Dan J. Berger

I went to dinner with a prominent DC-area investor the other night and he asked those at the table this very question. After dinner, I emailed him my ideas:

• Branding. Half of it is branding/perception so DC should be at the forefront of leveraging the latest technology to communicate with the world (and its potential residents/investors/etc). Mayor Bloomberg established the Chief Digital Officer position in NYC. DC should follow suit.
• Healthcare. Many people don’t quit their jobs because they need healthcare. How about striking a deal with an interim healthcare provider to provide cheap health insurance?
• Tax breaks. People usually suggest to give tax breaks to investors. DC should offer some to mentors or to property owners who provide uber-cheap working space for startups.
• Talent pipeline. The city should continue to build their engineering pipeline by investing in its education institutions. NYC’s RFP for a Science and Engineering satellite campus is a visionary framework toward that goal.
• Incubator. Create a government-focused startup incubator similar to Rock Health (mobile health) or NYC’s Big Apps (e.g.: build an app to make NYC better). This incubator would accept applications from startups looking to leverage government data or positively impact our quality of life.
• Knowledge sharing. Start a knowledge sharing program with the science and research labs in the city… maybe something like “Adopt a Scientist for the Day” program to help those starting out.

Those are the ideas I could come up with. I’d love to hear your thoughts.