Name of Club
Answer Provided: Inventors Network of the Capital Area
Club’s Website URL
Answer Provided: www.dcinventors.org
Is your website members only, or open to public, or hybrid?
Answer Provided: Public –
Is there additional info on your website available to all or just members?
Answer Provided: Available to all – not too much add’l info, mostly links to sources
Leader (Person on the IALC calls)
Answer Provided: Krishna “Kris” PAUL
How often do you meet?
Answer Provided: Monthly
When are your meetings?
Answer Provided: Evenings – Monday or Tuesday nights
What is your typical attendance?
Answer Provided: 30-90, depending on speaker/subject and time of year (summer/holidays/etc)
Do you charge to attend?
Answer Provided: typically $15, includes pizza, etc – $5 discount for active members (encourages them to join)
How many current members do you have?
Answer Provided: ~40 paid/active
How many people are on your email blast list?
Answer Provided: about 700, though I also try to promote to local maker spaces, incubators, etc
How many board members do you have?
Answer Provided: no board, just 3 officers
Is your meeting attendance, declining, flat or growing?
Answer Provided: Growing – due to good speakers & more marketing
Is your club a registered 501C (3) organization or something else?
Answer Provided: No – though I’d be interested in suggestion on how to
How long has your club existed?
Answer Provided: Since 1993
Where do you meet, how much does your room cost and how many will it hold?
Answer Provided: Luckily, we meet at the USPTO in Alexandria, VA, also have our meetings at maker spaces (TechShop, NoVA Labs), local SBDC center in VA, and the Geo Mason Univ MEC incubator. Our rooms are usually free, though we have contributed $100 to some maker spaces
Describe a typical meeting? (Include meeting time range, e.g.: 6 pm till 9 pm)
Answer Provided: 6-7 Pizza, networking; 7 meeting start, 15 min of announcements, etc; 7:15-8:30 Speaker presentation; 8:30-9 Network/wrap up/clean up
Are meetings open to the public?
Answer Provided: Yes
How do you market/advertise your meetings?
Answer Provided: Mostly MeetUp, and other organizations (maker spaces, SBDC, etc) including our events on their email blasts. Putting up a flyer by the coffee at maker space seems to get their attention.
Members most memorable/successful/well known product?
Answer Provided: Stake Rake; Trivae; Motobriiz
Do any/some of your members belong to other organizations – maker spaces, startup/entrepreneurial, university/incubators, etc.?
Answer Provided: Yes – about 10% maker spaces, about 20% to startup/business groups (SBDC, Inventorz Network, etc.)
Do you do “workshops” – maybe to practice writing PPAs?
Answer Provided: Not yet – though considering it
Do you have attorneys, service providers you “recommend/promote” to your members?
Answer Provided: A few – only if we have a member with personal experience – and then with a disclaimer
Do members present their products during your meetings?
Answer Provided: Not often, though we encourage a quick “show and tell” at the beginning of the meeting