Startup Funding

• What we'll do Economist William Michael Cunningham on Podbeam Thursdays at 6 pm. https://www.podbean.com/

On https://blackecon101.podbean.com/ Thursdays at 6 pm. discussing the economy...and Black people.

**Welcome to Team Network Vienna Venture Network—an in-person, high-performance networking experience for professionals, entrepreneurs, and Main Street business owners who believe growth is intentional and relationships are built face-to-face. Located in the heart of Vienna, Vienna Venture Network brings together driven leaders who value structure, accountability, and results.** **This is not casual mingling or surface-level networking. Vienna Venture Network meetings are process-driven, energetic, and outcome-focused, designed to connect members and visitors with their Power Play Partners—the trusted professionals in complementary industries who can unlock referrals, spark collaboration, and create long-term leverage. Every meeting is built with purpose, and every interaction is designed to move business forward.** **At the center of the experience is Team Network’s proprietary Wolf Pack Connect speed-networking system. This fast-paced, intentional format ensures you meet multiple high-quality professionals in a single morning, with clarity around who you help best, who helps you win, and how to advance the relationship after the meeting. It’s efficient, engaging, and engineered to respect your time while multiplying your opportunity.** **Expect a room filled with prepared business owners, executives, advisors, and community leaders who show up ready to contribute—not just collect contacts. Expect meaningful conversations, warm introductions that actually happen, and a network that becomes an extension of your business development engine.** **As we charge into 2026, make it the year you commit to smarter networking with real outcomes. At Team Network, we live by a simple and powerful truth: we are all always one introduction away—from the right client, the right partner, a breakthrough idea, or a collaboration that can change our business, our community, or even the world.** **Join the Team and Run with a Pack!** **Let’s Go! 🐺🤝🇺🇸💪🙏** **Thank you,** **Mark, Laurel, Jorge, Anne, Fahad, Oscar, Curt and John** **Join Team Network’s Vienna Venture Network Captains Mark Sweeney and Laurel Corridon professional networking** **Every Thursday 8-9:30 am.** **The "first" Thursday, we meet at everyone's favorite... Anita's (521 Maple Ave E, Vienna, VA 22180).** **ALL OTHER THURSDAYS WE MEET ON ZOOM** **Meeting ID** **301 370 5351** **Passcode:** **010192** **ALWAYS CHECK HERE FOR THE MOST CURRENT MEETING INFORMATION: Look for the Vienna Ventures Network at** [https://www.teamnetworkcorporation.com/events ](https://www.teamnetworkcorporation.com/events) **QUESTIONS? Email info@teamnetwork.com**

SCALE SMART… Business Credit & Funding for Realtors March 5\, 2026 \| 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Brambleton Library 22850 Brambleton Plaza, Brambleton, VA 20148 Realtors — let’s have a real conversation. Are you still using your personal credit to fund your business? Still mixing personal and business finances? Still scaling without a true funding strategy? It’s time to build your business the right way. I’ll be joining Yaztka Allen – Serial Entrepreneur Lee Johnson – Business Coach & Real Estate Investor We’re breaking down: ✔ How to properly separate personal & business finances. ✔ How to position your business for real growth. ✔ How to access business funding strategically. ✔ How to build fundable business credit. ✔ How to scale smarter — not riskier. This is not a motivational talk. This is structure. Strategy. Execution. Seats are limited — the room will fill with agents who are serious about scaling. If 2026 is your year to operate like a CEO — not just an agent — this is where you need to be. #ScaleSmart #RealtorBusiness #BusinessCredit #WomenInBusiness #RealEstateGrowth

***"Have you ever moved money from one account to another, not to save or invest, but just to make everything “clear” before the next bill hits?"*** That moment tells you something..... Does it ay more about your hustle? or more about your financial plan? When did money start feeling like something you have to manage… instead of something that supports you? If you’re ready to meet people who are building and get real clarity on what to do next, come out. If you’ve been looking for a different plan, come out. **Networking first, then a financial workshop in the DMV. Friendly, high-energy, feel-at-home room.**

