The Reinvention of Crystal City
Once imperiled by BRAC forcing the departure of contractors, Crystal City might now be the city of the future. Is it a place urban planners will eventually hold up as an example of how to work, live, play within a few blocks? DC native Paul Singh thinks so, and he’s moving quickly on his plan.
Paul’s Crystal Tech Fund officially opened its doors at 2231 Crystal Dr Thursday with a visit from Sen. Mark Warner. He toured the space with Vornado’s Mitchell Schear and chatted with the six companies that have moved in. It’ll house the companies that get funded through the $50M fund—though they can choose if they want to be in the space. The first phase (68 desks) was put together in seven weeks, and more sections will open through next year for a total of 27.5k SF and 175 desks. The space has special sound engineering through acoustic treatments and special fixtures to make sure it can be collaborative but also relatively quiet.
Paul, one of the founders of 500 Startups in Silicon Valley, says he’s investing in companies from all over the world and is hoping to bring some of them to the Crystal City spot. He’s looking for over a dozen companies in the coming months that may have already raised some funding and are already generating $1M in revenue. Initial checks are ranging from $250k to $1M. Ultimately, he wants to make Crystal City a model for how to build the next generation of cities. He points to a recent a Martin Prosperity Institute study that shows more venture capital is invested in startups in urban areas. Tech will never be the dominant employer in the DC economy, he adds, but it tends to pay higher wages, which means tech workers have more disposable income. Vornado is also filling in the “live” piece by helping any of the entrepreneurs who want to live in Crystal City find housing.
Companies started moving into Crystal Tech Fund HQ earlier this week, and one of the first was Supply Hog, which moved here from Tennessee. CEO Nathan Derrick (front, right) describes the business as the Amazon.com of construction supplies. The platform allows companies to shop for everything from sheet rock to concrete. He has a staff of 16 and hopes to double within the next year. Nathan, who knew Paul from a previous investment, says he moved his company to the Crystal City space before seeing it, but has no regrets. Now he just needs to find a place to live.
Sevacall, an app that lets users find nearby service providers, also moved to the space after spending the last year in the founders’ Potomac, Md., basement. The team includes Manpreet Singh, Raj Karyampudi, James Jalandoni, and Amandeep Bakshi. Speek also took a table after spending over a year in AOL’s Fishbowl Labs. CTO Danny Boice is also now renting a place at Vornado’s 220 20th St in Crystal City and can walk to work. Other companies in the Crystal Tech Fund include Power Supply, Nvite, and Riskpulse.
The buzz this week has been the wrap-around views of DC from the space. (We now know who to call to give us a heads up when grandma’s plane lands.) Crystal Tech Fund had a party last night with over 700 RSVPs, and Gov. Terry McAuliffe visited this morning.
