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PAUL SINGH founder of Disruption Corporation and its post-seed venture capital arm, Crystal Tech Fund, is helping turn Crystal City into a technology hub - and revitalize an area that was left with millions of square feet of empty commercial space after BRAC closings. Singh, whose sprawling office space overlooks Reagan National Airport, was previously a partner at 500 Startups, an accelerator and venture firm headquartered in Silicon Valley that has invested in more than 750 companies across more than 40 countries. What is your advice to young people in your profession? “When you’re young, it’s easy to settle for the first job that comes along and convince yourself that you need to put in the time to climb the traditional career ladder. Everyone else will believe it and you will too. Don’t. Take more risks than your peers. Don’t try to do what you love, focus on doing something extremely well. Ideally, something that many other people want. That’s the path to a career that makes you happy.”
RACHNA CHOUDHRY is co-founder of POPVOX. an online platform that has changed and streamlined the communications process between constituents and members of Congress. In June 2014, the Library of Congress selected POPVOX for inclusion in its offical archives, making the site part of our nation’s historical record.
STEPHANIE NGUYEN
is co-founder and lead designer of Landmark, a District-based startup building a navigation app for walking directions based on photos of buildings and other physical markers. Nguyen is passionate about encouraging tech education and mentorship for women and minorities. Whom do you admire professionally and why? “I’m an advocate for the underdog and all of the scrappy people who make something from nothing. My father used to be a night shift janitor at a grocery store for decades — a huge reason I appreciate the work of those individuals who are often overlooked. They inspire me every day.”
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STEVE TAYLOR is principal software engineer at cyber-defense software company Invincea, where he was brought in as a founding engineer while still an undergraduate at George Mason University. In college,Taylor developed Plasma Pong, a viral video game that was downloaded millions of times before Atari threatened legal action. Whom do you admire professionally and why? “Elon Musk used his experience as an engineer to create companies that disrupt entire industries. Both SpaceX and Tesla are changing humanity through new ways of thinking about sustainability. I deeply respect the personal risk he’s taken to follow his passions.”
WA S H I N G T O N L I F E
Do you have a mentor in Washington? How has he or she helped you? “I’ve had the great fortune to benefit from a network of mentors in diverse industries who have assisted me not only as POPVOX grows, but in my previous positions as well. These mentors — all women — have been invaluable and now help brainstorm new features, connect me to potential clients and more importantly, they serve as a reality check when something isn’t working and I need to change course.”
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