Brandon Luong, founder of
Guanxi Innovations, a D.C.-based web and mobile design and branding firm, has loosed the
DMV Startup Wiki on the world. Designed as an outgrowth of Luong's
DMV Startup Handbook, a web publication released in November 2014, the wiki is a place to keep track of different segments of D.C. tech in one spot. Luong says he created both the publication and the wiki "to bring light to the newbies and veterans alike" in the city's tech community, which can be overwhelming for newbies.
Unlike, say, Wikipedia, whose tagline is famously "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," each page in the DMV Startup Wiki is curated by a member of Luong's eight-member volunteer
team. "It keeps the bias out," Luong says. "We want to be neutral in our approach." It also takes roughly two hours to curate a single page, so Luong is actively looking for additional volunteers to help with page curation.
The wiki is still very much a work in progress. Of the hundred or so startups listed, roughly 20 percent have live, clickable pages. And Luong knows more startups are out there. "We want to know about them," he says. "We hope to have 6,000 entries by 2018."
Luong says that the team is "looking for feedback on the site. What do you want to see?" he asks.
Founders can add their startup to the wiki by filling out this
form. Those wishing to add an event to the DMV Startup calendar can do so
here or on the homepage.
Savvy readers might notice the word "membership" in the footer of the wiki. A membership fee might be in the works, says Luong. "We're thinking about a small badge that a startup can implement on their page to show unity, as well as to help keep [our] website up and running." He says it would be "a small fee, maybe $50 per year, with exclusive deals to events." The membership idea is just that for now—an idea. "It would be great if we could get a sponsorship so that we don't have to charge membership fees at all."