Entrepreneurship
Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) November 05, 2014
DAASN is proud to be an Enthusiast sponsor for Tedco's 4th Annual Entrepreneur Expo and a Major sponser of Startup Maryland.
Startup Maryland Announces Great Eight Finalists and Fan Favorites for
2014 Pitch Across Maryland Tour
Diversity of Industries and Opportunities Defines the Third Annual State-Wide Tour and Celebration of Maryland Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Startup Maryland (http://www.startupmd.org) today announced the Great Eight (8) Finalists and three (3) Fan Favorites from the 2014 Pitch Across Maryland celebration.
After assembling more than 150 video pitches from Maryland entrepreneurs that were captured during the three-week Pitch Across Maryland tour | celebration, Startup Maryland is proud to announce the eight finalists as well as the three startups with the most view-votes. Companies from both categories are listed below (with tour stop) and link to their pitch video:
Great 8 Finalists:
Eventuosity (Carroll County)
Full Society (Johns Hopkins Innovation Factory Mosh Pit)
Brinkbit (University of Baltimore)
Dose Smart (UMBC/bwTECH)
Quatrove (UberOffices)
Organarchy (Cumberland/Allegany County)
Appian Medical (Annapolis/State Capitol)
Vheda Health (Howard County/MCE)
"The social network was abuzz over the past month with participants and their supporters getting the word out about their pitch videos," stated Michael Binko, founder and president of Startup Maryland. "From journalists and broadcast news outlets to active venture investors the interest in the Pitch Across Maryland demonstrates how vibrant our innovation economy is throughout the state."
Fan Favorites: All located on Youtube for your review.
Successful Startup 101 (Hagerstown)
Kitchology (Montgomery County)
Mookie (UberOffices)
"The deal-flow aspect of the Pitch Across Maryland is undeniable as the video pitch format gives entrepreneurs a much longer 'tail of the dog' for awareness of their business ideas. Investors, supporters and influencers can activate their social networks much quicker with a hyper-link to a 3-5 minute video rather than circulating an executive summary document," added Binko.
A more intangible factor is the human element.
"Nothing sells a concept or business idea better than the entrepreneur themselves. The passion, enthusiasm and determination captured in the video format also gives investors much more than the dry statistics and lack of depth of the typical business plan," concluded Binko.
The Fan Favorite portion of the competition was a fun activity that Startup Maryland added as a second component of the pitch competition to keep the awareness and celebration aspects of the tour at a high level. The Great Eight Finalists were winnowed by a panel of serial entrepreneurs, industry thought-leaders and active angel/VC investors.
All eight finalists will present their pitches again in a slightly longer and more formal format at the 2014 TEDCO Entrepreneur Expo. At the Expo, a Winner and Runner-up will be selected by a second panel of experts. The Winner and Runner-up are automatically catapulted into the second round of DBED's InvesMaryland Challenge - a startup pitch competition with more than $1million in early stage investment and prizes awarded to high growth potential ventures.
TEDCO’s Entrepreneur Expo brings together all of Maryland’s entrepreneurial resources from across the state into one place, at one time on November 12, 2014 at the BWI Airport Marriott. There will be Inspirational speakers, workshops, roundtable discussions, investor pitches and more!
Keynote Speakers include:
David Rose
CEO of Gust
Founder of New York Angels
Paul Reed Smith
Founder of PRS Guitars
Enjoy 'Firseside Chats' with:
Dave Baggett
Founder & CEO
inky.com
Heidi Sandreuter
VP, Women's Marketing
Under Armour
Kwame Kuadey
CEO & Founder
GiftCardRescue.com
Suzy Ganz
CEO
Lions Brothers Inc.
By attending the 2014 Entrepreneur Expo you will be able to:
1. Meet 500+ of the regions top entrepreneurs, small business executives, investors,
federal and state economic development officials, university leaders and legislators
2. Hear inspiring keynote speakers and fireside chats
3. Get a chance to pitch your company to Baltimore Angels and Dingman Angels
4. Speed-date with 40 mentors experienced in technology and life sciences industries
5. Gather knowledge from 50+ entrepreneur speakers and get hands on experience in perfecting your pitch, hiring & firing, doing market research and gaining traction
To learn more visit http://www.innovatemd.com/ and to register click HERE.
