I'm doing similar contracting work in DC and still find tons of opportunities to use Python, even though it's not required for my field. Even as the business guy, you have to do a lot of your own business logic tasks (Excel dashboards, scorecarding, etc) - Python makes them all a lot easier.

If you want a way to wet your feet in the startup community, come to one of the two Startup Weekends coming up in DC. One's at Georgetown and the other at the Microsoft building in Friendship Heights. It's low commitment from you but still a way to meet people and maybe make something happen.