Interview: Fortique Founder, Stephanie Olvey, Is Paving The Way For Local Creative Talent

What made you choose DC? I moved here after college and I worked in consulting for a little and then I worked at LivingSocial. So I was already here and I felt like DC was a very interesting mix of undergrounds, so the supply of creativity is there. You have this other section of the population that’s short on time, working a ton and always looking at a way of outsourcing things. If they could hire someone to plan a party or hire someone to redesign their apartment...there’s a substantive set of demand here.

What advice would you give someone trying to start their own start-up in DC? Talk to as many people as you possibly can. A  lot of people when they come up with an idea, they get really scared about talking about it. They're afraid someone is going to steal it. I would say more times than not having that extra conversation with someone got me that much further. In the beginning, I was terrified to talk about it. I  quickly realized the benefit I got from talking to people and learning, because everyone has a different perspective. I saw it through the consumers’ eyes and through the merchants’ eyes. It's really good, I think, to talk to people.