Tech startups, especially in the areas of #cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, are helping the nation’s capital become recognized more and more as a major tech hub.
Oh yes, when it comes to the tech sector, Washington D.C. is hot. In fact, it’s so hot that the nation’s capital ranks third in the nation as a regional hotspot for tech workers, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Tech Cities 1.0 report. #Bisnow, a publication that hones in on commercial real estate, took a closer look at D.C.’s impressive growth trend and identified some factors that have helped spur the growth. They include #biotech hubs, the cyber security and #aerospace industries, a health local economy, the highly educated workforce, the growing amount of venture capital and coworking spaces.
According to Washington D.C. Economic Partnership, or #WDCEP, the job growth rate in the District’s tech sector has rose 50 percent within the last decade. The District plans to keep those numbers high by creating 20,000 more jobs within the next five years. This growth would result from greater private and public investments, strong marketing and providing more support for local entrepreneurs.
Yet, some small businesses aren’t placing enough focus on building products. It’s what Michael Hoffman, executive editor at Tandem National Security Innovations, determined during a radio interview on Federal News Radio. #TandemNSI connects innovators and entrepreneurs with funding opportunities. When analyzing the Tandem NSI census of cybersecurity companies, Hoffman noticed that D.C could do even better in the tech arena if #techstartups placed more focus on building products rather than services like consulting.
While California’s Silicon Valley is known as the leading hub for high-tech innovation and development (since it is home to some of the world’s largest tech companies like #Oracle and #Intel), city officials in D.C. want the nation’s capital to make it’s own significant mark on the tech industry by solving its biggest problems: diversity and inclusion. The D.C. area with its highly educated and culturally diverse workforce is primed to do just that. Take a look at community spaces like In3, which offers training, mentorship, rentable office space, and workshops and events, and community-led campaigns focused on supporting female entrepreneurs.
D.C.’s diversity has in fact resonated with CEOs. It has given these leaders a competitive edge. Overall D.C.’s talent is highly educated and qualified and the different types of functional and cultural backgrounds makes the talent a valuable resource when generating new ideas, collaborating with different industries, entering new markets, and addressing social causes. The city’s diversity also extends to the investment community, which helps increase access to funding.
CEOs at D.C. tech startups have been making moves throughout the year to further their company’s growth. They are making more efforts to launch new products and even expand their businesses outside of the D.C. They are also taking advantage of their proximity to federal offices and policymakers to take on social causes so their company can produce positive changes within their industry and throughout the world.
The list of high-performing tech startups in the nation’s capital will likely get even longer as the characteristics of the city, such as its politics, art, and history, expands to include transformative technologies.
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