Fosterly has played a key role in growing the DC startup community. We originally met two of our co-founders at a study hall event, and have always been extremely grateful for the Fosterly community’s support as we’ve grown UrbanStems over the last few years.

Jeff Sheely

Co-Founder, UrbanStems
Jeff Sheely Urban Stems

Fosterly is exceptional - it's unique in its ability to convene leaders and new talent that have enabled collaborations and implementing innovative ideas across sectors.

Lauren Worley

Artist and Talent Director, ONE Campaign
Lauren Worley Headshot

Fosterly has created an incredible community in DC. I met my first investor and our first employee at Fosterly. I am grateful for their contribution!

Dan Berger

CEO, Social Tables
dan berger headshot

Fosterly is the authentic voice of D.C.'s creative class and a leading advocate for the growing creative economy.

Carl Pierre

Director, Eaton House
Carl Pierre

Fosterly's efforts continue to drive positive change and build towards a more inclusive tech community.

Tiffany Thacker

Senior Director, Technology & Entrepreneurship at WDCEP
Tiffany Thacker

Fosterly has established a reputation with both private sector and public sector leaders as a trusted resource.

Mario Acosta-Velez

Government Relations, Verizon
Mario Acosta Velez Headshot

Regional Startup Reports

CENSUS PROCESSING IN PROGRESS

Building on the success of the DC Region’s Startup Report activities, Fosterly has teamed up with the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Tulane in New Orleans to help them replicate and customize the process for the Greater New Orleans region in 2019 and 2020. Learn more at: www.GNOStartupReport.com.

CENSUS REPORTS

Click To Download

Special Thanks to Our 2017 Fosterly Census Partners

PricewaterhouseCoopers
Virginia Tech
McDonough School Logo
GMU Logo

Interested in becoming a Community Partner? Please complete this form.

PRIMARY PARTNERS

  • Alley
  • Verizon
  • PwC
  • Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice

EDUCATION PARTNERS

  • George Mason University
  • Georgetown University
  • Virginia Tech

JURISDICTIONAL PARTNERS

  • Fairfax County Government
  • Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
  • Alexandria Economic Development Partnership

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

  • AccelerateDC
  • Analytical Space
  • Anzu Partners
  • Capitol Post
  • Clout Workspace
  • DC Inno
  • DC Startup Week
  • DCA Live
  • Digilent Consulting
  • Entrepreneurs’ Organization DC Chapter
  • ETC
  • Go Together, Inc.
  • Golden Triangle Business Improvement District
  • Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
  • Halcyon Incubator
  • Her Corner
  • Hera Hub DC
  • humble ventures
  • I/O SPACES
  • InnovatorsBox
  • Ladies America
  • Loudoun County Economic Development
  • Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
  • New Dominion Angels
  • Pie Insurance
  • Refraction
  • SEED SPOT
  • Shift
  • Spark Baltimore
  • Springboard Enterprises
  • Startup Grind DC
  • Startups Ignite
  • SwingSpace
  • The Mentor Method
  • Towson University Incubator
  • Union Kitchen
  • Vinetta Project

Study Hall

Ultra collaborative co-working with a curated group of your peers. Spend an afternoon working in a collaborative environment with exceptional entrepreneurs, creatives, and subject mater experts. Just bring your questions, challenges, expertise, an open mind, and willingness to help others.

STUDY HALL EDITIONS

General Interest

  • For full-time / part-time and aspiring entrepreneurs.
  • Open to entrepreneurs in any market.
  • Limited to 50 participants.
  • Application required.

Women Only

  • Reserved for women entrepreneurs.
  • Limited to 50 participants.
  • Application required.

Special Edition

  • Topical timely and tightly focused.
  • Reserved for entrepreneurs in the selected domain.
  • Limited to 50 participants.
  • Application required.

Interested in hosting a Study Hall? Contact: adam@fosterly.com

Intern Match

THE LASTEST FOSTERLY INTERN MATCH HAS ENDED

APX Labs Logo
BraveUX Logo
Contactually Logo
EverFi Logo
LifeFuels Logo
Phone2Action Logo
Restin Logo
UrbanStems Logo
Wingate Hughes Logo

SUMMARY

Building upon the success of previous years’ Intern Match (we’ve helped over one hundred local startups and entrepreneurial organizations hire many of the region’s best potential interns), Fosterly’s Internship Match Initiative is back.

Intern Match is open to all startups and entrepreneurial organizations in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Students are invited to participate from the higher education institutions listed below. Intern Match is (and always will be) free for students. Companies who completed the #FosterlyCensus can participate for free, while there is a $99 payment for all other organizations.

