Event Details
Distilled Intelligence takes place at the Lansdowne Resort in Loudoun County, VA , from October 14th to 16th, 2025.
Join us at DI
About the organizers
Distilled Intelligence is a team effort from across multiple organizations, with the goal of raising the tide for the entire venture ecosystem — not profit.
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Fortify Ventures
Fortify Ventures is a venture capital ecosystem, investing in early-stage founders disrupting the status quo. We place bets on amazing individuals and teams with unique superpowers, building innovative and disruptive technologies for human health, the future of work, and the infrastructure that powers them both. Our reach extends far beyond capital, uniting operators, thinkers, executors, and change-makers aligned on a mission to move us one step closer to tomorrow’s world. We operate on the belief that together, we are better.
Fortify is the principal organizer of Distilled Intelligence, managing every aspect of the event from company selection to attendee experience.
You can learn more about Fortify Ventures by clicking here.
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Loudoun County Economic Development
Loudoun Economic Development is a public department dedicated to growing and supporting the local economy in Loudoun County, Virginia. The organization focuses on attracting innovative businesses, supporting entrepreneurs, and fostering a robust technology ecosystem within the region.
As a key sponsor of Distilled Intelligence, Loudoun Economic Development handles onsite event logistics and provides resources to ensure a seamless experience for attendees. Their goal is to use DI as a platform for showcasing Loudoun County as a thriving hub for tech innovation and to accelerate the growth of the local startup community.
You can learn more about Loudoun County Economic Development by clicking here.
Andrew Yeung
Andrew Yeung is the Founder, CEO of Fibe – a tech community and events company that includes andrew's mixers, The Junto Series, Lumos House, and the OOO Summit. He is also a Partner at Next Wave NYC, a pre-seed/seed fund.
To date, Fibe has hosted over 50,000 tech founders, investors, and professionals across 8 cities, including conferences, CEO dinners, masterminds, and "tech parties."
Their events were featured on Bloomberg, Business Insider, Fast Company, and Fortune Magazine. Business Insider dubbed Andrew the "Gatsby of Silicon Alley."
You can learn more about Andrew Yeung by clicking here.
Full daily itineraries
Speakers
+ more to come
Brad Feld
Co-founder, Foundry
Brad Feld is a partner and co-founder of Foundry. He has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur for over 35 years, since founding his first company, Feld Technologies, in college. Brad is also a co-founder of Techstars and, with his wife Amy Batchelor, runs the Anchor Point Foundation. Brad has written several books on entrepreneurship and venture capital and started blogging in 2004 before VC Twitter existed.
Fireside Chat
panel
panel
Steve Case
Co-founder, AOL
Steve Case is the Co-founder of AOL and the Chairman and CEO of Revolution, a D.C.-based investment firm that backs entrepreneurs at every stage of their development and makes strategic investments in real estate and hospitality. Case is one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs and philanthropists, and a pioneer in making the Internet part of everyday life.
Fireside Chat
panel
panel
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Rohit Bhargava
Founder, Non-Obvious Company
Rohit Bhargava is a 3-time WSJ bestselling author of ten books and founder of the Non-Obvious Company. An adjunct professor of storytelling at Georgetown, he also leads Ideapress Publishing. A sought-after speaker and entrepreneur, Rohit is on a mission to inspire more non-obvious thinking and creativity in business and beyond.
Non-Obvious Networking
keynote
keynote
Dan Berger
Founder, Social Tables
Dan J. Berger is an Israeli-American entrepreneur. His newest venture, Assemble Hospitality Group, is a new lodging concept for corporate retreats. He previously founded and led Social Tables, an event planning software company, which was acquired by Blackstone-owned Cvent in 2018 for $100 million. Dan is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including the Pacesetter Award from the Events Industry Council.
Making The Most of DI
panel
panel
Sam Pollaro
Founder, Venga
Sam Pollaro is a three-time entrepreneur, currently serving as the coCEO of PicassoMD, a digital health tech startup. Previously Sam was the SVP of Strategic Initiatives at Kayak-OpenTable after that company acquired Venga, his previous venture. Sam’s first startup, an online flower subscription business, was acquired by a Battery Ventures portfolio company.
Making The Most of DI
panel
panel
Christina Daves
Partner, Lunch Pail Ventures
Christina Daves is a speaker, publicity strategist, award-winning podcast host, and on-air lifestyle expert. She is also a partner at Lunch Pail Ventures, a Virginia Tech alumni-led investment group that has invested $11M in eight Hokie affiliated companies with 120 investors. Christina is committed to driving innovation, visibility, and impact across industries.
Making The Most of DI
panel
panel
Host Committee
Jonathon Perrelli
Jonathon Perrelli is Managing Partner and Founder of Fortify Ventures. A serial entrepreneur turned early stage investor, Jonathon has backed companies like Inertial Labs, Plaxo, and FormStack. He co-created the Distilled Intelligence pitch competition, where Fortify discovered companies such as Hinge, ID.me, and Social Tables.
panel
panel
Jon Peyton
Jon Peyton is the Managing Partner of investment bank Sell Side Securities. He supports founders through the scale to sale process with capital raises, M&A, and secondary market transactions. Jon leads a founder-centric ecosystem of five companies - including Founders Accounting, Value Creation Consultancy, C-Suite Planning, and Different Investments.
Callye Keen
Callye Keen is the CEO of Kform, a defense innovation company advancing technology commercialization. He has collaborated on hundreds of products for entrepreneurs, startups, and corporations, while also launching and selling his own ventures across industries. He additionally serves as CMO of Startups Ignite.
Amelia DeSorrento
Amelia DeSorrento is a cofounder and board member of the Agora Initiative and Director of Client Delivery at Solestiss, advising nuclear developers, utilities, and Fortune 100 firms. She previously co-founded Hatch Apps and has written for leading outlets. Amelia is a Forbes 30 Under 30 and Washingtonian Tech Titan honoree.
Ann Marie Guzzi
Ann Marie is a cofounder of the Agora Initiative, supporting female founders in the DMV raising institutional capital. She also runs Dalmatian Ops, a consultancy for VC-backed startups on operations and strategy. Previously, she led product and GTM at Koalafi and worked in product at Mastercard and APT.
Chris Waldron
Chris Waldron is CMO of Baby Bathwater Institute and a founder coach at ChrisWaldron.com. Over 19 years he has founded or acquired 10 companies with 4 exits. As a coach, he’s worked with 120+ growth-stage founders, emphasizing core values and data-driven execution, and now helps select clients transform marketing with strong teams and clear processes.
Lisa Throckmorton
Lisa Throckmorton is Managing Partner at REQ PR, where she leads strategy and operations to help startups and growth companies own their narratives. A recognized leader in DC’s innovation scene, she brings market insight, creativity, and operational rigor to elevate brands, drive visibility, and fuel growth in competitive environments.
FAQs
Meticulously curated itinerary
To enable connection between the highest caliber founders and the investors who should meet them.
