Local Coworking Venture Wins $100,000 Business Plan Competition

Affinity Lab Expansion Plans Sway Judges

WASHINGTON, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Adams Morgan based Affinity Lab, a business
cowork venture, took first place yesterday in a business plan competition
qualifying for $100,000 in investment in a tight four-way competition staged
at the Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP).

"We saw four great presentations yesterday," says Steve Moore, President and
CEO of the WDCEP. "These business concepts were very exciting, but Affinity
Lab stood out as the new thing. They capture what is happening now in the
incubation of small businesses. Without fail, when they are done telling you
what they do, people say 'I want to be a part of that.'"

Over 40 DC businesses participated in a two month qualifying process and four
local businesses were selected as finalists in yesterday's oral presentation
competition. Each finalist was given 30 minutes to pitch their business idea
before a panel of 20 judges which included venture capitalists, business
owners, elected officials, government officials, educators and graduate
business students.

"Small businesses are going to revitalize our neighborhoods," said DC
Councilmember Kwame Brown. "We need to provide more opportunities for local
businesses to get feedback from professionals to make their ideas better and
their businesses stronger."

The funding of the $100,000 prize was provided by Enhanced Capital Partners,
Advantage Capital Partners and the DC Coalition for Capital, which supports
access to capital programs and initiatives designed to help DC small
businesses grow.

"This inaugural competition was a tremendous success," said Ben Dupuy, the
President of the DC Coalition for Capital. "We have been looking for a way to
showcase local entrepreneurship, business innovation, and the DC CAPCO
Program, and we certainly accomplished that yesterday."

The Affinity Lab presentation featured growth plans for the cool urban
business cooperative which were bold, profitable, and achievable. "They know
where they are going," said Steve Moore. "They understand their customer and
they demonstrated that they can be innovative and profitable. They are ready
to expand and they made their case. It was a great pitch!"

The other three finalists included a fashion line for chefs and restaurant
employees, an art gallery/wine bar and a worksite training program for
preparedness for medical emergencies.

Affinity Lab will be recognized and honored at WDCEP's 2009 Small Business
Awards, held at the Willard Hotel on July 22nd at 9:00am. To register for the
2009 Small Business Awards please click here.

It is the mission of the Washington, DC Economic Partnership, a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization to promote business opportunities throughout the
District of Columbia and to contribute to business retention and attraction
activities.

SOURCE Washington, DC Economic Partnership

Andi Joseph, Manager, Research & Communications of Washington, DC Economic
Partnership, ajoseph@wdcep.com