The Georgetown Venture Lab Is Open for [Your] Business
Georgetown Entrepreneurship is excited to announce the reopening of the Georgetown Venture Lab. Now in its new location at a WeWork facility in downtown Washington, D.C., at 200 Massachusetts Ave NW, the space is the home to Hoya alumni entrepreneurs based in the area. At the lab, founders come together to launch, build, and scale their companies alongside a community of fellow entrepreneurs.
The Venture Lab originally launched as a unique concept to the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative in October 2018 with a generous gift from the Leonsis family. The goal was to coordinate programming to foster the growth of new ventures and connect Georgetown University entrepreneurs to the greater alumni and student networks. Over the years, the Venture Lab has hosted more than 60 companies, including MisFit Foods, Palmetto Solar, and TwoBirds, to name a few.
Due to COVID-19, the Venture Lab temporarily paused the operations of its physical space in December 2019. That did not hinder Georgetown Entrepreneurship from continuing to foster a community of support for alumni entrepreneurs. During the winter months, the Venture Lab created a new program for Hoyapreneuers, the Georgetown Startup Accelerator (GSA). A nine-week, virtual program designed to accelerate early-stage alumni companies, the GSA opened up Georgetown’s reach beyond the D.C. area with participants from around the world.
In July of 2021, the Georgetown Venture Lab reopened its doors once again. The Venture Lab is now located in a new, more central location next door to the Georgetown University Law School. In addition to a new location, the Venture Lab has added several new membership benefits. In addition to a subsidized desk rate and WeWork membership, members now have the opportunity to work one-on-one with dedicated coaches (such as Howard Eisenberg, Amy Millman, Tara Sakraida Parker and Barbara White, among others) and gain exposure to potential investors at private pitch events.
Some of the Venture Lab’s current companies include Sowmya Pelluru’s (SCS’20) manakii, Mackenzie Copley’s (C’15) One Tent Health, Joshua Shwartz’s (SCS’13) Pubvendo, and more. Opportunity Consulting, founded by Etai Misrav (MPP’14) and Iris Bond-Gill, speak about their experience as current Venture Lab members.
“At Opportunity Consulting we want to create groundbreaking ideas and processes to improve equity in public policy,” said Misrav The Georgetown Venture lab provides us with a productive, creative environment, surrounded by brilliant entrepreneurs. This environment is perfect for generating the type of new, bold, and different ideas that are necessary to drive the type of change that our clients seek.”
As Hoyapreneurs continue to create amazing companies near and far, the Venture Lab looks forward to welcoming founders to the Georgetown entrepreneurship ecosystem. Learn more about the Venture Lab and get involved today.