SaaS Business Challenges

If you run an AI startup or you have a project or business idea, join us for first AI entrepreneur gathering of this group. Here is my Steve Kantor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-kantor-594784. You? Feel free to connect. I was in original group started by Marc Pickett a decade ago and I am now a co-organizer. Text me 202-297-2393 if you register or cannot come to this event but want to connect with other startup founders. Help Each Other Anything is Possible

Please join us every week for power networking! Our Chapter Passed $1,666,736 USD in the past 12 months! BNI members, on average, increase their business 20% the first year. Our chapter is a dynamic, committed group of business people who know how to refer business to each other. Come for our meeting -- stay for the referrals!!! We have open categories for individuals who will bring enthusiasm and integrity to our meeting. Just one person per professional specialty is allowed in each chapter. Visit a meeting to find out more and lock out your competition! Register Here: https://bninovanorth.com/va-nova-north-bni-mclean-business-connection--n136/en-US/visitorregistration?chapterId=16988

**REGISTER AT THE LUMA EVENT PAGE!!!** https://luma.com/27ja5gwl Join us for an exciting talk by Mary Gibbs, Senior Applied Scientist at Relativity. ​ ​**​Agenda:** ​​6:00 - 6:30 PM - Welcome and mingle 6:30- 6:45 PM - Introductions 6:45 - 7:30 PM - Talk 7:30 - 8:00 PM - Wrap up **​​Description:** ​If you have ever shipped a model, watched your metrics improve, and later learned from your users that something was wrong, the metrics were always wrong. You just didn’t know it yet. An evaluation consists of three components, a benchmark, a scorer, and a claim about what a score represents. Each component has its own weaknesses. Benchmarks can suffer from narrow coverage, contamination, or saturation. Scorers are often chosen for ease of automation or computation rather than for their alignment with user outcomes. And the claim connecting a score to reality is rarely made explicit. These gaps compound across the model development lifecycle. When metrics improve, teams treat that as a signal and optimize directly against it, which is how a measurement problem becomes a model problem. This talk maps where evaluations can go wrong, considers counterarguments, and ends with practical advice for building better ones. **​Speaker Bio:** ​Mary is a Senior Applied Scientist at Relativity, tackling data science challenges in the e-discovery and legal tech space. She is also an organizer for Women and Gender eXpansive Coders DC (formerly Women Who Code DC), fostering a community dedicated to empowering women and nonbinary individuals to excel in their careers. Mary's experience spans various domains. She has developed data science solutions related to job search and career progression at Teal, cybersecurity challenges at LiveAction Software, and commercial and government consulting at Mosaic Data Science. Before venturing into the field of data science, Mary conducted and published research pertaining to the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment at the National Institutes of Health. In other words, she has dissected and imaged a lot of fruit fly brains. She holds a M.S. in Data Science from The George Washington University and a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University

Looking to connect with other young adults with food allergy? Join **Adulting with Allergies**, FARE’s social club for young adults 21 and up. **[Register Here](https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/adulting-allergies-young-adult-food-allergy-social-club)!** The goal of Adulting with Allergies is to create a space where young adults can connect, share experiences, and build community. Members can participate in quarterly virtual hangouts, as well as annual in-person events hosted in cities across the U.S. Our first **VIRTUAL** session will take place on **May 26 at 7 PM EST** and will focus on navigating food allergies in the workplace. Please note that there is no limit to number of attendees. If you're interested in registering, click the link above!

[Profs and Pints DC](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Artemis II and Beyond,”** on how the recent space mission fits into long-term plans for the Moon, with Michael J. Neufeld, retired senior curator for the Space History Department of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-artemis-ii-and-beyond](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-artemis-ii-and-beyond) .] NASA’s recent, spectacular Artemis II mission is a sign that the United States is serious about sending humans to the Moon again. Gain an understanding of how Artemis II fits in both past and planned lunar missions with historian Michael Neufeld, who was lead curator of the Smithsonian’s Destination Moon exhibit. He has taught at Johns Hopkins, Colgate, and other universities, and is the author or editor of nine books dealing with the history of technology. He’ll start by looking at the aftermath of the Apollo program of a half century ago and why it ended only four years after its first lunar mission. He’ll consider why no lasting lunar programs emerged from major announcements by two presidents, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, that astronauts would be going back to the Moon and on to Mars. His vividly illustrated lecture will then explore how Artemis is a product of a human spaceflight program that has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. We’ll look at how collaboration with Europe, Canada and Japan became integral to the shuttle and International Space Station programs, and how the rise of new commercial space companies such as SpaceX has enabled NASA to buy both space services and space craft. Both international and commercial partners are involved in the latest Moon efforts, with SpaceX and Blue Origin expected to supply the landers to take astronauts down to a planned base on the Moon’s South Pole. How soon will any of this happen? Probably not as quickly as NASA says, but the specter of a Chinese landing on the Moon by 2030 is one obvious reason to keep things moving along. We’ll look at the sustainability of the Artemis space program for at least the next decade or so. You’ll emerge from the talk with no doubt that exciting days are ahead for space fans. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: The Artemis II mission launch (NASA photo).

