Lean Startup

Come connect with founders across the DC startup community at our monthly Startup Grind DC Founders Dinner. This month, we’re spotlighting Agency founders—but all founders are welcome to join us for complimentary appetizers and great conversation. Quick heads-up: Your ticket includes event access and appetizers. Entrées and drinks will be on individual tabs. We’re also looking for sponsors who want to support the DC founder community. Whether that’s hosting the event, covering food, or contributing financially, sponsors get the opportunity to connect directly with founders, receive shoutouts in our promotions, speak at events, and reach our 10,000+ pre-seed to Series A founders across the DMV. Agenda --- Hosted By Mia Orantes, Chapter Director I'm a dynamic speaker, angel investor, serial entrepreneur, the host of the celebrated Founders Only podcast, and the CEO & founder of the award-winning agency that automates online growth and profitability engines, Creative Analytics. As a lifelong entrepreneur, I am devoted to serving founders by showing them the road map for rapid online growth and helping them navigate that journey. A native Washingtonian, I hold several designations, including a PMI-certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification, an MBA & MS in Information Technology with a concentration in Project Management, and an in-progress certificate in Digital Transformation & AI from Cornell University. --- Global Partner Carta (http://www.carta.com/launch?utm_campaign=20240423-nam-general-smb-startup_grind_partnership&utm_medium=social&utm_source=startup_grind) Carta helps people manage equity, build businesses, and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Carta Launch is the only free cap table product, helping new founders get started. The company is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 7,000 funds and SPVs, and over two million equity holders to manage cap tables, compensation, valuations, liquidity, and more. For more information, visit carta.com. Partner Creative Analytics (https://creativeanalyticsdc.com/) Creative Analytics is a B2B growth marketing agency that leverages data-driven strategies and creative design to optimize digital performance and boost conversions for innovative brands. Specializing in SaaS, tech, and professional services, their services include conversion rate optimization, HubSpot implementation, content marketing, and web development. The agency combines deep expertise in CRO and product messaging with automation, helping clients scale faster with less time and effort. --- Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in more than 600 cities and 125+ countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. For more information visit StartupGrind.com or follow us on twitter @StartupGrind. --- Complete your event RSVP here: https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-washington-dc-presents-april-2026-founders-dinner/.

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

Discover the path to stress management, life's tranquility, and self-improvement through Heartfulness Meditation. Embrace relaxation, meditation, and emotional detoxification practices to unlock your best self. Join our free sessions every Sunday at 8 AM and Wednesday at 7 / 7:30 PM at various centers in MD and VA. Experience the profound benefits of these simple yet powerful practices. Commit to a few months of meditation and witness the transformative impact firsthand. We eagerly await your presence at these enlightening sessions.

**Meet Shannon Eastwood and Paul Maguire - Product Design & Launch** Interested in product inventions? Do you have a concept in mind, one that needs to be prototyped? Should you create a new venture, or license it for another firm to commercialize it? Join the conversation... **Shannon Eastwood** is a human-centered strategist with more than 20 years of industry experience, including Corporate Strategy, Brand Management, Product Development, UXUI Design, Product Strategy, Technical Design, Global Sourcing & Project Management. Shannon holds a Master's of Product Innovation from the da Vinci Center at Virginia Commonwealth University alongside a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from VCU School of the Arts. Shannon is a relentless advocate for Social Justice and Human Rights. She believes in the power of change for good and believes that each of us as individuals has the ability to design our collective future. Beyond the boardroom, Shannon is a Yoga teacher and is the CEO and Founder of [Our Lotus Society](https://www.ourlotussociety.com/), a lifestyle brand dedicated to making Yoga accessible to everyone. Shannon is a mother, an auntie, an animal lover, and is never afraid to take bold leaps for the sake of progress and creativity. She has studied in Italy, Romania, England, and Nicaragua and is a lifelong world traveler. [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-eastwood-4b48b48a/) **Paul Maguire** is a product development engineer and innovation leader, with manufacturing and supply chain experience. He explains, “I am an Open Innovation advocate, and I am passionate about helping product developers of all sizes along the path to their success with new products and businesses. I use my foundation in Plastics Engineering and manufacturing as a springboard to turn dreams into reality.” Maguire has spent over twenty years working directly with factories in U.S. and Asia. “Products that I have worked on have sold in excess of 100 Million units.” Maguire holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Massachusetts and attended Design Thinking and Master of Management courses at Cambridge College and Harvard University. At Adept Product Solutions, Maguire has shared his passion and experience in product development and manufacturing to help entrepreneurs create prototypes. He leverages deep expertise in Product Development, Manufacturing, Quality Management and, Supply Chain. Magurie also served on the Board of Directors of VINE, the Virginia Innovators Network, promoting small innovators in central Virginia. [LinkedIn Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauldmaguire "https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauldmaguire") **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, April 24, 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

We have a double header this week with two games, in two different competitions, going head to head and, it's bringing Arsenal and Manchester City together again! First up, kicking off at 12:15 pm is the first of this weekend's FA Cup semi-finals as Premier League Manchester City face EFL Championship team Southampton at Wembley. On their way to this fixture, City have bested Exeter City, Salford City, Newcastle United, and Liverpool. Southampton strung together victories over Doncaster Rovers, Leicester City, Fulham, and Arsenal. The stage is set, again, for either an epic upset, much like the Saints pulled off in the quarterfinals, an epic whooping, or potentially anything in between. In the second featured game, kicking off at 12:30 pm, Arsenal, in the midst of either a worrying wobble or an epic collapse, host Newcastle United, who have been on a miserable run of late also at the Emirates Stadium in London. The Gunners still technically have the title in their own hands as much as City does. The race is likely down to goal difference at this point as each of the two contenders are basically seeing who can outdo the other each weekend by beating their opponents by more goals in the remaining five games. City may have the momentum, but its the Gunners that arguably have the 'easier' fixture run between now and May 24th. We'll be meeting from noon at The Hawk & Griffin to keep an eye on each game and watch the drama unfold live - Join Us!

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

Today we are Steve's Lab. RSVP and you'll be sent the location. It's in Silver Spring. ***Join us for an evening in an electronics lab where we will attempt to run clean scans of gold samples, and then clean up that data with post processing.*** This is a high sensitivity experiment, and we do not plan on being successful so early. But we've had promising results lately - so we will be putting in the time. We are NOT meeting at our usual location, but rather at Steve's house/lab. If you RSVP, you will get a DM with the address but it's located in Silver Spring. We will attempt full, clean lab - clean tip repeated scanning tests to see what we can learn and improve. We will experiment with online attendees, but if all possible showing up in person is strongly encouraged. Online join link is: - [https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers](https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers) 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. 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 will be publishing our work here -[ https://hackaday.io/project/202816-qt-panda](https://hackaday.io/project/202816-qt-panda) If you need a ride, let us know.