Aiming to facilitate startups in Washington D.C., Dona Harris established 1776. The Mecca for startups as of now is Silicon Valley, but with the support of 1776, Harris hopes that more businesses will form locally.

“The reason we call ourselves 1776 is because if we look back at our history as a country, [the founding fathers] were our entrepreneurs,” Harris said.

After the club Startup TJ invited her, Harris, the co-founder and CEO of 1776, spoke about what her company does and how businesses have helped resolve global issues. 1776 aims to mentor entrepreneurs and facilitate their business’s growth as well as invest in a select few. The eighth period attracted students considering entrepreneurship.

“I am going to a startup camp this summer, and I thought it would be interesting to an actual person from a startup speak so I could learn from them,” sophomore Emerson Berlik said.

Berlik also found the presentation to be informational and spurred him to think about how he can change the world.
“I thought it was a good learning experience because it demonstrated how experience is a big part of creating a successful startup,” Berlik said.