This class provides a trauma sensitive yoga approach for those of us living with chronic conditions/illnesses such as stroke, long covid, cancer, arthritis, parkinson’s disease, disabilities, fibromyalgia, injuries, aging, muscular sclerosis, balance issues, pain, knee or hip replacements, and for those of us who prefer, or our bodies have chosen to not so easily transition to and from the floor, to experience yoga. This adaptive class will meet you where you are as we explore the benefits of yoga from our seats and through the use of the wall. **Please reserve your spot at www.piesfitnessyoga.com.** The session is offered InStudio and OnLine. The Zoom link for the OnLine session will be emailed 15 minutes before class starts to those who are registered at www.piesfitnessyoga.com. **Sign up for sessions must be made at least 2 hours prior to class.** The address is 1322 Prince St. Alexandria, VA 22314. Our entrance is located on the side of the building, parallel to West St. **Street parking is available and additional parking is located at Shiloh Baptist church, spaces 36,37,38,39.** The church is located across the street from the studio, on the corner of Duke St. and West St.

Whether you're looking to expand your network, create valuable partnerships, or connect with motivated local professionals, this is the place to be. Prepare a short presentation to showcase your business and a lot of business cards! **📍 Every Wednesday at 7:15 AM** **1604 Spring Hill Road, 2nd Floor, Vienna, VA** Visitors and professionals are always welcome. Come join us and experience the power of referral networking.

If you're ready to grow your business through meaningful relationships and high-quality referrals, this event series is for you! We're a community of local small business professionals committed to building prosperity through authentic connection and collaboration. Join us for **genuine, no-pressure networking**—no fees, no pitches, no nonsense. Just good people, good conversations, and a few refreshments to keep things relaxed. Stay for a few minutes or the whole time—whatever works for you. **This event is completely free to attend**, but we kindly ask that you RSVP so we can plan accordingly. We can’t wait to connect with you!

The BNI Capital Business Alliance is a business and professional networking organization for all industry leaders. We are one of the top BNI groups in the region, focused on building business relationships and friendships that lead to growing each others business. We meet every Wednesday morning to build relationships, showcase our services, and meet new people! We welcome all visitors who are looking to expand their referral networks and grow their business. There is no fee for visiting our lite fare breakfast meeting and if your business category is open in our chapter you can learn more about how to become a member and join us every week! We are very active outside of our Wednesday morning meetings as well! We host member-only events regularly and are always out and about networking at other events. Due to COVID-19 circumstances our meetings are currently being held virtually through a Virtual Zoom Meeting from 7:30 - 9:00 am. A link to the meeting will be sent to you once you register as Attending on Meetup. We can't wait to meet you! Be prepared to tell us all about your business!

JOIN US FOR THE BEST NETWORKING EVENT IN DC! As seen in Entrepreneur Magazine THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= weconnect® is the fastest growing startup, digital & tech networking organization in the country. Our events are comprised of the most influential professionals in the area. THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= Our purpose is to help our members forge strong, lasting relationships within the community – combining Fortune 500/1000s with Entrepreneurs and Startups. We’re creating unique opportunities & connections to help you grow your business and network both offline and online through our proprietary platform (coming soon). Enjoy The Most Successful Startup & Tech Mixer In A Fun, Relaxed Atmosphere Mingle With Highly Successful Men & Women In The Entrepreneur, Startup, TECH Space Find Your Next Client, Employee, Business Partner or Co-founder “Your Network Is Your Net Worth.” Come Build Your Network With Us! THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= COMPANIES OFTEN IN ATTENDANCE\* (... just to name a few) Google • Sony • Electronic Arts • Hulu • Hautelook • The Honest Company • Disney • Apple • Activision • Live Nation • Dollar Shave Club • Facebook • Snapchat • Trunk Club • ZipRecruiter • Experian • DreamWorks Amplify • HBO • Edmonds.com • DogVacay • NBC Universal • YouTube • BeachBody • Playstation • Amazon...and so many more. \*This does not Guarantee that these companies will be in attendance at this event. JOIN US FROM 6:00 - 9:00PM • DRINKS\* • AMAZING COMPANY • NETWORKING \*Cash Bar PROUDLY SPONSORED BY: Connect in Tech We're Hiring THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= THIS IS A PAID EVENT RSVP HERE => https://tinyurl.com/ym5rbj48 <= ***Event Date & location subject to change as per the organizers discretion.If event changes date your ticket will still be valid for the rescheduled event date.No Refunds, Exchanges or Substitutions***

