This Is What Change Looks Like: Washington, D.C. Mini Meet-Up

It’d be easy to forget, but startups do exist, and even prosper, outside of Silicon Valley. John and I believe firmly in this, and have thus decided to venture forth and find technology gems hidden away in cities with less prominent tech scenes.

The first of these adventures takes place in Washington DC, and as I type these very words I’m surrounded with at least 300 entrepreneurs, startup employees, investors, and journalists. The energy is palpable.

Of course, this is only the beginning. Tomorrow we’ll be in Norfolk, VA, and the day after we’ll be in Richmond, and in the near future, you can expect us in Raleigh, Durham, Chicago, Atlanta, and the list goes on and on. But tonight is about our nation’s capitol, and we thought you might want to take a look at the beginning of something special.

Check it out:

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Here’s the itinerary and a list of our sponsors:

Monday, April 9 – DC – RFD – 810 7th St NW – 6pm-10pm (??) – Our first event will be at RFD in NW. These guys have a huge selection of beers on tap and, if we play our cards right, we’ll have a few hours of open bar. If you haven’t RSVPed hop over to Plancast or email me at john@beta.techcrunch.com with the subject “RSVP DC.” Try to include a rough headcount.

Our first sponsors are HomeSnap by Sawbuck, Canvas.co and Create Digital.

DC’s largest co-working community; designed for creatives, freelancers, independents and start-ups to be an inspiring environment in which to work and collaborate. There are no closed doors here; it’s true co-working for community-centric creativity and collaboration. It’s more than just space, beyond sharing and no one gets incubated here. Boasting 6,000 square feet of open-space, completely custom designed, from floor to ceiling. We believe that creativity comes from inspiration and that inspiration starts with your surroundings; you won’t find any carpets, water-coolers or Ikea here.

Create Digital is a privately held Richmond, Va. based social agency that provides community management, web development and digital campaigns for Fortune 500 companies. Since 2010, Create Digital has consistently improved the web presences, customer engagement and online brands of its clients.

HomeSnap is the most intuitive real estate app you’ll ever use. Simply snap a photo of any home to find out all about it, including its current value, last sale date & price, local schools and more. HomeSnap works for over 90 million homes across the USA.

Tuesday, April 10 – Norfolk – We Are Titans Offices – 259 Granby St 3rd Floor – 6pm-10pm – We will begin the night at the We Are The Titans offices, kindly provided by a team of titans who work there, and the perhaps we can move to another location later. Please RSVP here or email me at john@beta.techcrunch.com with the subject “RSVP NORFOLK.” Try to include a rough headcount. We are also looking for sponsors, so please let me know in a separate, non RSVP email if you’re interested.

Here’s a little bit about our first Norfolk sponsor:

We Are Titans is a product development shop that helps startups and established businesses worldwide build custom web and mobile applications. We have a track record of turning great ideas into profitable and effective products, and we’re big on candid communication over intimidating geek speak.Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, our team looks forward to talking with you about your project, and how The Titan Way can help bring the right product to reality, while saving you time and money.

Wednesday, April 11 – Richmond – SnagAJob HQ – 6pm-10pm – 4851 Lake Brook Dr – Finally, we’ll meet in Glen Allen, outside of Richmond, for our final meet-up. Thanks to SnagAJob for donating a space with a bar and some booze. We’re still looking for Richmond sponsors as well, so please email me directly. RSVP here or email me at john@beta.techcrunch.com with the subject “RSVP RICHMOND.” Try to include a rough headcount.

Here’s a bit about our first Richmond sponsor:

Snagajob, the largest hourly employment network for job seekers and employers, is the only company to provide both sourcing and talent management solutions to the hourly industry. With more than 30 million registered job seekers and the leading hourly-focused talent management system, Snagajob has been fulfilling the dreams of hourly workers and those who employ them since 2000. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., Snagajob has been named the No. 1 Best Small Company to Work for in America by the Great Place to Work Institute. To find out more, visit snagajob.com and www.snagajob.com/employer-solutions.