Frederick, MD, July 2020 – TheCommunity Growth Accelerator Program, The Edge, welcomed its 2020 Cohort of 14 new startup companies. Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc (FITCI) leadership and mentors of The Edge’s program decided to transition this year’s courses and activities to an online delivery for the first time. These steps were taken, rather than postponement, to provide local entrepreneurs with much needed help during these challenging times.
The program launched its Introduction Week on June 30th and commenced with Week 1 classes on July 6th. Over the next 12 weeks, the selected entrepreneurs will receive in-depth, customized mentorship, guidance and resources, as a part of this intensive, boot-camp style course aimed at revving the start-up learning curve. Local mentors and lecturers will be aiding participants as they dive deep into topics including building a better business model, doing market research, concise communications, and capital considerations. The program will have more than 40 local entrepreneurs, CEOs and business leaders who volunteer on a weekly basis as mentors and lecturers.
“Cooperative support is the strength of this program,” said FITCI CEO Kathie Callahan Brady. “We are immensely grateful to all of our lecturers and mentors who are so dedicated to the success of our startups. It’s the right environment and the right time for shaping dedicated, well-informed business leaders who will augment the rich diversity of opportunity in this community as they go out and change the world.”
The 12-week accelerator will culminate with the Demo Day, a pitch competition in front of a panel of investors and judges, where all participants will have an opportunity to test their pitch decks, win prizes, and gain access to valuable partnerships.
We are proud to announce these fourteen startups that have been selected to join our industry-agnostic 2020 Cohort:
Allow Me! New Market, MD, CEO: Sharry Veil
Brokkr Technologies, Middletown, MD, CEO: Andy Hessler
Cornerstone Genomics, CEO: Jill Pecon-Slattery
David Weigelt, Frederick MD
Finply Analytics, Potomac, MD, CEO: Luis Aguilar Levy
Frederick Cat Café, Frederick MD, CEO: Cynthia Richards
Incremental Health Care, Gaithersburg, MD, CEO: Nick van Terheyden
Jennifer Storm, Frederick, MD
Kayvo, Frederick, MD, CEO: Ayodeji Abraham
RebuImmunity, Frederick MD, CEO: Yunbiao Lu
Revolution Modern Dance, Frederick, MD, CEO: Amanda Comi
StepFusion Solutions, Frederick, MD, CEO: Bruce DeShong
Samantha Berenschot-Bucciero, Frederick, MD
Tumy Tech, Adamstown, MD, CEO: Brad Tumy
We would like to thank our gracious and talented instructors for helping teach this amazing group of entrepreneurs. FITCI is blessed to have such a wide range of talent and skills from so many different companies. Instructors for 2020 cohort are: Jonathan Boehman – HOME INSTEAD Inc, Vladimir Popov – FREDERICK NATIONAL LAB, Ray Crowell – HUMBLE VC, Darryl Glick – DALE CARNEGIE, John Hickman – SALISBURY UNIVERSITY, Diane McFarland – SBDC, Danny Farrar – CEO SOLDER FIT, Whitney Hahn – CEO DIGITAL BARD, Mary Jo Anderson – HOOD COLLEGE, Michael Unruh – Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship – MOUNT ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY, Graham Dodge – Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory (MAGIC), Anne Balduzzi – TEDCO, and Kathie Callahan Brady – FITCI.
This accelerator program is made special by not only the instructors but also by the connections and talent of the many Mentors who volunteer their time. The Edge’s first wave of Mentors currently include: Chris Pondoc, Amy Winchester, Kim Mozingo, Griffin St Louis, Jose Bueso, Amanda Haddaway, Jack Trammell, Teresa Mena, Barry Datloaf, Sue Carr, Daemon Price, Jim Pannucci, Tony Checchia, and Michelle Hoffman. (Note: not all are listed as the invites and confirmations are still in the process)
The Edge is considered a “Community” Growth Accelerator because of our incredible founding partners who have come together to connect our future entrepreneurs to needed resources. The Edge Founding partners, besides FITCI, are: Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research, Leaders on Loan of Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, Hood College, Frederick County, Frederick County Office of Economic Development, The City of Frederick, and Frederick City Department of Economic Development. We are especially grateful to our Funding Sponsor, Rural Maryland Council (RMC), and are looking forward to announcing our Demo Day sponsors soon.
For more information, and our weekly The Edge blog updates, please follow the link – https://www.fitci.org/the-edge.html
