Georgetown Entrepreneurs Meet at The Powerhouse October 23

Join CAG to hear from five fascinating Georgetown entrepreneurs who are highly creative catalysts for economic change and who have imagined new solutions by finding opportunities for profit or reward.

On Wednesday, October 23, they will tell all about their cutting edge endeavors in a panel discussion at The Powerhouse located in an historic former warehouse along the C&O Canal, one block from M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. (Go one block west from Wisconsin Avenue on Grace Street or walk down the stairs behind Dean & Deluca and turn left on Grace Street. Look for the tall smokestack and CAG banner. Click here for a link to a map). They will kick off the evening with fabulous refreshments from new M street restaurant, Capitol Prague.

Host and panel member, Daniel Miller, is co-founder of both Fundrise and Popularise, a real estate crowd-sourcing website, and Managing Partner of WestMill Capital Partners, a DC based real estate development company. Daniel remains involved with Western Development Corporation, his family's real estate company which has developed more than 20 million square feet in its 46-year history. Western's offices used to be in the Powerhouse and now he and his brother, Ben, are putting it to new use. The interior features exposed industrial brick, 30 foot high ceilings with skylights, and the iconic smokestack rising from the ground floor 150 feet above the skyline of Georgetown.

The second panelist, Ashley Peterson, is Senior Director of Partnerships at Personal.com whose mission is to find a way to allow you to take control of the master copy of your data and use it to live a better, more convenient life. Previously, Ashley worked at Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures helping to launch some of their well known and innovative film marketing campaigns. Ashley has an entrepreneurial background, having founded a non-profit organization to increase literacy among the homeless, and she continues to advise a number of early-stage companies.

A third Georgetown start-up was founded in 2010, by DC native Grant Verstandig. Audax Health Solution believes that consumers can and should be active participants in managing their own health. Audax provides users with a platform for doing this. Naimish Patel, SVP of Product Marketing will give us his insights on starting this end-to-end digital health company committed to developing innovative solutions to improve the health of individuals.

Ten years ago panelist Omar Popal, along with his family, opened the popular Cafe Bonaparte in Georgetown. He was 23 and working as an investment associate at Merrill Lynch when he and his siblings came up with the idea. They found a 900-square-foot space, hired a pastry chef and set up shop. "Our business model has always been: Open up one [restaurant], become profitable, then move to the next." It seems to be working. They now own Napoleon in Adams Morgan and the new Malmaison in Georgetown on Water Street.

Moderator is Jeff Reid, the Founding Director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative and Adjunct Professor, Entrepreneurship at Georgetown University. Jeff Reid is a leader in the arenas of entrepreneurship, venture capital, education, technology, and economic development.

The evening will begin with a 7 pm reception catered by Capitol Prague, the new Czech restaurant, followed by the discussion at 7:30 pm at the Powerhouse, 3255 Grace St. NW. Call or email CAG with questions: 202-337-7313 cagmail@cagtown.org