office hours events connecting founders and investors. "My NEXT Raise was built with startup founders in mind," said Anthony Millin, Founder of NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers and Co-Founder of My NEXT Raise. "We understand the pain points of raising capital, and this platform is our answer to those challenges. Weve centralized the tools and services founders need to best prepare for and execute a successful raise. And in combination with NEXTs fixed-fee Seed Financing Package, founders now have access to a complete end to end legal and fundraising solution supported by seasoned legal advisors that is accessible and affordable to all." Designed for Founders, By Founders The challenges of fundraising are well known, but My NEXT Raise has created a solution that eliminates inefficiencies and allows founders to focus on scaling their businesses. From first seed rounds to Series A and beyond, the platform provides essential tools to make the right impression on investors and provides founders with the tools to secure funding faster.

Where female founders in the DMV meet to access capital, community and connections.

Techstars helps founders scale their startups into world-changing businesses. Founded in 2006, Techstars is on a mission to invest in startups to enable more capital to flow to more entrepreneurs around the world in order to deliver exceptional returns to our investors. We do this by operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, as well as by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Our results show why Techstars is Better for Founders than any other global accelerator: On average, 74.5% of Techstars companies will raise money within 3 years of their program; 18.5% of Techstars portfolio companies have exited 5 years after their program and 31.1% after eight years. (PitchBook June 2023)

One billion people have a disability, making disabled people the largest minority in the world and the only one you can instantly become a part of. This diverse and vibrant community however, is often associated with pity and limitations, which has a direct impact on their acceptance into the workplace. People with disabilities disproportionally unemployed worldwide. In the United States, the disability unemployment rate is close to 20% since COVID-19, almost twice that of individuals with no disability. We are flipping the disability narrative. We work to unleash the entrepreneurship mindset of disabled people.

Welcome to the Maryland Tech Council. We are a collaborative community that is actively engaged in building strong technology and life science industries by supporting the efforts of our individual members. We are the largest technology trade association in the state of Maryland with over 700 members, and we provide value by giving them a forum to learn, share, and connect. The valuable resources we provide to our members help them reach their full potential as vital members of their communities. Members of the Maryland Tech Council are provided with educational programming taught by industry leaders with a focus on key topics, advocacy at the state and national levels, and a variety of opportunities to participate in both large and small events. Members also have access to our Cost Savings Program where they can choose from our list of reputable companies that provide discounts for business services. We offer an array of benefits that have been chosen to help your business grow. MTC is also able to serve the tech and biotech communities with assets like the Maryland Health Care Product Development Corporation (MHCPDC) and the MdBioLab program. MHCPDC’s goal is to stimulate growth of the biomedical industry in the state through "early stage"​ investment with promising Maryland biomedical and medical technology companies. The MdBioLab program supports a mobile bioscience laboratory that visits Maryland high schools to teach science literacy.