These 4 companies won biz funding at Salisbury U’s latest Shore Hatchery competition

At Salisbury University, the latest Shore Hatchery entrepreneurship competition awarded $95,000 to four businesses, including two from the Baltimore area.

The competition, which is organized by SU’s Perdue School of Business, draws startups from around the Mid-Atlantic to the university on Maryland’s Eastern Shore each semester. The competition, funded through a grant from the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation, aims to fund entrepreneurs who have new businesses or are launching within six months.

“It’s so exciting to see how creative the ideas are and how persistent the entrepreneurs are,” SU President Charles Wright said in a statement. “I am so proud that all of this innovation is taking place at SU.”

At the Oct. 25 competition, Newark, Delaware-based 360VR Technology was awarded $50,000. As our sister site Technical.ly Delaware reported, founders Sury Gupta and James Massaquoi are using virtual reality to provide tools that can help first responders navigate buildings and surrounding spaces in an emergency. The funding will assist with software development, functionality enhancement, customer outreach and marketing.

Three companies won $15,000 at the event. They include:

• Linnel Luxury Child Care — Hafeezah Muhammad is creating an “all-inclusive” child care center in the Baltimore area that offers at-home and after-hours services.
• Overwatch Golf — Seth Ainsworth founded this Baltimore-based company that uses drone technology to offer an aerial view of golf courses that is enhanced with target lines, yardage markers and more.
• Minds in Motion Children’s Museum — Melanie Kerber is planning a museum that will connect Eastern Shore youth to industry.

Along with funding, winners get access to mentoring from board members including Mike Cottingham of
Rommel Chesapeake, Inc., Sandy Fitzgerald-Angello of Pohanka Automotive Group of Salisbury, Patricia Royak of the Perdue School of Business Executive Advisory Council; entrepreneur David Landsberger and Jean Sewell of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.