Founders anywhere · Investors in the capital region

Where the capital region
backs what's next

We're a DCTAV-affiliated, volunteer-led investing community working to make the DMV a powerhouse of innovation by activating and aligning angel capital.

Join the community Submit your raise

Volunteer-led Open & curated We co-invest

50+

Angels

40+

Fellows

3K+

Community members

25+

Partner organizations

Thesis

Angel investing is harder than it should be

No on-rampNew and aspiring angels have nowhere obvious to start

Diligence is hardDoing it well takes time and expertise most people don't have spare

Groups stay closedExisting angel groups can feel siloed and hard to break into

Our belief

The capital region has the talent, the institutions, and some of the highest-income counties in the country. Almost none of that money reaches the founders here, even though it's never been easier to start something. We think startup investing should be easy, fun, and rewarding, so we built a way in for anyone who wants to back what's next.

Our approach

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Free to join, but curated. We match angels by interest, background, and seniority, so the right people end up in the room together
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Industry-agnostic, with a special affinity for:
Dual-use & defenseCyberBiotechHealth techLife sciencesClimateFintech & crypto
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Checks start at $2.5K per person to keep investing accessible. Total investment per deal, pooled into an SPV, runs from $50K to $200K
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Open to co-investing alongside other angel groups

Team

Managing directors

Sriram Gollapalli

Brandon Kortokrax

Mike King

Co-Heads

Naviya Kothari

Blaire Rowe Rakowicz

Charlotte Clark

Fellowship

Deals

Abdul Khan

Ka-Jana Justin

Francis Tay

Tech & Operations

Mallika Patkar

Victoria Adofoli

Lucas Pham

Strategic Advisors

Kevin Morgan

Michelle Urben

Ashtan Moore

Portfolio

Cachai

Dual-use & defense Alexandria, VA

Collaborative autonomy software for mission-critical systems. Its Altiro layer turns hub-dependent systems into distributed swarms with no single point of failure.

cachai.io →

CurieDx

Health tech Baltimore, MD

An at-home strep throat test that runs on your phone. Photos plus AI return a prediction and guide the next step, putting clinical-grade triage in your pocket.

curiedx.com →

Alchemity

Climate · hard tech College Park, MD

A University of Maryland spinout turning greenhouse gases and waste into sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen, and chemicals through modular, zero-emissions reactors.

alchemity.com →

For investors

Virtual Monthly Deal Rooms

Live sessions where the community digs into three startups with founder Q&A

Angel Happy Hours

Casual gatherings to meet other angels and the founders building nearby

Angel Investing 101 Bootcamps

Crash courses that take you from curious to confident on the basics

Pitch Contests & Review

Founders pitch live and the room weighs in on who rises

Thematic Panels & Private Roundtables

Sector deep dives with operators, experts, and investors

Battle of the Regions

A cross-region pitch showdown putting the DMV up against other hubs

New or curious

Start without the guesswork

/ No track record needed
/ Min check sizes as low as $2.5K
/ Sit in on live deals at the monthly deal room
/ Learn the ropes through the fellowship
/ Back the ecosystem you live in

Experienced angel

Better deals, better company

/ Diligence-backed deals
/ Co-invest alongside leads you trust
/ Invite-only gatherings with seasoned angels

The deal room

Our monthly deal room

A live, virtual session where we dig into our top startups with candor. Expect lightning intros from new angels, deep dives on three startups with live founder Q&A and a closed-door investor discussion, and pipeline deals you can help diligence alongside our Fellows and team.

Get on the list

For founders

What we back

Sectors

Industry-agnostic

We back founders in any sector, and we go deepest in dual-use & defense, cyber, biotech, health, climate, and fintech

Check size

$50k to $200k

We pool capital into an SPV for each deal, and we're glad to co-invest alongside other angel groups

Geography

Build anywhere

We back companies wherever they're based. Our investor community is the part that stays rooted in the capital region

Once you submit

Hear back in 5 days

We get back to you on next steps within five days

Reach the community

With your go-ahead, we share your opportunity with our broader community of angel groups

Line up co-investors

When there's a fit, we help you find co-investors to round out the raise

Submit your raise

Halo Fellowship · Cohort 04 in session

Learn to invest by actually investing

A program for students, career-switchers, and professionals who want to learn about the ecosystem and early-stage investing. Understand how deals are evaluated, practice writing memos, and publish market reports to grow your brand.

/ 8 to 10 hours per week, 6 to 10 weeks
/ No prior investing experience required

Apply to a cohort

Every fellow publishes a market report

Past Cohorts

Cohort04In session

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Cohort03Fall '25

Cohort02

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Research & reports

Drones & Unmanned Aerial Systems

Yousof Omeish · Market Report

READ →

AI-Powered Upskilling & Workforce Transformation

Catherine McMillan · Market Report

READ →

Emerging Technologies in Aquaculture

Tony Lodge · Market Report

READ →

General Purpose Humanoid Robots

Juliano Perczek · Market Report

READ →

From Biomaterial Implants to Regenerated Tissues

Allison Horenberg · Market Report

READ →

Digital Therapeutics

Courtnie Phillip · Market Report

READ →

Partners

We're always looking to do more together

We don't do any of this alone. We co-host events, share deal flow, and build alongside the angel groups, universities, and institutions across the region. If that sounds like you, we'd love to talk.

Co-host

Co-host events with us

From deal rooms to demo nights, we co-host across the region and bring the angels

Visibility

Reach our audience

Get your programs, founders, and brand in front of an engaged room of investors and operators

Deal flow

Share deal flow

Share your pipeline to reach local angels, and send us companies to look at for regional capital. Clean terms and reciprocity

Working with

DMV Angel Group

American University

UVA Batten

Arlington Economic Development

Maryland Momentum Fund

Maryland Innovation Center

MD Energy Innovation Accelerator

Resilient Earth Capital

Abell Foundation

Inspire Access

New Dominion Angels

Ned's Club

170+ embassies · diaspora founders

International corridor

170+ embassies on our doorstep

The region runs on 170+ embassies and the world's largest multilateral institutions. No other community has this on its doorstep. Here's how we turn it into capital and connection:

/ Train foreign nationals and embassy networks to invest as angels in US startups
/ Host private events that put institutions and investors in front of companies founded by diaspora founders in the US
/ Help international and diaspora founders raise from angels who understand their markets

Connect with us