These 8 companies make up the Hutch incubator’s Class of 2024

An octet of startups providing services for record management, cybersecurity, systems integration and data management will spend 24 months getting ready for the lucrative world of government contracts, thanks to their acceptance into the Hutch incubator.

Stephanie Chin, Hutch’s program manager since late 2020, said that the eight companies in this latest cohort come from Maryland, DC, Virginia and Texas. Though a press release terms this group Hutch’s “Class of 2024,” the members are soon to begin Hutch’s two-year program of mentorship and training in such areas as branding and contract work — all with the end goal of bringing more underrepresented founders into the government contract ecosystem.

Hutch was created in 2019 by Inner Harbor-based SaaS company Fearless with the mission of offering such founders “a blueprint for building successful, government-focused digital services firms.” Fearless has had its own tremendous success in this market, having recently secured a $1.1 million contract with the City of Baltimore a $67 million contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Both of these contracts have Fearless working with Hutch alums to modernize outdated or difficult-to-use government websites and databases.

“The biggest changes are improvements to the content and curriculum and the expansion of program partners and services,” Chin said in an email to Technical.ly. She added that the eight selectees were drawn from a pool of over 20 prospective cohort members. Here are the ones that made the cut:

• BlueMeta Technologies, which offers customized solutions in the development and maintenance of software, cloud architecture and data collection
• Boostaro, which provides data analytics and strategic development services to assist clients with organizational change and scaling
• CloudLeap Technologies, a developer of machine learning- and AI-driven data analytics services so clients can make better decisions from a myriad of data
• Flamelit Consulting, a Frisco, Texas-based IT consultancy that also uses AI and machine learning to inform clients’ development and delivery of services
• Lithe Solutions, an IT solutions, training and staffing consultancy out of Northern Virginia that also offers system integration and agile development capabilities
• Mebane Design Studio, which offers design and other creative services to a range of clients
• Pendulum Tyde, a records management company focused on transitioning clients to paperless services, headquartered in Laurel, Maryland
• TallyCode, a DC-based firm providing automation, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity and software development services, among others

Except where otherwise noted, all of the aforementioned companies are either HQ’d or have founders based in Baltimore and the surrounding counties.

Both within and beyond this cohort, Hutch is expanding courtesy of a $661,725 grant that the U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded it in late 2022. The money will help Hutch’s plans to scale up and grow 45 companies by 2025. That list of companies already includes such alums as XCell, Ey3 and Points North Studio, among others.