The Monthly Blend

Networking for growth is an integral part of any successful business and there are hundreds of organizations that exist to assist. The Monthly Blend cohosts Anthony Millin and Tien Wong discuss two of our region's top networking groups - Cadre and Association for Enterprise Growth - with their respective founders Derek Coburn and Mark Haas. 

Join The Monthly Blend for a critical discussion of the state of small business in the DMV region, specifically MD and DC. Hosts Anthony Millin and Tien Wong sat down with Carl Brown, Executive Director of DC Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and Jennifer Smith Funn, Regional Director Baltimore City/County SBDC to learn how these crucial organizations are changing the landscape of small bu...

Listen in when two pillars of the DMV tech media community – Sara Gilgore, Reporter at the Washington Business Journal and Editor of DC Inno, and Christopher Wink, Founder and CEO of Technical.ly – speak to The Monthly Blend about how they see our region's strengths and weaknesses, what stories are important to the growth of our ecosystem, and what the future holds for the DMV region.

Jeff Grass, a DMV native and serial entrepreneur and now Founder/CEO of Hungry , speaks with The Monthly Blend for our May episode. Jeff, Tien and Anthony discuss Hungry , the marketplace that connects businesses to top area chefs for all their catering needs, the impact of the pandemic on Hungry and how he pivoted successfully and what keeps him up at night.

Listen in to this episode of The Monthly Blend when the CEOs of Maryland Tech Council and Northern Virginia Tech Council, Marty Rosendale and Jennifer Taylor, talk to co-hosts Anthony Millin and Tien Wong about the challenges faced by the DMV region, their key initiatives for 2022 and how both organizations will strive to grow individually and collectively to meet the demands of our tech community...

Listen in when The Monthly Blend hosts speak to Melissa Bradley, Managing Partner of 1863 Ventures, CoFounder of Ureeka, Georgetown University Professor, and so much more. Melissa is in a class by herself as a trailblazer for underrepresented founders and cultivating our ecosystem of talented entrepreneurs and investors.

Sally Allain, Head of JLABS @ Washington, DC, and Dr. Kurt Newman, Pres/CEO of Children's National Hospital sit down with Tien and Anthony to discuss how JLABS and Children's National are impacting pediatric healthcare in our region and nationally, and why they partnered to create a research and innovation campus at the old Walter Reed Army base.

After a year of talking to the leaders of the DMV region, let's hear from our hosts Anthony Millin and Tien Wong. Learn about their backgrounds as founders of various startups, their experiences, and what led them each to their current roles as builders of our entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Make sure to catch the first part of this discussion in Ep.14! Want to find out what to expect from our region's growth in 2022? Tune in as The Monthly Blend speaks to the DMV's economic development leaders Victor Hoskins, Pres/CEO of Fairfax County Economic Development, Jack McDougle, Pres/CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, and Ben Wu, Pres/CEO of Montgomery County Economic Development...

Want to find out what to expect from our region's growth in 2022? Tune in as The Monthly Blend speaks to the DMV's economic development leaders Victor Hoskins, Pres/CEO of Fairfax County Economic Development, Jack McDougle, Pres/CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, and Ben Wu, Pres/CEO of Montgomery County Economic Development Corp, to discuss how we recover from COVID19, the importance o...

Hear how DataTribe – the Cyber Startup Foundry – is leading our region to build cyber giants that change the world – including one of their Challenge Winners SightGain. Listen as co-hosts Anthony Millin and Tien Wong speak to Tony Surak, Chief Marketing Officer & Partner at DataTribe, Maurice Boissiere, Chief Customer Officer at DataTribe, and CEO of SightGain Christian Sorenson all discuss the fu...

DC Startup Week 2021 is bigger and better than ever. Co-hosts Anthony Millin and Tien Wong talk to DCSW Founder and Organizers to discuss the startup ecosystem in the DMV, what DCSW is doing to help entrepreneurs of all stages, industries and backgrounds and what surprises are in store for a great week!

Join four of our region's leading proponents and changemakers urging more access to capital for female and underrepresented founders to discuss what their organizations are doing, the progress that has been made and just how far we still have to go.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic our region was leading the country in the life sciences and biotech arena. Since the pandemic, however, with companies like Adaptive Phage Therapeutics and Novavax leading the way with industry support from groups like MD Tech Council the DMV is poised to lead the country in these areas.

The startup ecosystem in Baltimore is hotter than ever and about to grow even stronger with the arrival of Techstars Equitech and UpSurge! Join The Monthly Blend to speak to veteran Baltimore founders, funders and connectors – Deb Tillett, Christopher College and David Warschawski - to hear how Baltimore is joining the DMV as a startup stronghold.

The Monthly Blend finishes their conversation with Connected DMV Leaders Stu Solomon, Sarah Bauder, Matt Erskine, and George Thomas as they describe their simple but grand mission: One Region. One Team. One Plan. One Result. One Stronger DMV Please make sure to listen to the first part of this conversation in episode 7 before checking out this episode!

The Monthly Blend talks to Connected DMV Leaders Stu Solomon, Sarah Bauder, Matt Erskine, and George Thomas as they describe their simple but grand mission: One Region. One Team. One Plan. One Result. One Stronger DMV

Hear from MD Business Innovation Challenge Corporate Leaders John Joaquin of IBM, Emily Durfee or Healthworx, and Pritpal Kalsi of SC&H Group, as they describe the mission and vision of the Challenge: to provide a deliberate mechanism for corporations to leverage the Maryland innovation ecosystem, to advance their competitive advantage while creating mutual benefits for all and creating an ecosyst...

Ever wonder what it's like to be an entrepreneur in the DMV and how our ecosystem has developed and grown over the last several years? Check out the good, bad and the multitude of ways we can still progress and better our startup community with the Entrepreneur Episode on The Monthly Blend.

Accelerator programs play an integral role in any startup ecosystem. The DMV is no exception and is extremely fortunate to house a plethora of great accelerators. The Monthly Blend talks to the leaders of our area's premier accelerators to understand how they work hand in hand with founders and funders to nurture and de-risk startups. Check out their insights and efforts with Anthony and Tien!

Top University Leaders (Georgetown, GWU, AU, UMD, Marymount and Howard) talk to The Monthly Blend about how best to spur innovation and entrepreneurship in the DMV and what role they believe they play in uniting the ecosystem and helping founders de-risk the startup journey to build for success.

True to The Monthly Blend's mission of catalyzing regional collaboration, in this Episode, we bring together the brand new CEOs of both TEDCO and CIT, mirror organizations in their respective states of MD and VA. Troy Stovall and Bob Stolle meet for the first time and share their visions for their organizations. Topics include investment, stimulating economic development, areas of focus, and diver...

Listen to Anna Mason Partner Rise of the Rest and Ollen Douglass Managing Partner of The Motley Fool as they discuss, with Co-hosts Tien Wong and Anthony Millin, the state of Venture Capital in DMV including where it is now and where it could be in the future and the importance of inclusion and diversity.