We have gone back to **In Person** **only** meetings in **Bowie**. Please come out and Network with other Small Business Owners! Be ready to Pitch your Business and great ideas. See you there! Helen Ogbu, CPA

**The 3% Advantage** **Why Only a Few Leaders Truly Stand Out — and How to Become One of Them** **FREE 1\-hour interactive webinar \| Leadership\, Positioning & Growth** \*\*\* **Join Dr Edward Klinger and learn why:** Most capable professionals and business leaders never truly stand out. Not because they lack talent, experience, or ambition — but because they operate without a clear system for differentiation. In crowded markets, competence is no longer enough. The real challenge is clarity. This session is for people who are tired of blending in — and want to understand what the top 3% do differently. Join Dr Edward Klinger for a practical, insight-driven webinar that explores why only a small minority of leaders consistently stand out, attract opportunity, and command attention — and what it actually takes to join them. \*\*\* **What you’ll learn** * Why most professionals and businesses become indistinguishable * The hidden cost of “professional sameness” * The 3 concrete actions you can take immediately to begin standing out * How clarity, consistency, and leadership decisions create long-term advantage * Why tactics alone don’t work without an underlying system This is not a motivational talk. And it’s not a marketing hack session. It’s about positioning, leadership clarity, and intentional growth. \*\*\* **Who this is for** * Business owners and founders * Executives and senior leaders * Consultants, coaches, and professional service providers * Anyone who feels capable but under-recognised * Leaders who want to stop reacting and start designing their direction If you know you’re good at what you do — but struggle to articulate it clearly, consistently, or confidently — this session will be highly relevant. \*\*\* You’ll leave with: * Clear insight into why standing out is so rare * Practical actions you can apply immediately * A deeper understanding of the system behind sustained differentiation \*\*\* Free to attend. Limited spaces. Stop blending in. Start operating with intent — like the 3% *Please note : The zoom link allows you to register and then the workshop zoom link is emailed to you. You can register in advance of the event.* The Adapt and Thrive Events Group wholeheartedly supports the policies and principles of Meetup. We make no guarantees and we do not offer financial services or assurances. All our Meetup Events are FREE to attend.

Most agents think scaling a business will eventually create freedom. Instead, many end up with more people, more pressure, and even less time. On Wednesday, May 27 at 8:00 PM EST, join us live for a conversation with Dr. Al Philip-Neri, Performance Psychologist, Realtor, and real estate operator with investments across 21 U.S. markets. This session is focused on the execution side of business growth: • Leadership • Hiring • Systems • Accountability • Operational structure Not motivational fluff. Not generic mindset talk. This is a practical conversation about what it actually takes to stop being the bottleneck in your own business and build something that can operate without you carrying every moving part yourself. In this live session, we'll discuss: ✔ Why growth does not automatically create freedom ✔ The hidden reason your business still depends on you ✔ How the wrong hires quietly slow momentum and execution ✔ What changes when the right people are in the right roles ✔ How to transition from operator to true business owner This session is ideal for: • Brokerage owners • Team leaders • Agents building toward a team • Growth-minded entrepreneurs This is a live Zoom event only. No replay will be available. Please register through Zoom after RSVP'ing on Meetup so you receive the login link.

Free monthly networking for Columbus business owners. Real conversations, real connections, no forced formats. Space is limited. RSVP now. Most owners leave networking events with a stack of business cards and no plan. The best leads quietly slip through the cracks. Networking Night is a monthly meetup for Columbus business owners who want to build real local relationships, not just trade contact info. Every kind of local business welcome. No pitch round, no pressure, no awkward speed-networking. **This month** We are focused on referral relationships. Walk in with a clear idea of who refers people like you. Walk out having met a few owners whose work fits next to yours. **What to expect** Doors open at 6 PM. You get real conversation with other local owners, time to actually connect, and a short marketing lesson woven in. The room is reserved through 7:30 PM. **Who this is for** Any local business owner who wants to grow through relationships, not just paid ads. Service businesses, retail, home services, professional services, online owners building local presence, anyone serious about being part of the Columbus business community. **Not the right fit if** You are here to pitch the room or recruit for an MLM. **Details** * Last Thursday of every month * 6:00 to 7:30 PM * COhatch Easton * Free to attend, RSVP required, space is limited **About the host** Rita Suzanne is a local marketing strategist and the founder of Local Marketing Method. She runs Visibility is Profitability, the membership where local owners build the system that keeps their phone ringing, including tracking the referral relationships built in rooms like this one. Learn more at learnlocalmarketing.com. Register here: [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/local-marketing-networking-night-tickets-1988510112275](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/local-marketing-networking-night-tickets-1988510112275)

