This week, we spend 60 seconds getting to know
Dan Berger, CEO of
Social Tables, a little bit better (although if you follow him on Twitter, you probably already know him pretty well—he tweets A LOT.) Berger, 32, founded the event planning platform in 2011 and has grown it steadily since then into a game-changer for the hospitality industry. Berger is being presented with the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance's
Alumni Award for positive impact of business and service to the entrepreneurial community tomorrow.
Elevation DC: What was your first job?
Dan Berger: Web developer at a startup in '99.
Best thing about your business right now?
Everyone's having fun without losing sight of our business goals.
Describe an “A-ha moment” (in business, or in life) that you’ve had.
I have a few of those every single day :). The biggest one was dropping consumer and going enterprise.
What are you reading? Or, what have you read recently that has had an impact on you? Why has it been influential?
The best book I've ever read is
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team [by Patrick Lencioni]. It helped me understand the dynamics of performance teams and how to remove the blockers preventing us from getting there. My senior management team is now an extremely cohesive unit that's rowing in the same direction.
Biggest influence in tech or startup culture today? Why?
I get my influence from many places but I'd like to think that we're trendsetters when it comes to culture. For example, this week we held an internal education conference. Every single one of my teammates did a six-minute presentation on something related to our industry. Everyone learned a ton (mission accomplished) but most importantly everyone had a killer presentation. Epic is an understatement.
Beverage of choice?
Diet Coke
Guilty pleasure?
Snacks. More specifically, kettle cooked potato chips.
Last tweet you got that made you smile?
My teammate
Trevor Lynn was just promoted to CMO. The congrats pouring in on social media have been amazing.
Most recent app purchase/download? Why?
Coffitivity. It plays the the soundtrack of a busy coffee shop on repeat and helps me focus.
What do you love about DC?
It outdoes itself every single day in every facet an international destination ought to.