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The Edge Accelerator

The Edge Accelerator is an industry-agnostic accelerator program open to all entrepreneurs.

Stay tuned for news about our next cohort of The Edge Accelerator.

BENEFITS

Funding Opportunities

12-week Program

Entrepreneur Mentors

Experienced Lecturers

Investment Teams

Diverse Focus Groups

Benefits Package*

FITCI Space and Amenities*

* for companies that perform the best

The Edge accelerator offers intense, immersive education to rapidly advance the lifecycle of a startup.

Contact FITCI
To Learn More

FITCI is a proud partner in VIADUCT: A partnership to reinforce pathways to commercialization across Maryland.

The Edge Accelerator Demo Day 2024

Congratulations Forager Station Inc, the winner of the Demo Day Pitch Competition!

Thank you, Demo Day 2024 sponsors!

THE EDGE COMMUNITY MENTORS

Current and Past Community Mentors

David Gurzick

Associate Professor of Management

Hood College

Richard Griffin

Director of Economic Development

City of Frederick

Nina Lamba

Senior Program Manager in Office

BioHealth Technologies for Maryland Department of Commerce

Concetta Dudley

Interim General Counsel

Inspirion Biosciences

Barry Datlof

Chief , Business Dev. and Commercialization

USAMRMC

Ray Crowell

Angel Investor

Republic

Jack Trammell

Chair of Department of Sociology

Mount St. Mary’s University

Amanda Johnston

Executive Director

Fort Detrick Alliance

Jonathan Boehman

Director of Innovation

Immersion Active

Diane McFarland

Master Trainer / Marketing

Maryland SBDC

TJ Rainsford

Director of Information Analytics and Assessment

Mount St. Mary’s University

Heather Gramm

Senior Director, Strategic Industries and Entrepreneurship

MD Department of Commerce

Jose Bueso

President

Dynamic Automotive

Darryl Glick

Team Leader and Master Trainer

Dale Carnegie Training

Helen Propheter

Director

Office of Economic Development

Mark Luterman

CEO/Founder

Mark Luterman Enterprises

James Gorman

Vice President, Business Banking

M&T Bank

Vladimir Popov

Partnership Development Office Director

Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

Griffin St Louis

Program Manager

DefTech

Jim Pannucci

Director

FNL Partnership Development Office

Michael J. Driscoll

Dean of the Graduate School

Mount St. Mary’s University

Diane DeMarco

Founder and CEO

Marketing@Work

Mark Blacksten

Regional Manager

M&T Bank

Mary Ford – Naill

Economic Development Manager

City of Frederick

Patricia Torres Meyer

Higher Education Executive

Frederick Community College

Teresa Mena

Apprenticeship Navigator

Maryland Department of Labor

Chris Kline Jr.

Broker

Frederick Commercial Real Estate

Tony “C” Checchia

Owner/Broker

Verita Real Estate Advisors

Jeannie Fawley

Vice President

PNC Bank

Danny Farrar

CEO/Co-Founder

SoldierFit

Ellen Keyser

CEO/Owner

EKDesigns.com

PJ Bellomo

CEO

RocketDocs

Kathie Callahan Brady

Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc.

FOUNDING SPONSOR

Rural Maryland Council (RMC)

RMC brings together citizens, community-based organizations, federal, state, county, and municipal government officials as well as representatives of the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to collectively address the needs of Rural Maryland communities. RMC is the main funding sponsor for The Edge Accelerator.

Read more about RMC’s involvement in this project

FOUNDING PARTNERS

The Edge was launched with the help of the entire community, and with special gratitude to these six founding partners.

“Programs like these not only provide guidance and education to existing startups but also promote the formation of new companies. There is a strong initiative among federally funded labs to license, further develop, and ultimately commercialize certain technologies from their IP portfolios. Licensing to startup companies is definitely one way to go about this.
Vladimir Popov, FNLCR Business Development Manager

“They are getting a jumpstart that a lot of entrepreneurs learn the hard way over time. That is the big thing. It is so invaluable. I wish that I was able to participate in something like this when I started my business about 21 years ago.
Jonathan Boehman, , Immersion Active Director of Innovation

PAST DEMO DAY WINNERS

THE WINNER 2019

MERIDIAN TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS

Congratulations to Daemon Price and his team for winning The EDGE Accelerator Demo Day!!

THE WINNER 2020

Lissen Laboratories

Congratulations to Nick van Terheyden for winning The EDGE Accelerator Demo Day!!