Headlines

JBG Smith aims to garnish Trustify assets in new court case Real estate investment trust JBG Smith Properties Inc. (NYSE: JBGS) is heading to court to try to collect on a $263,477.21 judgment against one of its tenants, private investigation startup Trustify. The garnishment case and the earlier judgment, first reported by tech executive coach and blogger Glen Hellman, are the latest bad news for Trustify. (See the entire article here)...

A RECENT PROFILE OF TECH BLOGGER GLEN Hellman-“Meet Mr. Cranky” by Courtney Vinopal, in December-reported on Hellman’s sharp coverage of the Arlington company Trustify and its CEO, Danny Boice. Among other things, the story noted that Hellman’s criticism often included personal claims with questionable sourcing. Hellman responded with a letter to the editor as well as an open letter to Washingtonian on his site. “While the story appears balanced, it is less than fa...

By Andy Medici – Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal Valhalla Partners co-founder and former New Enterprise Associate general partner Arthur “Art” Marks loved a lot of things — the University of Michigan, fly fishing, tulips and sailing, to name a few. He also loved the process. Marks, who died Tuesday at the age of 74, helped use his commitment to processes and operations to professionalize and scale a still wild venture capital industry when he joined NEA in 1984, said ...

By Andy Medici – Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal New York public relations firm Dini von Mueffling Communications LLC is suing Arlington private investigator startup Trustify over what it says are a series of unpaid invoices, according to court documents filed in New York State Supreme Court. The PR firm is asking for $240,305.26 and for attorney’s fees and other damages after it said it signed a contract with Trustify CEO Danny Boice on July 30 for $15,000 per month to provi...

For years, Glen Hellman has been sniping at local digital bigwigs. Now, they’re starting to shoot back. WRITTEN BY COURTNEY VINOPAL  One morning last April, a FedEx worker showed up at Glen Hellman’s red-brick Colonial house in Oakton. Hellman typically works out of an office upstairs, posting entries on his blog, Driven Forward, which covers DC’s tech-startup scene. After signing for the package, he opened a letter that read urgent—for immediate review. Inside was a cease-and-des...

The fine and prohibition from offering services in Virginia was first written about by executive coach and tech critic Glen Hellman, who has referred to the company (often) as a “dumpster fire” and written repeatedly about what he has identifies as the company’s many flaws. Trustify founder Danny Boice last year sent Hellman a cease-and-desist letter seeking the online posts be removed, but they appear to remain on Hellman’s website. See the entire article here on the Washing...

Three of the 20 finalists for Amazon’s second headquarters — D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia — are located in the Washington metropolitan area, leading some to speculate that the nation’s capital could be the ideal landing spot for HQ2. HQ2 would be a distraction to the area’s struggling start-up scene, Glen Hellman, long-time member of the Washington business community, wrote in a blog post arguing against the Amazon-Washington match. The bigger picture: As owner of...

District start-up incubator 1776 has merged with a Philadelphia-based co-working space called Benjamin’s Desk, a company spokeswoman confirmed Monday, capping off a slew of executive departures and false starts for the fledgling tech incubator. News of a potential merger was first reported in mid-September by Glen Hellman, a business consultant and executive coach who runs a tech blog. Evan Burfield, 1776’s chief executive, will cede leadership to Benjamin’s Desk co-executives Anthony Mah...

Bar Kofman – September 20, 2017 STARWEST 2017 – 6 Top Talks The Premier Software Testing Conference TechWell’s flagship testing conference is just around the corner. From October 1-6, QA, DevOps, and testing professionals from around the world will gather in Anaheim, CA to share best practices, latest techniques, and ways to make your QA organization more effective. There are 72 speakers on the lineup, which is way too many to see all by yourself, especially since many of them are conc...

Philadelphia-based co-working company Benjamin’s Desk is finalizing a deal to absorb D.C.-based incubator 1776, according to sources familiar with the situation — though, 1776 denies any such talks are in place. The deal, first reported by local tech executive coach Glen Hellman, is expected to close in October, according to multiple sources close to the transaction but not authorized to speak on the record. If the deal closes, sources said, some investors from Benjamin’s Desk and 1776 ...

