Applications For Maryland's International Business Competition Due December 12
BALTIMORE, Nov. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The InvestMaryland Challenge, Maryland's international business competition, will award startups more than $600,000 in cash and services, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) announced today. For the first time in its three-year history, all four of the Challenge categories are open to companies outside of Maryland. The prize pool, which will continue to grow in the coming months, consists of cash grants, incubator memberships, consulting services, opportunities to pitch local investors, and other awards. Applications are due December 12.
Past InvestMaryland Challenge winners created a video urging early-stage business owners to enter the Challenge. Since bringing home $100,000 grand prizes, these entrepreneurs have hired new workers, launched new product lines and earned new investment.
"Maryland is the #1 state in the country for innovation and entrepreneurship, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the InvestMaryland Challenge is a perfect example of why we've held that distinction for three years in a row," said DBED Secretary Dominick Murray. "With the support of the public and private sector, Maryland fosters an environment where young, high-tech companies and small businesses find the support they need to grow and compete on the international stage."
The roster of Challenge judges is an impressive array of investors, successful serial entrepreneurs, executives and consultants, including Chuck Cullen (Grotech Ventures), Elana Fine (Dingman Angels), Bill Kingsley (EnerTech Capital), Matthew Miessau (Epidarex Capital) and Greg Cangialosi and Sean McElroy (Baltimore Angels). Other judges include Mojdeh Bahar, Assistant Administrator for Technology Transfer, USDA Agricultural Research Service; Zeki Mokhtarzada, CTO of webs.com; and 10 U.S. Army Research Lab experts.
About 100 companies, from Maryland, other states, and overseas, have already entered the Challenge. They will compete in four categories — Information Technology, Defense and Security, Life Sciences, and Sustainability and Exploration. The winner of each will receive a $100,000 grant from DBED. Other prizes include incubator memberships at the Army Research Lab valued at $75,000 each; $5,000 in preclinical drug development services from Noble Life Sciences; and $10,000 in consulting services from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
The Challenge is limited to companies with fewer than 25 employees and less than $1 million in annual revenue. Out-of-state and country winners will have to establish an office in Maryland and spend a majority of the funding here if they win a top prize.
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5E8EUcTAos
SOURCE Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED)
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