March 2017 Newsletter
TEDCO Spotlight:  Point3 Security, Inc.

To address the underserved cybersecurity needs of small and middle market businesses, Baltimore-based  Point3 Security, Inc., a startup in the Emerging Technology Center incubator in Highlandtown, developed technology that makes the talent of malware analysts available to businesses who previously have not had access to this skill set. 

Leveraging their NSA experiences, co-founders Evan Dornbush and John Rigney identified a novel approach to detecting hackers, who increasingly are able to circumvent firewalls and anti-virus.  Rather than looking for the files bad guys use, Point3 looks for unavoidable traces left behind when adversaries bypass defenses. More>

What's Happening @ TEDCO?

Brian Corbett joined TEDCO as the director for the Seed Investment Funds. TEDCO's Seed Investments exist to support certain types of Maryland companies in their effort to develop and commercialize new technology-based products. TEDCO makes investments in these companies so they can reach a critical milestone in their product development efforts and advance their technologies further along the commercialization pathway, which will increase the company's valuation and lead to follow-on investment, sustainability, and job creation.



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Jennifer Hammaker, director of the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII), was chosen for Leadership Maryland Class of 2017. MII was created as a partnership between the State of Maryland and five Maryland academic research institutions (Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University, University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Baltimore and University of Maryland Baltimore County.) The program is designed to promote commercialization of research conducted in the partnership universities and leverage each institution's strengths. 


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MERL provides a list of entrepreneurs who are available to mentor or provide leadership to early stage companies. MERL can be used by innovators who need an entrepreneur to commercialize their technology or by university and federal laboratory technology transfer professionals who want to identify management for a start-up opportunity being developed at their institution. The next MERL Office Hours is March 31, 2017 from 9-11 a.m. at TEDCO in Columbia; RSVP to Dr. Linda Saffer at  lsaffer@tedco.md  .



In The News

Johns Hopkins, the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund and BioCardia (NSDQ:BCDA) said today that the 1st patient has been treated in a pivotal Phase III trial of the CardiAmp cell-based therapy for the treatment of ischemic heart failure.

With a new fund for Black entrepreneurs and a streamlined process for its seed funding, the economic development group is undergoing a major refresh.

State support for innovation is working. From the biotech and cyber security tax credits given to angel investors of Maryland-based companies, to the Maryland Venture Fund to TEDCO, the state has played a critical role in providing much needed funding for all stages of technology commercialization.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation and The Harbor Bank of Maryland Community Development Corporation have launched a pilot program to provide pre-seed capital and mentor minority tech entrepreneurs in the state.

Leadership Maryland announced that Jennifer J. Hammaker '17, Director, Maryland Innovation Initiative at Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO), has been chosen to participate in the professional development program dedicated to building a better Maryland by harnessing the strength of its local business and community leaders.

Untethered, which launched nearly two years ago, is backed by over $575,000 in seed funding. Last year, it received $100,000 from the state-backed Maryland Technology Development Corp.

Over the course of four quarterly rounds over the next year, the new Minority Business Pre-Seed fund will award up to 10 African-American entrepreneurs with an investment up to $40,000 each to test business assumptions and build prototypes for initial market testing.

Maryland Technology Development Corp. and Harbor Bank are teaming up to help fund startup ideas for black entrepreneurs.

The Maryland Technology Development Corp. and a division of one the state's biggest minority-owned banks are teaming up to start a program aimed at providing early funding to African-American startups

The key to innovation districts is to drive not only growth of favored business sectors (for Baltimore, cyber, health care, ed-tech...) but to do so in a way that includes advancement for the economically disadvantaged. 


Upcoming Events

Featured EventMII I-Corps Workshop May 23 - July 12, 2017
TEDCO and the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) are excited to host this Regional I-Corps cohort at our corporate offices in Columbia, for the first time! TEDCO is a convenient location and it will allow the teams and TEDCO staff to engage with one another during the kick-off and closing sessions. This course introduces participants to the key concepts and methodologies used in I-Corps, which is the rigorous market assessment and validation program pioneered by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Teams that successfully complete this course will be eligible to apply for the NSF I-Corps program. Now accepting applications.

Accelerate your green technology or advanced manufacturing business with NIST!
Monday, April 10, 2017 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM 
Heritage Room, NIST Campus, Gaithersburg, MD

Now is the time to grow and diversify your green technology or advanced manufacturing business by partnering with the researchers, and gaining access to patent protected IP and the unique facilities and equipment at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). If you have read this far, this event is for you.  We invite you to hear from and network with the NIST researchers and learn how to access the NIST technological innovations, competencies, and capabilities that can further your business.

As the world's leading physical sciences laboratory, NIST conducts research that supports nearly every segment of the U.S. and World economies. To fulfill its technology transfer mission, NIST and its partners at the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) invite you to transform existing federal resources into new business opportunities, job, and economic growth. More>

Additional Upcoming Events:

Intellectual Property Workshop, March 15 from 3-5 p.m. at Salisbury University

Maryland Cybersecurity Awards Celebration , March 22 from 5:30 - 8 p.m. in Baltimore

Light City Festival , March 31-April 8 in Baltimore

Entrepreneurship & Innovation Expo, April 3 from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. at UMB

Venture Intelligence, April 12-May 24 at Launch Workplaces in Gaithersburg

Funding Your Business Workshop, May 5 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Hagerstown Community College

SAVE THE DATE: Annual ICE Awards, May 25 at the Institute of Marine & Environmental Technology; program that recognizes outstanding businesses and individuals from TEDCO's diverse portfolio of more than 300 seed and early-stage companies