The end of the year is a time to think about what’s next for 2017, but it’s also worth reflecting on how we got here. We’re looking back at some of the themes that kept coming up in our coverage of Baltimore’s tech community in 2016. See the full list of 2016 trends here.
Entrepreneurs have been known to seek out inspiration every now and again, and in Baltimore they need look no further than Kevin Plank.
With his classic entrepreneur story, drive and love for making a big splash, Plank leads by example with Under Armour. He continues to focus on running the company day-to-day, but he’s still an entrepreneur at heart. With the ventures he is backing under Plank Industries and the Sagamore banner, Plank is showing that starting businesses can reshape the landscape of the city.
In March, he spoke passionately at SXSW about building in Baltimore and creating jobs. Looking back, it was the prologue to a big year.
Port Covington sits at the center of the effort. The big plans to redevelop the South Baltimore neighborhood were unveiled this year, and the public debate about a Tax Increment Financing deal for the property also showed that everyone must benefit in 2016.
Along with Under Armour, the neighborhood is also set to be a home for other Plank ventures like the Sagamore Rye distillery. The ventures extend beyond the peninsula. A Pendry hotel is being built at the Rec Pier in Fells Point, a new UA fitness center opened at 10 Light Street and Sparrows Point is set to be home to a new Under Armour distribution center. Plank even bought the water taxi.
As an entrepreneur, Plank also sees that growth comes through encouraging new companies. The current activity is at City Garage in Port Covington, where Sagamore Ventures is providing space and funding for startups like Treason Toting Co., BaltiVirtual, Workbench, Hungry Harvest and Ready Robotics, as well as a makerspace and Under Armour’s manufacturing innovation center. Showing that it’s a center of the tech community, Beta City has been held at City Garage for the last two years and Betamore is set to open a second location there in 2017.
This year, Plank showed that thinking about the city is part of what it means to be an entrepreneur in Baltimore.
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!