A handful of tech executives in Greater Washington have taken to social media to rail against an executive order issued Friday afternoon by President Donald Trump that at least temporarily blocks entry into the United States for citizens of seven predominately Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. We’ve compiled their responses below.   #DCTech Our liberties are under attack. Support the ACLU & read Matching Gift from Union Square Ventures @fredwils...

Driven Forward’s, Glen Hellman to Moderate a panel at Tien Wong’s, April 4, 2017, CONNECTpreneur in Bethesda MD. The Panel titled, Serial Entrepreneurs Share War Stories featuring: NIGEL JONES, CEO Koolspan and Managing Director, TWJ Capital BETH MALONEY, President, Palladian Partners D.P. VENKATESH, Vice President, Broadsoft; CEO, mPortal The Big Idea CONNECTpreneur Forum is a Community of over 5000 CEOs, Entrepreneurs, VCs and angels, CXOs and other business leaders in the Mid-Atla...

Just announced Driven Forward’s, Glen Hellman Keynotes StarEast Leadership Summit on May 12, 2017 in Orlando. The Details: Intentionality: Leading an Intentional Culture Friday, May 12, 2017 – 9:45am Leadership Summit Session As leaders we get the culture we tolerate. What are the steps to create an intentional culture of high performance? The basis of leadership and influencing others depends on understanding that humans make logical decisions illogically. What are the hidden forces...

By Editorial Team Posted on January 6, 2017 at 8:21 am It’s lonely at the top. Yet to succeed executives need to continue to learn and grow as leaders to accelerate growth. Nothing is quite as valuable as unbiased feedback from others who sit in your chair, so to speak. As a result, CEO peer groups are increasingly seen as vital for successful leadership. But packed schedules and geographic distance often pose challenges to making this collaboration happen. See rest of article here  ...

We wrote, in a 2012 profile, that Glen Hellman had a knack for making blood boil. Maybe that was hasty. At the time, Hellman — an angel investor, blogger, executive coach and former turnaround CEO-for-hire — was in the midst of a spat with the Northern Virginia Technology Council, which he blasted as “out of touch.” In retrospect, this was quaint and cordial compared to the fights Hellman would pick in the coming years. Two years ago, the blood was only simmering. It wouldn’...

Here’s my first appearance on WJLA Washington Business Report as a Business Strategist with Jonathan Aberman and host Rebecca Cooper....

Who doesn’t want to follow someone known as “Mr. Cranky”? Hellman — who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, turnaround guy and tough-question asker — is prolific. We counted 11 tweets by 2 p.m. on a recent Monday. Some are serious. Some are inspiring. Some are just downright goofy....

Some tech investors like anonymity. Not these guys. Twitter analytics firm PeekAnalytics released a list this week of the top 1,000 tech investors on Twitter. Here’s how D.C.’s contingent of VCs and angels stacked up, based on a set of influence metrics that includes number of followers and “average network size.” Spoiler alert: none of them come close to the top seed, Ashton Kutcher. Washington Business Journal by Bill Flook...

WBJ Staff “If everything is amazing, eventually nothing is amazing.” —Startup investor and blogger Glen Hellman, in August ...

(as seen in Tech Cocktail) As an entrepreneur pitching to angel investors, you have a lot on your mind. You have to nail your pitch and anticipate their...

Featured on Speakerbox Sounding Board We like to turn the camera around, so to speak, from time to time and conduct our own interviews with the movers,...

Ignite DC is celebrating its 10th event by bringing back 16 of the best presenters from the past 9 events. The DC All Stars - Get your tickets...

Glen Hellman has a knack for making blood boil.This was on full display in a Facebook message Hellman posted in June, jabbing at the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s new board roster. The lineup, Hellman suggested, was inordinately packed with representatives of Fortune 500 companies — not startups....

WashingtonExec spoke with Glen Hellman, a Principle at Driven Forward LLC, about the role D.C. plays in the technology industry.  Hellman also reflects on the potential for start up businesses in the D.C. area. WashingtonExec: In what ways is D.C. poised to be the next hub of technology? Glen Hellman: The next hub is probably a misnomer for a couple of reasons. A) There is room for, and there are many, technology hubs today and B) The Washington Region has always been one of those hubs.

At...

