History

The earliest wish for Halcyon was to create a haven for the people who need it most. Equipped with the right tools and community, they could realize incredible, world-changing ideas that might not otherwise see the light of day. The success of the Halcyon Incubator, first launched in 2014, led to the establishment of Halcyon as an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2017.

2011

  • Halcyon House is purchased by S&R Foundation as the headquarters for a yet-to-be-named cutting edge incubator dedicated to social enterprise.

2014

  • Halcyon Incubator is established as a program within S&R Foundation, and Cohort 1 is introduced.

2015

  • The Incubator is a hit! Two cohorts are introduced this year, one in the spring and one in the fall, landing on the rhythm for flagship Incubator fellowships that we’ve had ever since.
  • S&R Foundation acquires the Fillmore School in Georgetown to be the future home of additional Halcyon programming.

2016

  • Twelve D.C.-based artists are selected to pilot an arts-oriented fellowship program.

2017

  • Co-founders Dr. Sachiko Kuno and Kate Goodall launch Halcyon as an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, “an exciting non-profit organization emerging from S&R Foundation designed to seek and celebrate creativity in all forms.”
  • The Fillmore School becomes Halcyon Arts Lab, home of Halcyon’s arts programming, including a performance-based initiative called Halcyon Stage, and a residential fellowship program.
  • Halcyon launches the Halcyon Dialogue, an annual roundtable discussion on innovative topics like robotics, AI, and digital privacy. The program set the tone for a tradition of powerful future-oriented conversations taking place at Halcyon.

2018

  • Halcyon introduces a dialogue series called Fast Forward, featuring visionary women founders and CEOS in conversation with BlueMercury CEO and Co-Founder Marla Beck. Over the course of 2018 and 2019, the series draws speakers like Salamander Hotels & Resorts Founder Sheila Johnson, Ellevest Founder Sallie Krawcheck, and Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky, among others.
  • The first international Incubator intensive programs draw a cohort of entrepreneurs from South Korea and another all-female cohort from Saudi Arabia.
Four incubator fellows in hijabs at Halcyon incubator cohort kickoff

2019

  • By The People 2019 draws over 38,000, with local economic impact in excess of $3.8 million.
  • Halcyon receives funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to form the Halcyon Angels, a regional angel network to grow the pool of angel investors and expand access to capital for impact-driven businesses.

2020

  • The first Halcyon Incubator Opportunity Intensive offers year-long programming for social enterprise founders local to D.C. whose ventures are based in or impact designated Opportunity Zones.

2021

  • From June-September, Intensive Fellows from the Black Girl Ventures x Halcyon Intensive, the 2021 Opportunity Intensive, and the 2021 Bahrain Women’s Intensive visit Halcyon for residencies.
  • Halcyon launches the Halcyon Microloan Fund, created in partnership with the Kimsey Foundation, that will allow for continued support of social entrepreneurs looking for alternative funding vehicles to infuse their ventures with capital.
  • A bold new brand for Halcyon includes a fresh mission statement, “To accelerate the impact-driven future of business,” as Halcyon announces plans to move away from the arts to focus on impact-driven business.

2022

  • Halcyon launches two new fellowships! The Future Builders fellowship supports 10 extraordinary Black and Latinx women & nonbinary founders from across the United States to solve 21st century problems. The Halcyon/AWS Africa Intensive serves tech-enabled entrepreneurs from sub-Saharan Africa. 

2023

  • Halcyon launches two more fellowships! The Halcyon Food & AgTech in Africa Fellowship supports entrepreneurs with innovative solutions that can improve the livelihoods of farmers while increasing access to quality food for the most vulnerable. The Halcyon Climate Resilience in Latin American and the Caribbean Fellowship supports entrepreneurs that seek to build climate resilience to combat the compounding effects of climate change on poverty, food insecurity, health disparities, and displacement. 
  • A big leadership transition takes place with founding CEO Kate Goodall stepping into a new role. She, alongside Dahna Goldstein, Halcyon Chief Investment Officer, will join to create a new independent entity investing in Halcyon ventures and other startups focused on Climate, Health, and EquityTech.   
  • Halcyon hones its focus in Climate, Health, and EquityTech. As ever our programs provide early-stage entrepreneurs access resources that help build their ventures, but with renewed energy on these three themes. Halcyon is expanding its community to serve founders in both the U.S. as well as around the world because we know that innovation can’t be contained by geography.

2024

  • Dan Barker becomes the President and CEO of Halcyon, having previously served as Halcyon’s Managing Director.
  • Halcyon launches its inaugural Climate, Health, and EquityTech residential fellowships.
  • Halcyon celebrates its milestone 10-year anniversary with Halcyon Homecoming, a three-day event bringing together Halcyon alumni, partners, and community members from across the globe to reconnect, reminisce, and build towards another decade of success together. A key part of Halcyon Homecoming was the Halcyon Innovation Summit, a day-long conference featuring panels, keynotes, and networking opportunities with leading industry experts. Check out a recap video below.