Seeking Entrepreneurs in Rockville

When Shahab Kaviani of CoFoundersLab was looking for a place to hold his quickly growing meetings for entreprenuers, REDI was the obvious place.  As the economic development arm for Rockville, Rockville Economic Development Inc., has many programs for new and growing small businesses. They had the interest—and the space.

Amanda Wilson, communications and events manager for REDI said, "It's a big step for us to connect to entrepreneurs through social media." 

Kaviani and Culin Tate began CoFoundersLab as a way to "connect entrepreuneurs who want to found a start up together," Kaviani said.

To facilitate these in-person meetings, Kaviani said CoFoundersLab partnered with Meetup, a social networking site dedicated to helping people with common interests find one another. Entrepreneurs looking for a co-founder go to the CoFoundersLab to register. They then attend the meetup and have the opportunity to interact with other entrepreneurs who are looking for co-founders. There is no charge to attend the meetup. When a successful match is made, the entrepreneurs pay a $50 fee to CoFoundersLab.

The meetup at REDI was a success for Jeff Striegel of Rockville. Still in the very early stages of his business launch, Striegel met a co-founder who not only had skills that complimented his, but who was also a solid match for his temperament and personality. The result is a company, Automozoo, that Jeff says, "allows people looking for a new car to track and compare quotes from multiple dealers."

Buyers have the opportunity specify each item of importance to them—from the features to a loaner car during service—as well as any special programs that apply to them. The requests go out to dealers in the area specified by the buyer and the dealers then return with their bid. The process is anonymous. A small fee is paid by the buyer when the request is submitted to the system.

CoFoundersLab doesn't have meetups in every city so for extra exposure, entrepreneurs can also create a free profile on CoFoundersLab. That profile can be seen by people anywhere and includes information about the entrepreneurs interests, skills, and the type of person they are seeking. Billed as an eHarmony for entrepreneurs, the profile is designed to capture the essence of each participant.

However the match is made, REDI has a range of programs to assist entreprenuers. One venue for the programs is the Rockville Women's Business Center. Men are welcome at events, too, and the center just celebrated its first anniversary. About 1,000 people attended center events last year, Wilson said.

Among the seminars offered are the "ABC's of Starting a Business," "Design that Makes a Difference - Optimizing Your Work Space," and "Dollars & Sense: Will Your Idea Make Money?"  REDI also holds the annual "Startright! Women's Business Plan Competition."

Editor's note: The original version misspelled Culin Tate's name.