Power Women of DC Tech: Part IV
We’re back with our fourth installment of the Trending 40 profiles of DC area women doing amazing things in tech. (ICYMI, here’s Part I, Part II, and Part III.) We have a few more installments and then a big bash on Oct. 15. Sign up to help us celebrate.
Alison Slavin
Co-Founder, Alarm.com; SVP, Creation Lab
Job focus: For many years, had been running product management for Alarm.com, a connected home platform incubated within Microstrategy and spun out in 2009. Earlier this year, launched and now running the Creation Lab within Alarm.com. It’s an internal think tank that does R&D, prototyping, and long-term strategy development for the company.
Projects: Using wearable devices to turn lights on and off, set the alarm or thermostat, open and close things like shades and the garage door. Also working on a new solution to monitor a pet’s location, get an alert if they’re lost, and make sure they're getting enough daily exercise.
Why a tech career: Even though a philosophy major, always wanted to be an entrepreneur. When finishing undergrad in 2000, all the startups were in tech. Went to work for Microstrategy after undergrad because they were incubating startups like Alarm.com and had a great culture.
Biggest challenge: Figuring out where to spend my time. I get excited about a lot of different ideas spanning a lot of industries and areas.
Top career milestones: Alarm.com hitting 1 million homes in 2012 and transitioning to current role heading the Creation Lab.
Hometown: New Rochelle, NY
Current home: Falls Church
Why DC: First job out of school, working as a Microstrategy associate
School: Harvard
Favorite vacation: Visited Western Norway around Bergen/Voss this summer and went kayaking and hiking in the fjords
Favorite restaurant: Louis’ Seafood (Bronx, NY), founded by my Italian grandparents in 1947.
Bucket list: Spend winter out West as a ski bum
Family facts: One dog and three cats
Hobbies: Soccer, skiing, pilates, dancing, photography, urban farming, and volunteering to help find homes for rescued cats and dogs
Elise Whang
Co-founder/CEO, SNOBSWAP
Job focus: Fundraising, building and focusing the team, and product strategy
Company: Online marketplace for affordable luxury clothing and accessories from over 50 consignment boutiques and over 3,000 private closets
Customers: 90% women, young professionals between ages 22-55
Company’s latest news: Raised $700k seed round from angel groups and simplepitch; moved from 1776 into Dupont Circle office space; hired three team members and now looking for designer and developer
Inspiration to start company: Obsession with fashion and love for consignment boutique shopping. Busy law career didn’t allow for much consignment boutique shopping, and sisters moving away made swapping clothes a challenge, so started working on site to do both.
Why a tech career: Tech was a means to change the way people shop consignment boutiques.
Biggest challenge: Learning to take risks
Career milestones: Passing the bar exam in California; taking leap of faith and launching SNOBSWAP; and raising first round.
Hometown: Great Falls
Current home: Friendship Heights
Why come back to DC: When you’re a lawyer, it’s attorney heaven.
School: University of Michigan; Catholic University Law School
First job: Engraver and sales associate at Things Engraved in Tysons
Greatest fear: Failure.
Favorite vacation: Safari at Krueger National Park in South Africa
Favorite restaurants: Makoto (Palisades), Toki Underground (H Street corridor), and Range (Friendship Heights)
Daily habit: Coffee and to-do list and plan of attack. Start with the heavy stuff first.
Bucket list: Eat my way around the world like Anthony Bourdain
Family facts: Married eight years; Son, age 3; Daughter, age, 2; and two dogs.
Hobbies: SNOBSWAP was a hobby that turned into a career.
Advice to 18-year-old self: Do what you love.
April Pedersen
Co-founder, Frakture
Job focus: Doing all parts of building a business except for writing code
Company: Enterprise tech company building a cross-channel data integration, production and analytics engine for marketers
Company’s latest news: After working with early adopters, getting ready for public rollout in the fall
Inspiration to launch company: Worked in online engagement with co-founder and husband, Chris Lundberg, over 10 years. Previously founded Salsa Labs to help nonprofits and political campaigns better engage online audiences. Problems facing organizations and companies have shifted with increasing number of communication channels. Frakture solves the problem of data integration and cross-channel analytics.
Why pursue tech: Being a tech entrepreneur offers an amazing opportunity to make change at an ever-increasing pace.
Biggest challenge: Working with developers as a non-developer
Top career milestones: Co-founded nonprofit, DemocracyInAction, at age 27; Co-founded Salsa Labs and bootstrapped it to serve 2,500 organizations before taking outside investment; and reaching 70 employees and seeing nearly 40 straight quarters of steady growth.
Hometown: West Bend, Wis.
Current home: Columbia Heights
Why DC: Came for an internship with the Institute of Policy Studies and never left.
School: Friends World College of Long Island University. Spent several semesters overseas while studying global economics.
First job: After spending senior year of high school in Spain, wanted to practice my Spanish so took a job as a bill collector. It was heart-wrenching and difficult.
Greatest fear: Not doing enough to make a real, lasting impact
Favorite vacation: St. Barts or South Africa
Favorite restaurant: Oyamel in Penn Quarter (I could eat those french fries with mole daily).
Daily habit: Take time to look at the sky, appreciate the natural world, and gain perspective (while walking the dogs).
Bucket list: Rent Necker Island for a week with friends and family and go diving with Sir Richard Branson
Family facts: Married to my co-founder, Chris. Now launching our 3rd venture (Frakture) while raising a 2.5-yr-old, Finn, and a 3-month-old, Sylvie. Paxton and Peanut (pups) are often seen around the office.
Hobbies: Saving hobbies for next decade.
Advice to 18-year-old self: Don’t take yourself so seriously and trust your intuition.
Tammy Mank Wincup
COO, EverFi
Company: Digital learning company for K-12, higher ed, and adults
Job focus: Dive deep into all aspects of company from sales to technology to implementation to innovation
Company’s latest news: Announcing next week, EverFi’s biggest partnership. Hint: What do you get when you cross a major sports league with incredible digital learning?
Why a tech career: Technology can be a great equalizer, especially in education.
Biggest challenge: Have to constantly re-prioritize to ensure you’re innovating and moving with urgency
Advice to 18-year-old self: Be flexible and nimble. It will all work out.
Daily habit: Turn off email for a couple of hours each day to take time to think and create. You should control your time, not others.
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colo., and Burke, Va.
Current home: Wesley Heights
Why DC: First job after grad school
School: UVA
First job: Strategy consulting in international development
Greatest fear: Regret
Favorite vacation: Tuscany
Favorite restaurant: Peacock Cafe (Georgetown)
Bucket list: Live abroad
Family facts: Married to Todd Wincup with 3 children, ages 10, 8, and 6.
We're grateful for our great partners in this initiative: Deloitte, TriNet, Cabot Consultants, Vornado, the Crystal Tech Fund, Wingate Hughes, and Kilpatrick Townsend. Thanks!