“You have very few CEOs who can take a company from a start-up based on the force of his personality and vision, and drive it to a billion-plus company and 10,000 employees and still run that company,” said Glen Hellman, the “chief entrepreneureator” at a company-building consultancy called Driven Forward.Hellman has parachuted into four start-ups at the request of investors. In most cases, investors had lost confidence in the executive’s ability to lead or willingness to tell the trut...

“The combination of the fact that [tech stocks] are on sale, and the fact that they’re much more liquid than an angel investment, makes them much more attractive compared to how they were three months ago,” said Glen Hellman, an angel investor and principal at Driven Forward LLC....

The new fund will not find any shortage of potential portfolio companies, said Glen Hellman, an angel investor and chairman of Driven Forward LLC, a District-based strategic adviser to entrepreneurs.“That part of their premise is right on,” Hellman said. “They come down to the angel level, because the [New Enterprise Associates] and the Grotechs of the world just won’t give that little amount of money.”But Hellman said the surge in entrepreneurial activity at that level comes with a pr...

New, unconventional channels that entrepreneurs can use to find investors are beginning to crop up in the Washington area, part of a burgeoning shift in the traditional venture capital pitch“It’s a Herculean effort to get CEOs to constantly focus their story and drill it down and crystallize it into something that’s easy to understand,” Hellman said. “We’re constantly coaching them on less, less, less — less is more.”...

(As Seen In Startup America's Blog....

The elevator pitch has a found a new home on Twitter.Entrepreneurs who registered in advance are invited to pitch venture capitalists and angel investors today via Twitter on the opportunity to invest in their businesses. Participants can submit up to 10 tweets, each of which is limited to 140 characters or less. What’s more, the person who submits the best Twitter pitch will receive a $2,000 prize....

Can you tell your story in 10 Tweets or less? Glen Hellman wants you to – and the winner gets $2,000. Not bad for just 1280 characters!...

”Glass Lewis has catered to the real corporate activists and this kind of taint to that kind of customer is a real issue,” said Glen Hellman, president of Proxy Governance Inc., a smaller rival. “What does it mean when [Mr. Turner] can’t stay there or keep his name associated with it.”...

Glen Hellman, president and COO of 100-client Proxy Governance, also expected more criticism of ISS. “It seemed like a pass to me, like much to do about nothing,” said Mr. Hellman, whose firm was founded in 2004. “Even if the conflicts weren’t discussed more, we thought at least the amount of power in one firm would be more alarming to the researchers.”...

There’s a new breed of parking meter out there — but beware, it’s designed to squeeze more money out of motorists. Stuart Cohen has the story....

A recreational hockey league offers a place to hit the ice, unwind Friday, Aug. 25, 2006 by Steve Berberich Staff Writer One by one, the Sloths and the Red Army drifted into the Rockville Ice Arena Wednesday evening to face off, escaping the heat and humidity outside for a cool game of gentleman’s hockey — for businessmen. It’s fast, but not furious. There is no slamming of opponents against the glass. There is no fighting. There is no cursing the referees. Nobody wants to get hurt. The po...

A small company in the eastern U.S. state of Maryland has begun field-testing a new kind of parking meter. It uses sonar detection technology to determine when an automobile has left a parking spot, then resets its timer to zero, eliminating any leftover minutes. Watch here:...

Marketing guru Glen A. Hellman is always on the lookout for visionary inventors. Which is not surprising, considering he hails from Edison, N.J. Hellman, CEO of IntelliPark LLC of Bethesda, has yet to find another Thomas Edison, the town’s namesake. But at IntelliPark, Hellman has teamed up with Vince Yost, whose sonar-smart parking meter is starting to tap national marketing potential....

“Our membership in the Coral Consortium highlights Cloakware’s commitment to increasing the functionality and flexibility of licensed digital content playback, without sacrificing the integrity or intent of the content owners and providers,” said Glen Hellman, Asia Pacific General Manager for Cloakware....

Stepping in as an outsider can be a daunting task, said Glen Hellman, who joined Ikimbo Inc., a Herndon communications software firm, in July. Ikimbo had also been through several regime changes by the time Hellman arrived, having been run by its founder, Jamey Harvey, and two other chief executives since it was established in 1999. Hellman says that process can be tough for entrepreneurs who, like new parents, sometimes lack objectivity. “Have you ever met a parent who told you they have an u...