TEDCO Joins as Full Tour Sponsor for Third Annual Pitch Across Maryland Tour and Competition
ALL WAYPOINTS, Maryland (September 9, 2014) Startup Maryland announced support from TEDCO (www.tedco.md) as a full-tour sponsor of the Pitch Across Maryland 2014, the third annual state-wide tour and celebration of entrepreneurship and startup companies.
Starting on September 15 and running through October 3 the Pitch Across Maryland tour will again traverse the state all in the name of celebrating Maryland’s diverse communities of venture building.
“Maryland’s innovation economy is front-and-center in many of the most lucrative industry and innovation categories,” stated Michael Binko, founder of Startup Maryland. “From traditional ‘feds, eds and meds’ (government/education/healthcare/life sciences-bio), to cloud computing, cyber-security, creative/arts, clean energy/green, to autonomous systems, Maryland entrepreneurs are breeding innovation ventures that are disrupting a wide array of industry sectors and TEDCO has consistently been the recognized leader in early-stage resource commitments.”
With several new venture funds, mentorship, training and tech transfer programs unveiled in recent years, TEDCO constitutes a rare combination of research-based venture building that also impacts workforce and economic development not only in Maryland but across the Mid-Atlantic geographic region and numerous industry sectors.
“Startup Maryland complements our efforts nicely with its concentration on grassroots entrepreneur community development and peer-to-peer stewardship,” stated Robert Rosenbaum, president|CEO of TEDCO. “The video pitch competition aspect of the Pitch Across Maryland is very unique. While giving the celebration aspects of the tour a ‘long tail’ the effort also gives startup supporters a one-stop-shop for discovering Maryland’s high growth potential ventures,” Rosenbaum added.
A sampling of details, key data and results from the 2013 tour follow:
32 tour stops around the state in 2013; 25 in 2012
- More than 45 “Rock Star” tour sponsors/partners including (universities, economic development agencies, angel/VC investors, incubators/accelerators, affinity brand owners, sponsors)
- Months of active media coverage; more than 1 million press impressions
- More than 475 startups attended tour events in 2012 and 2013; 168 startups “pitched” their idea/business in 2012 with another 161 in 2013.
- Startups vie for declarations as Fan Favorites (3) and Finalists (8).
- Startup Maryland jumped to # 1 in startup density (# of startups per million population) a key metric for Startup America/UPGlobal
- Startup Maryland was invited to the White House and Capitol Hill to brief Office of the President teams on how to cultivate strong startup communities
At each Pitch Across Maryland tour stop, Startup Maryland and Tour Sponsors like TEDCO co-host rallies sharing information about the incredible entrepreneurial communities across the state. Additionally, entrepreneurs are provided coaching, guidance and support from business mentors and other leaders as well as active angel/VC investors.
As the tour unfolds, entrepreneurs climb onto the bus and pitch their idea/business in the mobile UpStart Show™ video studio. Videos are uploaded to YouTube® and then open to public viewing/voting. This aspect of the competition allows the entrepreneurs, sponsors, investors and tour hosts to activate social networks for even broader awareness and celebration for the month following the Tour. The eight Best Ventures for High Growth Potential Finalists are invited to present at the annual TEDCO Entrepreneur Expo which will be held this year on November 12 – www.innovatemd.com.
For more information see scheduled Pitch Across Maryland tour dates and tentative route locations below and visit http://www.startupmd.org for regular updates.
| PITCH ACROSS MARYLAND 2014 – TOUR STOPS: SEPT. 15 – OCT. 3, 2014 | ||
| DAY | DATE | TOUR STOP LOCATIONS |
| Mon. | Sept. 15 | Coastal / WiWo: Ocean City / Salisbury / HotDesks |
| Tues. | Sept. 16 | East Bay: Dorchester (Hooper Island) / Talbot (Easton) |
| Wed. | Sept. 17 | Mid-Bay: Best Pitch Bridge / Chestertown (GIS) / PRSGuitars |
| Thurs. | Sept. 18 | Charm City: uBalt / East Baltimore-COPT / Baltimore: M|I|C/A+Project1 |
| Fri. | Sept. 19 | Towson / Mindgrub / Under Armour: Innovation Celebration w/ BIWeek |
| Mon. | Sept. 22 | Continental / Great Valley: Cumberland / Hagerstown |
| Tues. | Sept. 23 | Piedmont: Carroll / Frederick |
| Wed. | Sept. 24 | Southern MD: St. Marys County (Lexington Park) / Metro: UMD |
| Thurs. | Sept. 25 | Tour Break – Observance of Rosh Hashanna |
| Fri. | Sept. 26 | Washington DC-Commerce Dept / Navy Yard |
| Mon. | Sept. 29 | Central 1: “Cyber Day”: TCS / CIC (Ft. Meade) |
| Tues. | Sept. 30 | Central 2: Howard County / MCE / COPT |
| Wed. | Oct. 1 | MoCo/MCCC: IBBR+NCCoE@USG / Bethesda (UberOffices) |
| Thurs. | Oct. 2 | COPT: Harford County / Baltimore (UMBC) |
| Fri. | Oct. 3 | Annapolis: Naval Academy+CyberMaryland / State Capitol / After+VIP |
About Startup Maryland:
Startup Maryland (www.startupmd.org) is a regions initiative launched out of the Startup America Partnership (now UPGlobal, www.up.co). Driven from within the community and led by entrepreneurs Startup Maryland strives to remain nimble and inclusive. Startup Maryland works to connect innovation communities and rallies entrepreneurs, supporters and other innovation stakeholders around four main initiatives: Connection, Celebration, Coaching, and Capital while also bringing together entrepreneurs in a community of support to drive greater economic outcomes.
For more detailed information check out www.startupmaryland.org or contact Startup Maryland founder Michael Binko at: mbinko@kloudtrack.com; or Event Coordinator Michele Palmer at: michele@weplan-youparty.com