Baltimore weekly roundup: A year of building strength; Maryland’s new innovation team; lessons from Hubble Telescope research

Welcome to the roundup of the latest from Baltimore's tech and entrepreneurship scene. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe for free.

Baltimore proves its resilience in 2024

The region faced new challenges this year but also introduced new supports for its entrepreneurs and technologists. 

An example is the Pava LaPere Legacy of Innovation Act, one of several initiatives honoring the legacy of the late EcoMap Technologies cofounder. $500,000 of the bipartisan bill’s authorized funds already supports a project bringing student entrepreneurs across Baltimore’s universities together. 

2024 boasted many more examples of Baltimore’s tech and innovation ecosystem building community and resilience for its longterm survival.  

➡️ Get more of the year’s highlights here

Gov. Moore appoints CIO to combat child poverty

Meet Francesca Ioffreda.

Maryland’s new chief innovation officer will lead a seven-person team to help different state agencies find and test solutions to alleviate child poverty.

“Francesca Ioffreda’s experience developing collaborative, data-driven solutions to big problems makes her the right choice to lead Maryland’s ambitious innovation agenda,” said Moore in a press release.

That wasn’t the only recent leadership move of note. A local university is calling for applications to a few entrepreneurship programs while the private sector announces new executives. 

➡️ Get up to speed on Baltimore’s latest Power Moves

News Incubator: What else to know

•  An astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute strung together astronomy, running and life lessons at an event hosted by Creative Mornings Baltimore. [Technical.ly]

• The coworking space Spark Baltimore is giving away a six-month single office membership for a small business or startup. Apply by Nov. 30. [Spark]

• A Charlotte, North Carolina-based cybersecurity firm won a pitch competition hosted by the Fulton startup foundry DataTribe. Frenos and three other companies split a $25,000 award. [DataTribe]

• Former Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor Martin O’Malley announced he’s running for chair of the Democratic National Committee. [New York Times] 

• 1891 Angels, a new investment network founded by Johns Hopkins alumni, is only looking to invest in companies with ties to the university. [Baltimore Business Journal]

• The White House requested $98.4 billion in disaster aid, including funds to rebuild the Key Bridge. [Maryland Matters]

Meet potential investors face to face

NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers is hosting its fourth in-person event bringing together founders and funders. The startup-focused legal practice is accepting applications to participate from companies currently raising seed to Series A.

If selected for the My NEXT Raise Early Stage Founder Funder event on Dec. 12, you’ll get access to 3 hours of speed-dating with investors at the law firm’s Park Potomac, MD, office. And anyone who applies is welcome to the afternoon panel discussion titled “What is Investor Readiness and How to Achieve?” plus a 5 p.m. happy hour with investors in the room.

➡️ Apply for the 1:1 investor speed dating by Nov. 25

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🗓️ On the Calendar

• Nov. 22: Learn about how your business can develop a tech apprenticeship program. [Details here]

• Nov. 26: Meet up with fellow innovators ahead of Thanksgiving at Equitech Tuesday. [Details here]

• Dec. 7: Cowork with developers and technologists during Baltimore Code & Coffee at Spark. [Details here]

• Dec. 7: Looking for a career change? Head to a two-hour workshop on how to break into the industry. [Details here]