Pava LaPere’s family wants to turn her legacy into lasting support for student entrepreneurs with new plans for a foundation focused on expanding access to early-stage startup resources in Maryland.
The effort is still in its early stages, but Frank LaPere, father of the late founder of Baltimore startup EcoMap Technologies, is working with a group of friends, former colleagues and other members of Baltimore’s entrepreneurial community to identify where a foundation could make the most impact.
“We want to create a foundation that helps support student entrepreneurs in areas that aren’t necessarily being serviced right now by the other great providers in the area.”
Frank LaPere, father of the late Ecomap Technologies founder Pava LaPere
Right now, LaPere is considering expanding support at the high school level, though the foundation’s focus has not yet been finalized. One thing is clear: The new org will avoid duplicating work already underway by groups such as the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and TEDCO, LaPere said at the second annual Maryland Student Venture Showcase on Feb. 19.
“We want to create a foundation that helps support student entrepreneurs in areas that aren’t necessarily being serviced right now by the other great providers in the area,” LaPere told Technical.ly.
The foundation builds on ongoing work to cement Pava’s legacy, including the Pava Innovation Awards, which celebrate Baltimore’s student entrepreneurs, and the Student Venture Showcase, which gives those award winners a chance to exhibit their ideas.
This year’s showcase, hosted by UpSurge at the 4MLK building, recognized nine student-founded companies that each received $50,000 from a funding pool created by the Pava LaPere Legacy of Innovation Act of 2024.
The grant program is administered by TEDCO for Baltimore-area startups, and awardees also receive mentorship and strategic guidance from an advisory board.
Scroll on to see the young startup ideas featured at the event.
5 students share innovations from EVs to vintage shopping
Several ventures pitched their ideas in front of Baltimore ecosystem heavyweights.
ACC Industries from Loyola University
A team of engineering students is developing an electric vehicle battery designed for easier recycling. They plan to initially target the retrofitting market, focusing on enthusiasts who convert classic cars to electric power.
Event Hopper from Towson University
Trevor Brake runs the Rosebud Flea, a pop-up vintage market that hosts events from Towson to Newark, Delaware. While organizing those events, he saw firsthand how difficult it can be to manage the logistics. Event Hopper aims to streamline the process with a platform that handles vendor applications and payments, and features an interactive booth map.
Heisler Semiconductor from Johns Hopkins University
The company provides semiconductor packaging and laser processing services to manufacturers. Its team works with over 30 clients, primarily military contractors and startups across the mid-Atlantic region.
iBraid from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Velma Funebe knows firsthand how tricky it can be to braid your own hair. The professional braider wants to tackle that challenge head-on with iBraid, an augmented reality app designed to help with the first, and often most frustrating step: parting. The app already has a beta test waitlist of more than 700 users.
Modelus from Johns Hopkins University
Modelus is building a platform to help researchers get more reliable results from organoids, or the lab-grown human cell models increasingly used in drug discovery instead of animals. Because organoids can vary widely between batches, the platform adds a layer of quality control, helping scientists catch inconsistencies early and reduce costly missteps.
More exhibitors and featured lessons on AI
Awardees who opted not to pitch instead hosted tables to showcase their companies, including Strike Sense, a startup turning martial arts chest protectors into an electronic, gamified training system.
The showcase also featured a presentation from a Baltimore Innovation Initiative awardee, PointeSense. It’s part of the TEDCO program that launched a pilot this year to support innovation at local higher education institutions.
PointeSense is developing a sensor for ballet pointe shoes designed to help dancers monitor strain and prevent injuries.
Experts also shared insights to help students through a topic on every entrepreneur’s mind these days: incorporating AI into business plans.
Nick Culbertson, managing director of Techstars AI Health Baltimore, spoke about how the rise of AI has raised the bar for venture funding. But he also noted a silver lining. The technology is making it easier for non-software engineers to bring products to market.
“There’s a good version of the story, and there’s a bad version of the story,” Culbertson said. “We really need to focus on that good version of the story and the opportunities to create and solve problems.”