***In Person Location:*** Rockville Library, second floor meeting room (Collaboration Room 3). We are experimenting with a new virtual join link - [https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers](https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers) If you can make it in person, that's always recommended! Let's resume repeated full end-to-end testing cycles and continue to iterate our design and resolution. We are getting close. Our community is building (and documenting for other teams) how to build a scanning tunneling microscope using a mix of common and 3D printed parts. This will allow us to scan and visualize a single atom - an ambitious we are doing over the course of a few months. The MoCo Makers community is one of the most innovative and competent groups in Maryland, and we've done everything from [publishing cancer research](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38136356/), to [launching products](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gotim/cozy-curvy-multi-contour-pillow), [winning grants](https://covidinfocommons.datascience.columbia.edu/awards/2014255), and inspiring thousands. Now our biggest challenge yet has appeared. We are building a Scanning Tunneling Microscope, that will allow us to scan and visualize single atoms. Does it sound hard? Perhaps.. However! I have every confidence that we are now operating at a level were we can take on this mean, cross-functional project. We continue to build on our past successes, and a key technology we previously applied was increasing the signal of small voltages using OpAmps - which we did during our custom pH Probe project - [https://www.mocomakers.com/ph-probe/](https://www.mocomakers.com/ph-probe/) \- That technology is exactly what we need to get this machine working\, and at a high precision\! To get a better idea of what we are doing, see our reference project here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g) All starting CAD, code, and reference files should exist. However, let's be the first Maker community to document the build process and share it with learners around the world. We have a bit over $2,000 in materials costs, so if you want to sponsor this project, and get banners at events with 20K attendees, and access to our email broadcast of 30K members, please contact matt@mocomakers.com We are also open to university, lab, or community partnerships so feel to reach out if you want to be part of this project. Together, we can do incredible things. ***In Person Location:*** Rockville Library, second floor meeting room (Meeting Room 3). To Join Virtually: https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers

**Meet the Entrepreneurs Behind FounderWay.ai** **FounderWay** is a platform for building and scaling startups. It is built for founders and is powered by AI tools. FounderWay provides personalized guidance, streamlined decision-making, and accelerates the speed to execute. From early-stage ideation to securing funding and market expansion, FounderWay equips entrepreneurs with the right strategies, resources, and networks to accelerate their success. **Kiran Panjwani** is the CEO & Co-Founder of FounderWay.ai. Kiran works at the intersection of startups, innovation, and ecosystem development, helping founders navigate the complexities of building and scaling ventures. Previously, Kiran worked with startup incubators, accelerators, and corporate innovation teams, supporting companies across sectors, and she is “always open to conversations about startup growth, ecosystem collaboration, and the evolving role of AI.” **Cody Jung** is a technical Co-Founder of FounderWay.ai. Cody bridges business and engineering priorities to deliver innovative solutions for startups and Fortune 500 firms. Cody serves as an organizer for Techstars Startup Weekend, a mentor, and an angel investor. He is building FounderWay as a platform to bring incubator-level guidance and resources to founders while connecting them and the rest of the ecosystem. He has built and led lean engineering teams with 2x industry output, and is responsible for $7M+ in sales over a 4-year technical sales career. **The Discussion.** This series of hybrid events is perfect for budding entrepreneurs, experienced executive mentors cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, early-stage investors, and students exploring innovative product design. At each session, business founders serve as guest speakers share about their career, their firm's business model, as well as the successes and challenges in the product development process. Participants learn from the speakers’ experiences, discuss valuable insights, and connect with other entrepreneurs, students, faculty, and investors. **Logistics.** A light lunch is served, as entrepreneurs connect with one another, learn from peers, and contribute to the conversation: * Friday, March 6, 2026 * 11:30am EST - Coffee & Connection * 12:00pm - 1:00pm EST - Presentation & Discussion No pre-registration is required. Join us: Robins School of Business 102 UR Drive, iLab Room 123 University of Richmond, VA 23173 **Parking.** Free parking is available in the U5 and U6 lots immediately adjacent to the Robins School. Please enter the main foyer, turn to the left and proceed to room 123 (EY Innovation Lab) on the ground floor. Please note that visitors have a two-hour parking window. Please sign in when you enter the room, providing your license plate number. **On Zoom Webinar:** https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89608419334?pwd=am0F9r85xPfh7aBaxtdUDILYsvNAwJ.1

*In the most distant reaches of the world, magic still exists, embodied by spirits of the land, of the sky, and of every natural thing. As the great powers of Europe stretch their colonial empires further and further, they will inevitably lay claim to a place where spirits still hold power - and when they do, the land itself will fight back alongside the islanders who live there.* ***Spirit Island*** is a complex and thematic cooperative game about defending your island home from colonizing Invaders. Players are different spirits of the land, each with its own unique elemental powers. Every turn, players simultaneously choose which of their power cards to play, paying energy to do so. Using combinations of power cards that match a spirit's elemental affinities can grant free bonus effects. Faster powers take effect immediately, before the Invaders spread and ravage, but other magics are slower, requiring forethought and planning to use effectively. In the Spirit phase, spirits gain energy, and choose how / whether to Grow: to reclaim used power cards, to seek for new power, or to spread presence into new areas of the island.

