Putting Tech on the Hill with Station DC’s James Barlia
James Barlia is the Executive Director of Station DC, a non-profit connecting innovators, policymakers, and industry leaders in Washington, D.C.
James Barlia is the Executive Director of Station DC, a non-profit connecting innovators, policymakers, and industry leaders in Washington, D.C.
What led you to found Station DC?
It all started with a toothpaste company. In my senior year of high school, our teacher walked in on the first day and said, “For the next six months, you’re starting a company.” My group created a solidified toothpaste tablet and with a $500 budget—basically our teacher’s debit card—we got really good at Facebook ads and generated several thousands of dollars in presales. We couldn’t actually figure out how to create the product, but I became obsessed with creating things.
That experience catalyzed my career in venture capital. I worked at a couple of D.C.-based seed funds, then at Greenspring Associates doing fund-of-fund investing, and later joined Revolution focusing on pre-seed and seed investments outside the major tech hubs. Through that work, I identified two key trends. First, as founders started innovating in areas of national interest—defense, energy, healthcare, AI—they needed better access to Washington. D.C. and that access is expensive, complex, and gatekept with no real front door. Second, D.C. itself wasn’t capitalizing on this moment. There was no center of gravity to bring together innovators and policymakers to leverage Washington’s competitive advantages.
What does Station DC do?
We bring together people building the future of American innovation at the intersection of technology, policy and industry.
We do this through three core offerings: a physical clubhouse for daily work and events; regular programming including 25-person dinners to 500-person summits; and practical educational content such as crash courses and a productized mentorship program.
Our goal is to create organic, frequent, and reliable connections across these communities. By concentrating talent, capital, and ambition in the nation’s capital, we’re helping create jobs, civic pride, and long-term economic growth for Washington, D.C.
Why do startups building in the national interest need access to Washington?
If you’re working on solving big problems that are nationally consequential—energy, defense, healthcare, AI, education, infrastructure, robotics, space—you’re building in the national interest. The government can be your largest channel for scale and distribution. The government could be your biggest customer, funder, or partner. It is capable of limiting or unlocking scale.
D.C. gives you access to decision makers who shape laws, budgets and regulations. The government has extensive funding mechanisms through contracts, grants, and large-scale programs.
There’s also great talent in the District. D.C. is a dream city. People come here to change the world and stay to actually do it. There’s this false narrative that D.C. lacks ambition, but people come here as fundamental optimists wanting to shape the future they want to live in.
How has the relationship between Silicon Valley and Washington evolved?
For a long time, there was sentiment that Washington was hostile to the tech industry. It was perceived as someone you did battle with rather than collaborate with. But that’s changing.
The acknowledgment of great power competition has shifted the vibe toward embracing frontier innovation and startups in a way that allows us to outcompete our adversaries. Recent initiatives like the AI executive order and energy initiatives are creating tailwinds for innovators.
The key is framing your mission to align with government priorities. Start building relationships with staffers through 15-minute intro calls and one-page memos demonstrating alignment. It’s similar to an enterprise sales cycle. You’re asking questions, listening, and figuring out if there’s mutual value.
What needs to change to strengthen the startup-government ecosystem?
Fix the incentives. We need to incentivize actual buyers—contracting officers and program managers—to take risks and move fast so they can share in the economic upside. Nothing will fundamentally change until we change incentives inside the buildings.
On the positive side, there’s growing recognition that we can’t move at our current speed and remain competitive as a global superpower. The Department of Defense, for example, has made progress in making it easier to work with startups. Non-traditional routes like OTAs (Other Transaction Authorities) are starting to bridge the valley of death from early contracts to programs of record.
What’s the value proposition of joining Station DC?
Station DC gives you access to the people, information, and networks that shape American innovation and policy. That access helps you move faster, avoid costly missteps, and unlock new opportunities.
Whether you’re a founder scaling in a regulated space, a policymaker looking for real-world solutions, an investor seeking insight, a nonprofit advancing mission-critical work, or a corporate leader navigating change – we give you a seat at the table.
We unite eight key groups: technologists, policymakers, venture investors, military leaders, industry executives, nonprofits, academia, and media. If you’re solving problems in the national interest, we help you plug into D.C. efficiently and affordably, and tap into the competitive advantages that only exist here: proximity to power, talent, policy, and capital.
Membership is $1,500 a year per seat for startups, government, military, and nonprofits; $2,500 for everyone else. Compare that to setting up your own D.C. presence or paying consultants $250,000-plus. With Station DC, you get people, intel, space, events, and education without the gatekeeping.
We’re also not just for outsiders seeking D.C. access. We’re also for D.C. insiders looking for community, speed, and leverage to do their work better.
Ultimately, we’re waking people up to the fact that D.C. is upstream of everything. We’re making D.C. the heartbeat of American tech leadership. Join us, and you’ll be surrounded by smart, ambitious people solving important problems.
HAUS specializes in public relations and creative services for deep tech startups.
