Archives For Events

Grand Prix of Baltimore preps for ‘Celebration of Acceleration’

Emily Kimball —  March 14, 2013
New Grand Prix of Baltimore logo

The Grand Prix of Baltimore is a “Celebration of Acceleration.”

Less than seven months before city streets are transformed into a 12-turn, two-mile IndyCar racetrack, Grand Prix of Baltimore planners are drumming up excitement with a new logo and tagline.

The former “Festival of Speed” will now be known as a “Celebration of Acceleration.” The new tagline is accompanied by an enhanced website and social media presence, as well as a new logo with “cleaner graphic
elements for improved legibility and reproduction,” race planners announced this week in a statement.

“We’re pleased to introduce a new look and feel for the Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT,” stated Debbie Bell, vice president of sales and marketing for Race On, which is promoting the event. “Our Celebration of Acceleration tagline perfectly captures the spirit of the event, and our redesigned website is the ideal platform to keep fans up to speed on Grand Prix details as they are announced.”

The third annual race is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1.

Annapolis officials map out walkable shopping

Emily Kimball —  March 13, 2013
Walk Annapolis

MainStreets Annapolis is promoting walkable shopping.

Leave the car behind and hit some stores—that’s the message behind the new Walk Annapolis initiative.

The program divides downtown Annapolis into five main shopping districts, no larger than the average shopping mall. Colorful maps and banners urge customers to explore each district on foot:

  • City Dock and Main Street
  • Maryland Avenue and State Circle
  • West Annapolis
  • West Street
  • Eastport

The program was created by the MainStreets Annapolis Partnership, a nonprofit organization of local business owners, property owners, the City of Annapolis, lenders, real estate professionals, residents, and local business and community associations. Annapolis Mayor Joshua J. Cohen, MainStreets Annapolis Partnership Chairman Steve Samaras and others plan to launch the program at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at 122 Main Street.

“One of the qualities that makes Annapolis special is that we have unique, locally-owned fashion boutiques and specialty gift shops tucked between art galleries, pubs, restaurants and inns,” Cohen stated in an email. “The opportunity to enjoy the historic and maritime charm of the city while walking through the various shopping and dining districts is just one example of Annapolis’ enduring appeal.”

“People might think it’s easier to walk around Westfield Mall than it is to walk around downtown Annapolis,” Samaras stated in a press release. “But if you look at these images, you’ll see that the walk from Church Circle to City Dock is no further than the walk from Macy’s to Nordstrom’s.”

Do you shop local? Share your tips for buying close to home in the comments.

Walk Annapolis

A satellite view of downtown Annapolis overlaid with the footprint of Annapolis Town Center Mall illustrates the walk-ability of downtown compared to these other shopping areas.

Free Baltimore business lecture to feature MSNBC’s JJ Ramberg

Emily Kimball —  March 13, 2013
MSNBC JJ Ramberg

MSNBC’s JJ Ramberg is planning to present a free lecture in Baltimore on April 9.

Looking to transform your small business? JJ Ramberg, the longtime host of MSNBC’s “Your Business,” may offer some ideas.

On April 9, at 500 West Baltimore St. in Baltimore, the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law is sponsoring a free book signing and lecture featuring Ramberg. Starting at 4:30 p.m., she plans to sign copies of her bestselling book, ”It’s Your Business: 183 Essential Tips That Will Transform Your Small Business.” The lecture, ”An Evening of Entrepreneurship with JJ Ramberg,” is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

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10 online marketing tips from Local University: Baltimore

Emily Kimball —  March 8, 2013
Local University: Baltimore

Baltimore area businesses attended the Local U conference in White Marsh.

Nearly anything is better than nothing when it comes to Internet marketing for small businesses, online marketing expert Aaron Weiche said during Friday’s Local University: Baltimore conference at the Hilton Garden Inn in White Marsh.

“If you understand what [online marketing] is, you’re much more likely to do something. Actionable takeaways is one of the main reasons we do this. We need to take it away from a tech sort of thing and show people that it’s just an extension of how you do business,” said Weiche, one of several presenters during the Google-sponsored conference.

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BWI Business Partnership hosting economic development summit

Emily Kimball —  March 4, 2013
The BWI Business Partnership is hosting a summit.

The BWI Business Partnership is hosting a summit.

The BWI Business Partnership Regional Economic Development Summit is expected to include opening remarks from Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Dominick Murray.

Between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on March 14 at the BWI Hilton Hotel, the conference will focus on regional economic pressures and the role of county government leadership in stimulating the economy. Tickets are $50 for members and $75 for non-members.

