Accountability articles are not my favorite things to write, and they're not our news org's main focus, but they are an important part of how we connect and challenge the ecosystem.

When we got a tip that a contractor who worked on Station DC's newly opened building had not been paid in full, I looked into what could be going on. After asking questions, the AV vendor is scheduled to be wired the remaining $72,499 tomorrow. Keep scrolling to read more about it and how delayed payments can impact small businesses. 

Plus, a local founder is building a pretty cool agentic AI-powered events calendar to help people stay in the know and encourage leaders to work together in planning. 

—  Kaela, Technical.ly lead reporter in DC and Virginia

PS: Technical.ly Awards winners are live — congrats to all, and shoutout to DC Mayor Bowser's team for sending an official press release about their win. 

A missing five-figure payment

Station DC launched with the help of a $2 million grant from the city, with a mission to connect policymakers and innovators. The space opened to great fanfare this September after being announced the previous summer. 

Extensive construction went into making the 15,000-square-foot space, including the work from Florida AV company Unassailable Solutions. After waiting more than 50 days, the firm is now in line to be paid in full.

“We value their work,” said Station DC CEO James Barlia, “and remain focused on delivering a project that creates jobs, investment, economic opportunity and growth for Washington DC.”

This all happened after the AV company's founder started posting on social media and I started asking around about the delayed check. Continue reading ... 

Mapping events and maximizing time

Tech and startup ecosystems are booming with events these days. That’s generally a good thing, but without a central place for coordination, it’s hard to stay abreast of everything going on — and oftentimes multiple events happen are scheduled for the same day.

DC founder Andrey Mikhalchuk is developing a solution. 

He's building an AI-powered calendar complete with an interactive map and descriptions, plus a portal for founders, investors and government leaders to connect. 

“What this platform does,” Mikhalchuk told Technical.ly, “[is] it keeps its hand — AI hand — on the pulse of what’s happening in the ecosystem.” Continue reading ...