Incubating Tomorrow: Eclectic LLC
By • March 11, 2026 0 403
There is something infectious about the enthusiasm and energy that emanates from Nita Chiruvella and Skye Jannery-Barney, the founders of Eclectic LLC, a new organization for young D.C.-area entrepreneurs.
Perhaps the better word is optimism.
The duo’s next-generation incubator, which they refer to as a “tech-enabled social platform,” started three years ago. Its aim: to build a new community through gatherings, workshops, events, mentoring and, down the road, connecting young entrepreneurs with potential investors.
Daniel Mehari was one of the first to sign up as a member, having started his own sports-related software business.
“What drew me to them was the environment they were creating for young entrepreneurs, starting their own careers,” says Mehari. “I don’t have many connections that have started businesses, so seeing other people my own age starting and going through this, it’s encouraging.”
At a time when the city is still bouncing back from its Covid hangover, and remote work has isolated so many, especially those going it alone, Eclectic’s mix of social platform, entrepreneurial nurturing and shared journey is a model made for the moment.
For Paxton Baker, who has developed and owned D.C. companies ranging from broadcast networks to professional sports — including part ownership of the Nats and the now-professional women’s soccer team DC Power — it was the energy that got him to hop on board.
“Skye and Nita are two firebrand young ladies who are very creative. Each has her own energy, and it is the energy between them that drives this whole thing. That energy drives creativity.”
Baker is one of Eclectic’s “Board of Champions” that Chiruvella and Jannery-Barney recruited: entrepreneurs from an earlier generation who provide advice and mentoring to the 20-to-29-year-old newcomers selected through a rigorous interview process.
Another of those Champions is Georgetowner Julie Chase, who built a multicity PR firm before selling it and starting another. “These young women are an anchor resource for the next generation of entrepreneurs. They have created a place that can bring people together to create symmetries, make strategic introductions, to find opportunities and partnerships across industries,” says Chase. “There is nothing like this in the area.”
Among the current cohort: three IT startup founders, an entrepreneur developing a methodology in sports medicine, a music management label and a live-design stylist who paints custom pieces at events.
Rachel Giles came to Eclectic through its Sunday Sessions, a recurring gathering anchored by DJs and live artists that sits somewhere between a social mixer and a creative showcase.
“Eclectic inspired me to do this,” she explains. “Seeing what they did, especially that it was women-owned, made it feel possible. I wanted to bring a different aspect to networking events. Something more interactive than fashion.” She credits the community’s orientation toward connection across industries and backgrounds with broadening her own sense of what she might do.
It’s not the first time the city has been invigorated by an incubator. From 2013 to 2017, 1776 helped jump-start an entrepreneurial boom here. Before that, the truism was that D.C. only manufactured one thing: power. 1776 sparked a burst of small business before overexpansion and the arrival of shared-office goliath WeWork led to its closing.
But Eclectic is blazing its own path. Like most incubators, 1776 was driven by a financial imperative to get money for the startups. Chiruvella and Jannery-Barney are trying a different approach: Money is good, community is better.
As Baker puts it: “They are reexploring what exists with a new, young, mental framework.”
Running an incubator for the next generation of entrepreneurs was not the original plan. Initially, there was a less formal business motive, as the pair focused on events like a boat tie-up on the Georgetown waterfront and club gatherings. They soon realized, however, that there was a generation of young entrepreneurs going it alone out there and aching for community. But that doesn’t mean their events have lost their style. The next is on March 28 at the Aston Martin showroom in Ashburn.
That Chiruvella and Jannery-Barney ended up doing this comes as little surprise to their old high school friends. One friend from that period, Gabi Youssef, remembers their legendary parties, which brought high schoolers from all over together. (Chiruvella attended Langley High School while Jannery-Barney went to the Madeira School.)
The new membership program that began at the start of the year is just the beginning. The two founders are still refining their platform, working out where it goes, adding workshops, hosting events and making their great office space available for their members. There are plans to also become a bridge between potential investors and the young entrepreneurs, with a whisper of starting their own investment fund. The grand plan is to expand to other cities and franchise the model.
For Champions Baker and Chase, the experience is also rewarding. Says Baker: “It’s refreshing working with younger entrepreneurial people, who tend to underestimate how much time it takes.” Says Chase: “It’s about giving people the backbone to go forward. And it’s fun to help young people who have a glint of future success, but who need more emotional and professional support.”
As so much weighs on our city these days, Eclectic provides a happier vision for moving forward. One that is defined by optimism, the exuberance of youth and the potential of what’s to come.