Love audiobooks and nature? Looking to connect with fellow book lovers? Come **Book It Around** with us! Shake off the Sunday Scaries and welcome Daylight Savings Time with an audiobook stroll around wooded Roosevelt Island. Walk a lap or more of the Island, depending on your pace, then join the group for warm drinks! We'll start a bit later than usual to ease into the "spring forward" shift. Monthly audiobook walks are FREE and held in accessible public spaces around the D.C. Metro area. These \~ 90 minute walks are often followed by a social gathering -- book swap, picnic, indie bookstore private shopping, etc. Get a little dose of nature, read a few chapters, and make a bookish new friend! All ages, fitness levels, and identities welcome. If the event listing says "full," ignore that, come anyway, and bring a friend -- the more the merrier! Questions? Email bookitaround AT gmail DOT com

It's our time to pray together to fellowship and trust God for what he will do in the future and the present.

Details Location: Crimson Whiskey Bar (Either the downstairs whiskey bar, or main floor bar, TBD) The purpose of Thinkers and Drinkers is to facilitate casual but meaningful and interesting conversations with other people in a face-to-face setting. The topics cover a wide variety of issues and are different for every meeting. While conversations may get heated at times, we ask that all members be respectful of each other and refrain from personal insults. Topic: The Gamblification of Everything Gambling is certainly not anything new. The idea of making a quick buck based on a game was just as appealing to ancient Mesopotamians as it is to estranged uncles who moved to Las Vegas. In the US, sports gambling has exploded since the Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that struck down a nationwide ban on sports betting. A [survey](https://sri.siena.edu/2025/02/18/22-of-all-americans-half-of-men-18-49-have-active-online-sports-betting-account/) released last year revealed 22% of Americans had an active sports betting account, and nearly half of men aged 18-40. This growth has mainly been associated with mobile apps like DraftKings, which thrive on allowing many small bets anytime, anywhere, on people's phones. Unsuprisingly this has led to a dramatic increase in gambling addictions for people in their 20s. It's not just sports gambling that has taken off, but other new betting markets like Polymarket that allow users to bet on anything from elections and international conflict to earthquakes and video game release dates. Meme/Joke markets like "[Whether or not Jesus will return this year](https://polymarket.com/event/will-jesus-christ-return-before-2027)" have popped up that have volume in the tens of millions of dollars. With prediction markets becoming legal in the US after a CFTC decision in October 2025, these prediction markets are set to grow more, both in terms of volume and the number of things they bet on. Questions to Consider: * Are sports gambling addictions overhyped? * Should the federal government put restrictions on sports betting and prediction markets? * How does the role of social media influence people's views on taking extraordinary risks to get rich fast? * What type of impact do prediction markets have on the things they are trying to predict? Could this provide adverse incentives for someone to influence an election just because of the bets they have taken?

Many popular movies about flying machines bear the title “Drones,” but this isn’t one of them. No, this is a little-known gem about love in the workplace possibly leading to the destruction of planet Earth. Witty writing, solid acting, and slick direction all work together in this movie like bees in a hive, which coincidentally is the point of the title. The cubicle-bound employees of a vast corporation attend to their various tasks, each contributing to the productivity of the whole. But wait – is one of these workers not like the others? And if so, what is this person’s true agenda? When the answers to these questions arrive, the story gets hilariously crazy. The R rating is earned strictly by occasional rude language in this dialogue-driven production, and bluntly your host thinks PG-13 would have been sufficient. ■ Title — *Drones* ■ Director — Amber Benson, Adam Busch ■ Cast — Angela Bettis, Jonathan M. Woodward, Samm Levine ■ Rated R for language ■ ©2010 \| 1h 38m \| Comedy\, Fantasy ■ Distributed by Quiver Entertainment

ike Turkey Run Park- Pho Lunch, VA Sunday March 8 With winter weather receding, this is a great way to fight cabin fever and head back outside with views of the Potomac. This is a 3 to 4 mile loop hike along the Potomac River just below the American Legion bridge off the GW parkway. The trail is mostly easy and flat, but there are some slightly rocky areas. Be aware that this time of year where segments along the river can be muddy and there are some rocky areas we must maneuver around. Bring a mascot! The park is dog-friendly, but must be on a leash. For more info and maps (see side links): [https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/turkeyrun.htm](https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/turkeyrun.htm) What to Bring: Good hiking shoes Water Meet: 9:00 am Where: Parking Lot C-1. (First parking lot when entering park. See map at link below for details) Park Trail Map: [https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/upload/Corrected-Turkey_Run_Park_Trail_Map_11242023_508c.pdf](https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/upload/Corrected-Turkey_Run_Park_Trail_Map_11242023_508c.pdf) Departure: 9:10 sharp. We should return to the parking lot no later than 11:15 am. For those interested, we can later head over to nearby Pho 75 (1721 Wilson Blvd) for a great hot pho - one of the best in the area. **Note: Cash Only!** **In the comments section please indicate if you need a ride. If you are coming by car and wouldn’t mind picking someone up at a convenient metro stop, please indicate how many people you can take. Hopefully we’ll have enough room for everyone. I can pick up three at the Braddock Road metro (yellow), located in Alexandria, VA. Or, I can pick up folks at Rosslyn metro (orange/blue). Carpoolers, please chip in generously for gas.** Note: This event is cross-posted with other Meetup groups.

