What's Working in Washington

Andrew Scobie, founder of Faraday Grid, discusses how America’s electrical infrastructure has changed little in over a century, and how his company hopes to revolutionize the industry. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Mark Chalfant, artistic and executive director at Washington Improv Theater, discusses how his nonprofit's WIT at Work initiative helps coworkers become better, and more empathetic, communicators. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Rob Sobhani, sounder and CEO of Sparo, discusses how his company uses gamification techniques to drive people to donate to their favorite charities. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

John Cofrancesco, VP of Business Development at Active Navigation, discusses the security risks that can be hidden in everyday files like emails, spreadsheets and presentations, and how companies can work to mitigate damage these might cause in a hack. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Esther Lee, CEO of innovation hub and nonprofit Refraction, discusses what her organization is doing to draw in more startups and talent to the D.C. region, and what the region as a whole can do to help tip the scales. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

On today's EXTRA episode, Dr. Brent Goldfarb and David Kirsch, both professors at the Robert H. Smith School of Business and co-authors of Bubbles and Crashes: the boom and bust of technological innovation, discuss the cyclical nature of the tech innovation environment. Other topics on deck include their recent book, what happens when an economy crashes, and how to salvage your business in troubli...

Nick Perdikis, CEO and CRO of Devensoft, discusses how his company's software-as-a-service platform helps companies streamline and simplify the merger and acquisition process, minimizing stress and maximizing integration. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Brian Park, managing partner at SparkLabs Cyber+Blockchain, discusses how his accelerator's initiatives in new and expanding technologies are pushing innovation while still creating profit. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Allen Brooks, VP of education and outreach at Building Momentum, discusses The Garden, his company's newest endeavor for teaching adults across the region about workshop tools and development, creating a co-building space for tinkerers and small businesses alike. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Kristen Hajduk, regional director for the national capital region at MD5, discusses the advantages to building networks of innovators and entrepreneurs to help solve national security and defense problems. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Clint Stinchcomb, president and CEO at on-demand service CuriosityStream, discusses the work behind promoting and producing nonfiction video content, and how the market for it is much larger than one might assume. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Simone Petrella, chief strategy officer at CyberVista, discusses the recent trends in federal agencies of hiring private recruiters to find and train candidates for employment, and other steps the government can take to make better workers. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Greg Kihlström, prolific brand consultant, customer experience strategist, and SVP digital at Yes& discusses his new book, the Agile Brand, and the ways that building a positive customer experience and a set of associated vocabulary can propel your brand to new heights. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-inf...

Jenny Rickard, president and CEO at the Common Application, discusses how the Common App helps students of all incomes and backgrounds apply to and attend a wide array of colleges around the world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Mohan Rao, chief product and technology officer at StreetShares, discusses how expert guidance from a CPO or CTO can make or break a company's bottom line. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Kevin DeSanto, managing director and co-founder of KippsDeSanto, discusses how the government contracting space, and the D.C. entrepreneurship community at large, is a lot more active and successful than you might think. For the biggest companies in the region, big personalities are a little rarer than in Silicon Valley. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice...

Adam Roberts, executive director of Bethesda Green, discusses the ways that companies like his are building environmentally sound and sustainable communities, and the responsibilities businesses have to care for their surroundings. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Karen McCord, CEO of Breezio, discusses how her company provides a service to connect communities, creating bases of knowledge for companies to keep engagement strong and cut out spam. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Whit Fulton, CEO of ConnectDER, discusses how his company and their product works to shift the electrical power industry towards cleaner, smaller, and better alternatives on distributed networks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Libby Wuller, director of external engagement at Quorum, discusses how her company develops a suite of tools to help corporations, nonprofits, and associations influence and engage with government more effectively. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Kathleen Day, experienced business journalist and professor, discusses her new book on the history of financial crises, Broken Bargain, and how the economy could once again take a sharp downturn without careful planning. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Bob Gourley and Matt Devost, co-founders of tech research and advisory firm OODA, discuss the rise of machine learning and A.I., and how their national security background and the D.C. region give them a distinct insight into the new technologies. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Anil Karmel, CEO of C2 Labs, discusses how some of the modern regulations for cyber and information security might be needlessly restrictive, and how a new approach to such regulations could speed up innovation while preserving consumer safety. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

To understand more about the groups that are working together to spur digital literacy and tech knowledge in under-served communities, we spoke with Derrick Washington, part of the leadership at educational nonprofit Byte Back. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Tripp Donnelly, CEO and founder of REQ, discusses how businesses need to have a real grasp on how they're seen on the internet. If you're not actively working on your digital brand, you're letting everyone else do it for you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .