E-Newsletter

Fairfax County E-Bird for August 13, 2019

Bird’s-eye view: Herndon-based HawkEye 360, which uses formation-flying satellites to create a new class of radio-frequency data and data analytics products, announced that it closed on a $70 million Series B financing round led by Airbus, which bases its North American operations in Herndon. DC Inno notes this financing will support the development of a full constellation of 18 satellites by 2021.

If it’s good enough for Beyoncé…: Merrifield-based t-shirt maker Custom Ink bought Sidestep, a website and mobile app devoted to selling concert merchandise, through its custom-apparel company Represent. Sidestep’s services have been available at concerts around the world. Some of its notable users include Adele, Panic! at the Disco and Beyoncé, who invested in Sidestep in 2016. Ammon Teare customized this story for the Washington Business Journal.

It’s what’s for lunch: Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology said its Virginia Founders Fund invested in Tysons-based Curbside Kitchen, a food-truck management platform which developed a technology platform that connects owners of office and residential buildings with food trucks. Curbside said it will use the proceeds to hire additional staff and further develop its technology to include a mobile app, dynamic scheduling and mobile ordering. Potomac Tech Wire parked a release about this.

Safe and sound: The defense industry often sticks to secure, suburban office campuses rather than urban environments, Cameron Sperance explains for Bisnow. The article includes quotes from new FCEDA President and CEO Victor Hoskins.

Share and share alike: Reston-based StreetShares raised nearly $30 million in fresh debt funding, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The raise comes after the company, which specializes in small-business loans to veterans, announced in January 2018 that it had raised $23 million in equity funding. The Washington Business Journal says StreetShares cited increasing demand as its reason to seek more funding.

A bundle of energy: According to data from Advanced Energy Economy, the largest number of advanced energy jobs in Virginia are in Fairfax County, the state’s largest locality. Advanced energy jobs continue to be clustered largely in Northern Virginia, reports the Virginia Mercury blog.

 

Acquired talent: Tysons-based management advisory firm MorganFranklin Consulting has agreed to be acquired by Vaco, a global talent and professional services firm based in Nashville. Ross Wilkers of Washington Technology writes that MorganFranklin will retain its brand and identity as part of the effort to create a $750 million-annual revenue business with large footprints in many sectors.

A converged solution: Ross Wilkers of Washington Technology also wrote that Tysons-based Convergent Solutions has been acquired by Exiger, which provides regulatory and risk-information services to customers in the government and financial sectors. The New York City-based Exiger said it plans to deploy its proprietary artificial-intelligence products across Convergent’s government customers.

In neutral territory: Swiss International Airlines announced plans to fly between Washington Dulles International Airport and Zurich beginning in March 2020, InsideNoVA reports.

Punk rocks: WashingtonExec reports that SE Solutions, a technology consulting firm with offices in Tysons, rebranded itself as Steampunk to “convey creativity, growth, and a bold and diverse cultural connection with all of our employees, partners, clients, and communities,” said the chief marketing officer.

New vision: Tysons-based Old Dominion National Bank is planning to raise $20 million to $40 million in fresh funding, at least in part from investors and directors in VisionBank, the proposed-but-never-realized operation whose executives now work for Old Dominion. According to the Washington Business Journal, Old Dominion CEO Mark Merrill said the coming months will involve discussions with former VisionBank investors, employees and board members to join his operation.

Living on the edge: As Tysons transforms from a four-square-mile “edge city” in Northern Virginia into a city, Greater Greater Washington analyzes the efforts and progress of doubling the number of jobs and raising the number of residents from about 14,000 people to 100,000. This will also add 113 million square feet of new construction and create a bustling urban center with a walkable street grid, bike paths, and more – all by 2050.

 Latitude attitude: The Washington Post reports that Fairfax County high school students will receive laptops for the school year that starts later this month. Plans are in place to put the devices in the hands of all Fairfax County Public School students in third grade and beyond by 2023. The five-year rollout of Dell Latitude 3300 laptops is expected to cost $30 million.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

  • Perspecta won a potential $824 million contract over five years to support the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency with systems engineering and integration work. Washington Technology
  • CGI Federal won a 10-year, $222.9 million contract from the Space and Naval War Systems Command to develop an electronic procurement system for the Navy and Marine Corps. WashingtonExec
  • Leidos received a $160 million task order for software engineering services to support the Army’s Communications-Electronics Command Software Engineering Center. Washington Business Journal
  • HGSNet won a $21.9 million contract from the Defense Information Systems Agency to develop, deploy and sustain the National Background Investigations System. Washington Business Journal

Featured business events

  • August 14 — Small Talk to a Small Fortune – How to Network. Part of the Business Education Series presented by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Click here.
  • August 27 — NAIOP networking event. The event will include updates on Fairfax County, including development in Tysons around Capital One and the McLean Metro Station. Featuring Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the FCEDA. Click here.
  • September 10 — Entrepreneurship 101: Starting a Business in Fairfax County. Presented by the FCEDA with its partners the Community Business Partnership, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, and the Fairfax County government. Click here.
  • September 11 — Intro to Selling to the Commonwealth—A Vendor’s Perspective. Part of the Business Education Series presented by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Click here.