FORMAT

Students from participating schools, startups, and entrepreneurial organizations from the DC region fill out an online application. Participating organizations in the DC region receive a list of all applicants (with gender and race info redacted) and then contact the applicants they’re interested in via our online system. Discussions and interviews are conducted. Students get hired.* Everyone rejoices.

 

*Legal mumbo jumbo: Participating organizations are under no obligation to extend internship offer(s) and applicants are not guaranteed internship opportunities.

TIMELINE

There are no future Intern Matches planned at this time.

PARTICIPATING HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERS

GMU Logo
McDonough School Logo
George Washington University Logo
Maryland University Logo

Only students from participating higher education partners are eligible for Intern Match. Don’t see your school listed? Contact InternMatch@fosterly.com to inquire.

How does Intern Match really work? What’s the process?

Applicants and organizations fill out their respective applications. (If you’re an organization that participated in the #FosterlyCensus, your application will be quite quick.) Fosterly representatives and volunteers will conduct a manual review of the received information and will provide both internship applicants and organizations a list of potential matches (along with their associated information) via e-mail. It is then up to the applicants and organizations to connect to schedule an interview and take additional steps if needed.

Is there a cost to participate?

Intern Match is (and always will be) free to participate for students. Hiring organizations who participated in the 2018 #FosterlyCensus can participate for free. All other organizations can participate for $99 dollars. Unfortunately, it is too late to submit a response for the 2018 #FosterlyCensus.

Is the $99 employer fee refundable?

Nope! While we are providing free access to students and companies that participated in the 2018 #FosterlyCensus, the $99 fee supports the #InternMatch. As such, the $99 fee is non-refundable.

Do we need to pay interns?

[Puts on lawyer hat.] Please consult your attorney. [Takes off lawyer hat.] Fosterly advocates for fair pay, and as such, we hope you’ll compensate your interns. That said, the U.S. Department of Labor has a six point test for whether you are legally required to pay your interns. Interested in what it says? Take a look here: https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm.

Is Intern Match only for undergraduate students?

No. Graduate students can participate as well.

I am a high school student. May I participate?

E-mail InternMatch@fosterly.com.

What’s the logic behind the blind matching?

There’s been a lot of talk lately about gender and racial bias in hiring (with at least one report saying that when judged anonymously, women outperform men in coding). We’ve devised a method where the initial data review will have a high likelihood of removing gender and racial bias from the initial match. Once a participating organization reached out to a student, true identity would be revealed when the student replies.

How does blind matching work?

Participating students will be asked to omit their name, e-mail address, and social media profiles from their resumes (but not from their online application form). Upon submission, each applicant will be assigned a random and unique applicant ID number. The data that will be provided to participating organizations will have all reasonably identifiable information omitted replaced with the applicant’s ID number, thus forcing them to make decisions based on merit. After participating organizations decide which applicants they want to contact they’ll then submit their contact information in an online form which will automatically send information about the company to the applicant. The applicant will then respond to the organization, thus revealing their true identity. (Trust us, it’s a lot simpler in practice than you might think.)

Are we guaranteed an intern if we participate as an organization?

Nope. Fosterly can only guarantee that your info will be passed along. However, if past Intern Match Initiatives serve as a benchmark, many participants will receive multiple offers and many organizations will make offers.

Am I guaranteed an internship if I participate as a student?

Nope. Fosterly can only guarantee that your info will be passed along. However, if past Intern Match Initiatives serve as a benchmark, many participants will receive multiple offers.

My university or college isn’t listed as a higher education partner. Can I still participate?

We would love to onboard your school. Please have a faculty member or administrator contact Fosterly via e-mail at InternMatch@fosterly.com.

I’m a student that found a job. Woot! Should I notify you about my status chance?

Yes, please do. Head over to the e-mail InternMatch@fosterly.com to let us know if your status changes and we’ll remove your info from the applicant pool.

About Fosterly

Est. 2011

Fosterly is a community of entrepreneurs, creators, creatives, and collaborators, all working together to tackle new challenges in business and technology. We connect our members with resources, events, and opportunities, both online and offline.

Since 2011 when Fosterly was comprised of a blog post of local resources and "office hours" open to entrepreneurs at Chinatown Coffee, Fosterly has served as a nexus point for the creative economy and a convener of top influencers in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

We’ve held events and conferences attended by hundreds of speakers, thousands of attendees, and countless organizations and companies. We’ve organized more than two dozen Study Halls, created the first database of startups and entrepreneurs in the region, connected interns with the startups who can hire them through Intern Match, and have helped promote hundreds of other organizations’ events.

We recognize that the nature of business and technology in the startup and creative economies are changing rapidly, and Fosterly's mission is to build a community that spans DC, Maryland, and Virginia that is empowered to succeed.

We are Fosterly, and we are here to help.

Contact

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