Bring your business cards and network in person with other business professionals! Gold Star Referral Clubs is one of the most established professional networking organizations in the country, with multiple groups in central Ohio. Join us!

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** Like it or not, AI agents are now capable of turning a quickly written paragraph of requirements into a pull request that is ready to be integrated into real-world production applications and it's now our responsibility to make sure AI doesn't go rogue and take down prod - or corrupt our data by misunderstanding the requirements or our existing schemas. In this session we'll explore strategies to protect our codebases through unit and integration testing, documentation, and code review along with additional ways of providing context and guard rails to our AI agents as they carry out the work we've assigned them to do. By the time we're done, you'll have a firm grasp of the problem and understand some helpful options for protecting your codebase from vibe coding mishaps getting YOLOed into prod. **YouTube Link** TBD

Couldn't make Knowledge? Or want to debrief the dancing robots or Autonomous Workforce? Join us for a Knowledge '26 recap, insights sharing, a couple rounds of golf, and fun at Topgolf. As always, drinks and food will be provided. More details to come — mark your calendar, RSVP, and save your spot today!

QA or the Highway is a one-day, affordable, regional, professional conference featuring real-world experience and thought leadership in the QA and testing industry. This is a ticketed event please register here: https://www.qaorthehwy.com/ Featured Keynote Speakers: **Matthew-Hope Eland** **(Wizard at Leading EDJE)** \- An AI Specialist and Wizard at Leading EDJE who is known to teach software engineering\, AI\, and data science concepts in the most ridiculous ways possible\. Matt has used machine learning to settle debates over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie\, reinforcement learning to drive the behavior of digital squirrels\, data analytics to suggest improvements to his favorite TV show\, and AI agents to play board games and create an AI agent with the personality of a dog\. Matt is the author of "Data Science in \.NET with Polyglot Notebooks" and "Refactoring with C\#" as well as several LinkedIn Learning courses\. Matt helps organize the Central Ohio \.NET Developer Group\, runs several blogs and a YouTube channel\, has a Master’s of Science in Data Analytics\, and is a current Microsoft MVP in AI and \.NET\. **Tatyana Arbouzova** **(CEO at Innovate QA)** \- Tatyana Arbouzova is an engineering and business leader with a strong background in Quality Engineering across multiple industries\, including Big Tech\, Healthcare\, and Entertainment\. She has held leadership roles at world\-class companies such as Microsoft\, VMware\, Disney\, and The Pokémon Company International\, where she focused on building quality\-driven cultures and scaling teams to deliver high\-impact products\. With decades of experience\, Tatyana has helped organizations transform their quality practices so teams can deliver software efficiently\, confidently\, and with measurable business outcomes\. Today\, Tatyana advises software companies on adopting AI to optimize quality practices and improve how software is delivered at scale\. She is also a passionate community builder and the founder of Innovate QA\, a thriving Seattle\-based community and conference for quality professionals\.

Evolve exists to connect women entrepreneurs connect with one another, serve one another, and help one another overcome challenges in marketing, sales, networking, and professional development. **[Add to Calendar](https://www.evolvewomensnetwork.com/columbus-oh.html)** **What to Expect:** \~ Welcome team to greet you, introduce you to others, and make sure you feel a part of the group from your very first meeting \~ Welcome & Introductions: 15 second introductions \~ 15 Minute Speaker Spotlight: Member speaker who shares a bit of her story, how she got to doing what she does, and a tangible tip she uses to gain success in her business. No hard selling...no expectations. Simply giving the group an opportunity to get to know her and her journey. \~ 20 Minute Break Out Sessions: Small groups is where we connect best. Extroverted and Introverted alike get the opportunity to share on a deeper level and learn from one another. \~ Take Aways: Hear what the other groups talked about and share resources to grow yourself and your business \~ Grow Time!: Do you need a specific connection to a person, company, or industry? Share it with us! We love to open our networks to one another and grow together! Guests are always welcome. Please contact Mentor Director Donna Schomer at Donna@EvolveWomensNetwork.com for more information. We'd love to meet you!