Today, 1776, announced the first eight members of the Startup Federation, a global collaborative of the world’s top entrepreneurial centers. The inaugural members of the Startup Federation include: 1776 in Washington, DC, General Assembly in New York, Capital Factory in Austin, Cambridge Innovation Center in Boston, 1871 in Chicago, Warner Yard in London, Betahaus in Berlin, and Digital October in Moscow. Additional Startup Federation members will be announced in the coming months.
The Startup Federation unites entrepreneurial centers in the top metropolitan cities around the world enabling membership reciprocity, joint programming, idea and resource exchanges and other collaboration. The genesis of the Federation was to establish global reciprocity for startups – enabling entrepreneurs to work from “sister facilities” around the world – and to create an informal structure so Federation programs could participate in the ways and places they deemed most appropriate for their own communities.
Starting immediately, 1776 member companies may work temporarily at all of the other Federation facilities as they travel, and likewise startups from any other Federation program may work at 1776 when visiting Washington, DC.
“Entrepreneurship is a global phenomenon and building a high growth startup is no longer a local or even national activity,” said Donna Harris, cofounder of 1776. “In major metropolitan areas around the world, there are world class programs serving as the center of gravity – all with a massive convening space for entrepreneurs and startups, educational programs, mentoring, and incubation/acceleration programs. In coming together we can give startups the ability to tap a truly global startup ecosystem in ways that were never before possible.”
“This summer I visited with startups and incubators in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore with Geeks on a Plane and was struck by the similarities more than the differences,” said Joshua Baer, founder of Capital Factory in Austin, Texas. “Startup culture is global. My focus is on Austin, but I need connections to other startup cities and the Startup Federation is a great way to build that network.”
About 1776
1776 is a major initiative focused on helping entrepreneurs seeking to reinvent our lives as citizens. Located just blocks from the White House, 1776 convenes, incubates, and accelerates startups from around the world by connecting them to the political, intellectual, social and financial capital that make Washington, DC unique. Visit www.1776dc.com or @1776dc for more information.