Calling all founders, CEOs, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs to join our special *Founder Edition* of Sip & Read meetup event. Let's sip on fine wine and discuss our first book **The 5AM Club- Own Your Morning Elevate Your Life, by Robin Sharma**. We will pair this book with our favorite wine at **Wine on High** and engage in thought-provoking discussions on startup businesses and entrepreneurship, and network with like-minded individuals in a cozy book club setting. Come prepared to discuss this month's book. At the end of each book club meeting, we will take next book and venue suggestions from the participants for the next meeting. Whether you are a book lover, women entrepreneur, or a content creator, this event is perfect for sharing ideas and insights with other funders and founders in the entrepreneurial world. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to connect, learn, and grow together. Sign up now to reserve your spot! *Fun fact! This meetup was established in 2015 and had over 1,000 members. I had to shut down operations while attending law school, but we're back!!*

Join other experienced and aspiring agile coaches and professionals to: * develop and practice your coaching skills in a peer-to-peer environment * share current successes and challenges in your work environment and get support from each other * learn from each other, build better relationships and experiment with new ideas

NFT's are here to stay folks! This is a group for like minded people interested in understanding, leveraging, using, creating for, profiting from, trading too i suppose, NFT's.. everything around them, complexity, fear and exploits, best practices and more. **PLUS** This group will talk AI ART tools, techniques, artists, video, audio, prototypes and more in the AI assisted production space- ART specifically, but we can get into any aspect of some of the cooler things happening in AI in general.

Join Sacred Sound Alchemy Columbus for a transformative Sound Bath experience that will take you on a journey of self-discovery and healing. Immerse yourself in the powerful vibrations of various sound instruments like crystal singing bowls and rain drums, carefully orchestrated to balance your chakras and uplift your spirit. The soothing sounds will help you release negative energy, reduce stress, and promote deep relaxation. This event is perfect for those seeking a moment of tranquility and a chance to connect with their inner selves. Whether you are new to sound healing or a seasoned practitioner, you will benefit from the harmonious frequencies that will resonate with your body and soul. Come and allow yourself to be enveloped in a wave of healing energy, leaving you refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready for life's next chapter. Please bring something comfortable to lay on like a yoga mat. Being a pillow for your head or for under your knees and a blanket to cover over yourou. The library can get cold. Bring some water to help flush your body for after the session.

Is your business taking more of your time than you would like? [Rob Young](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinci-robyoung/) principal at [Stage 3 Group](https://www.linkedin.com/company/stage-3-group/), hosts this workshop series and is the author of Stage 3 Success. * Provides a framework and a playbook for leaders of emerging businesses * Reviews business management tools and techniques for scaling and maturing a business * How to recognize and leverage stories hidden in financial statements * How to implement financial and operational controls and use leading indicators to spot trouble before it occurs * How to manage your time for maximum effect * How to deal with nonperforming employees * How to create standard operating procedures throughout your organization Four sessions will include two hours of content and an optional 90-minute hands-on lab. Reserve your spot via this link: https://clintonvilleba.com/calendar/#!event/2026/3/20/chaos-to-clarity-to-control ($200 for non-CABA members.)

Join Sacred Sound Alchemy Columbus for a transformative Sound Bath experience that will take you on a journey of self-discovery and healing. Immerse yourself in the powerful vibrations of various sound instruments like crystal singing bowls and rain drums, carefully orchestrated to balance your chakras and uplift your spirit. The soothing sounds will help you release negative energy, reduce stress, and promote deep relaxation. This event is perfect for those seeking a moment of tranquility and a chance to connect with their inner selves. Whether you are new to sound healing or a seasoned practitioner, you will benefit from the harmonious frequencies that will resonate with your body and soul. Come and allow yourself to be enveloped in a wave of healing energy, leaving you refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready for life's next chapter. Please bring something comfortable to lay on like a yoga mat. Being a pillow for your head or for under your knees and a blanket to cover over yourou. The library can get cold. Bring some water to help flush your body for after the session.

If you are interested in selecting investment choices for your 401(k) or other workplace savings plan, minimizing your income tax liability, or identifying the most effective investments for your brokerage account, we are the group for you. We are a local chapter of Bogleheads**®**, whose investment strategy can be found here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy Or you can peruse the Boglehead forum here: https://www.bogleheads.org/index.php I look forward to seeing you there. Mark Vonder Haar