Arlington — U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Matt S. Erskine visited 1776 Aug. 13 for a roundtable and walkthrough at the incubator and venture fund’s recently opened Crystal City location as part of Start-Up Day Across America.
The three officials met with small business and tech leaders to highlight federal resources available to startups and the business community; from offering grants and facilitating the patent process to incentivizing collaborative research and development. They also discussed the federal government’s role in driving the innovation needed to solve problems and fuel the 21st century American economy.
Beyer and the Secretaries were joined by 1776 Global Affairs Director Brandon Pollak, 1776 members Blake Hall, co-founder and CEO of ID.me; Jordan Lloyd Bookey, co-founder and chief mom of Zoobean; Felix Lloyd, co-founder and chief dad of Zoobean; Matt Provo, founder and CEO of ParkedIn; Kelly Zafar, founder and CEO of CareerMaven; Jason Green, co-founder of SkillSmart; David Fairbrothers, co-founder of Dorsata; and Gary Hensley, founder and CEO of edBacker.
Provo demonstrated his “personal parking assistant” app, connecting drivers to parking spaces.