The list of nominees and winners in this year's NVTC Hot Tickets Award is an impressive group: (http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080626/pl_usnw/northern_virginia_technology_council_announces_finalists_and_winners_of_annual_hot_ticket_awards_program)

I know many (actually most) of these companies, and they certainly deserve the recognition.  Even those nominees that did not "win" are winners in my book.  But the real story is not just how many really good companies and entrepreneurial teams are represented by these lists.  The real story is that for every company listed, there are dozens of others who quietly toil away in relative obscurity, solving real problems and building real businesses.  That is where we should all get excited.

For many years, the DC region was almost 100% dominated by government contractors, government agencies, and related services.  The Telecom and Internet bubbles of the mid-late 90's changed that, but when the bubble popped in 1999/2000, accompanied by the telecom crash, things looked bleak for the non-government-related tech sector.  I personally know of some very, very talented entrepreneurs who fled the region to go to Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, and Denver.  It was a pretty grim period.

But it turns out that the rumors of the commercial tech sector's death have been greatly exaggerated.

To me, it sure looks like there is still a strong desire for folks to build real companies and real businesses that don't just sell to the government.  In fact, judging by the number of VC's in the region and their deal flow, it is pretty safe to say that things are looking pretty good.  No, we're not Silicon Valley.  But we sure are alive and kicking.