High-Speed Internet Making a Difference for DC Entrepreneurs

Adam Zuckerman is the founder of Fosterly, a community of entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators, all working together to tackle new challenges in business and technology. Fosterly connects its members with resources, events and opportunities, both online and offline.

Fosterly helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses in the D.C. metropolitan region, and we’ve heard and witnessed first-hand the pain points entrepreneurs must navigate as they go about their day-to-day activities.  

As entrepreneurs consider time to be a highly-coveted resource, it’s incredibly useful when tools become available that are both reliable and efficient. Fast and reliable Internet (more frequently provided over fiber) is one such resource.

Here are three stories from members of the Fosterly community that spotlight how high-speed Internet access has saved the day.

"Fiber is here in D.C. and it affords them the opportunity to  startup quicker, faster." Eric Richardson, Director of D.C. Office of Cable Television

Brave UX is a digital agency focusing on user experience, design and development. With the slogan, “We design and build interfaces that people love to use,” Brave UX’s clients include the D.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Paychex and WeddingWire.

Story: As a team of strategists, designers and developers, we’re constantly working with large files in critical real-time environments. Having Internet that can keep up with the fast pace of our work is crucial to our success. At Brave UX, we are looking to make the world easier, better and more beautiful. And, it all starts with a high-speed Internet connection.

Enstitute is a national nonprofit, that’s reinventing apprenticeships for 21^st-century careers. Enstitute offers a full-time, paid one-year experiential learning program that provides talented and diverse millennials with careers in technology, business, design and entrepreneurship. The Enstitute program matches participants with leading entrepreneurs and executives at today’s most innovative companies. So participants have a community of mentors, advisors and peers to support them along the way. Most apprentices are hired full-time at companies after the apprenticeship and quickly become invaluable members of the team. Read more in The New York Times. Enstitute’s clients include NY Tech Meetup, DonorsChoose.org, CrowdTwist, Single Palm Tree Productions, Ice Cream Jubilee, Waveborn Sunglasses, Main Street Genome and Brazen Careerist.

Story: With hubs in New York City, Miami, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, our team is spread across the country. We use video conferencing to work on projects together, discuss ideas and connect as a team. That face time with each other helps us stay connected as one cohesive group despite our geographic separation.

Restin is the only national provider of robotic massage chairs for rent and lease. Marketers rent massage chairs to draw a captive audience and build valuable relationships at events. Many clients also lease massage chairs from Restin to improve employee wellness and productivity in the workplace. Clients include Bank of America, Hyundai, IBM, Sprint, Under Armour, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Google, Jones Lang LaSalle and Lululemon.

Story: Restin relies heavily on Web-based services to enable sales and marketing, manage inventory, and coordinate back office functions. With six warehouses across the U.S. and 90 percent of sales leads generated online, reliable Internet service is crucial to our success.