More information is available on the BWI Business Partnership’s website here.

InvestMaryland Challenge: Q&A with RedOwl Analytics

Emily Kimball —  February 28, 2013
Baltimore-based RedOwl Analytics is competing in the InvestMaryland Challenge.

Baltimore-based RedOwl Analytics is competing in the InvestMaryland Challenge.

Check back for Q&A profiles on all the competition finalists.

The first-ever InvestMaryland Challenge is down to its final round with just 33 companies competing for more than $300,000 in grants and business services. The final winners will be announced during the Governor’s Cup Awards Ceremony on April 15.

One of the companies, selected out of more than 250 applicants, is Baltimore-based RedOwl Analytics. To find out a little more about this up-and-coming company—founded in December 2011 by CEO Guy Filippelli—we spoke with Director of Business Development and Strategy Renny McPherson and Director of Product Les Craig.

Q. What does RedOwl Analytics do, and how would you explain it to the average person?

A. [McPherson] We have a sophisticated enterprise software solution which is behavioral analytics and behavioral intelligence for large companies, such as financial services or legal and investigative firms. It also could have uses later to Fortune 500 companies and to the U.S. government for the intelligence community and other government entities. What we do is ingest the ever-growing, massive corporate digital trail of emails, phone records, Blackberry messenger, Bloomberg chat, layer on our sophisticated inferential statistics, in addition to more commonplace descriptive statistics, cutting edge inferential statistics, and display that on a visually intuitive user interface to empower executives, managers and analysts to understand what’s happening in their organization, how behavior has changed and signals of problem behaviors.

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InvestMaryland Challenge narrows down semi-finalists

Emily Kimball —  February 27, 2013

investmdchallengeThe InvestMaryland Challenge is heating up with 33 companies advancing to the final round.

Hosted by the Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development, the competition will award $300,000 in grants and business services to companies in the life sciences and high tech industries. Companies also have the opportunity to receive direct investments from venture capital firms and angel investors.

The 33 remaining semi-finalists were selected out of more than 250 applicants. Representatives of each company will participate in 15-minute face-to-face interviews with Maryland DBED on March 5. The Governor’s Cup Awards Ceremony for the final winners in all three categories is planned for April 15.

“On behalf of the State and its partners in the inaugural InvestMaryland Challenge, I would like to congratulate the companies that have advanced this far,” DBED Secretary Dominick Murray stated in a press release. “The Challenge is a tremendous opportunity for these startups and for Maryland to celebrate the vibrant entrepreneurial community that is producing so many promising young companies. These entrepreneurs are pushing the boundaries of life sciences, information technology, and other industries and are helping to position Maryland as a global leader in the Innovation Economy.”

A list of all companies advancing to the final round, sorted by category, is after the break.

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Google to sponsor Baltimore business marketing seminars

Emily Kimball —  February 26, 2013

Two upcoming seminars are aimed at assisting small businesses in the Baltimore area with Internet marketing.

“Local University: Baltimore” will offer introductory training on search engines, website optimization, social media, business rankings in local search and website traffic, as well as a question and answer session with a Google representative. Planned between 8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on March 8 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5015 Campbell Blvd. in White Marsh. Tickets are $129 each, but a promotion price of $89 is available here with the code “MDSBDC.” Tickets sales and the planned agenda can also be found here. Google, Citybizlist Baltimore, Overlea Fullerton Business & Professional Association, Pulaski Highway Business Association, Perry Hall/White Marsh Business Association, Stingray Social, DAASN and Progressive Insurance are sponsoring the event.

“Local University: Advanced Baltimore” begins with an evening meet and greet. On the following morning, it will offer advanced training on local blocking and tackling tactics, information on optimizing review processes, an open question and answer session and in-depth discussions on social media and advertising. Planned between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on March 8, and between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on March 9 at the Hunt Valley Inn, 245 Shawan Rd. in Hunt Valley. Tickets are $899 each. Tickets sales and the planned agenda can be found here. Google and SEOmoz are sponsoring the event.

Federal facilites and contractors make the connection in March

Tim Windsor —  February 8, 2013

As we noted yesterday, the federal infrastructure is huge and growing in Maryland. That’s great for everyone in the state, as it adds workforce opportunities and expands the culture of innovation throughout Maryland.

It’s also a world of opportunity for Maryland Businesses many of whom have regular — and lucrative — contracting relationships with federal facilities.

To help foster those relationships, DBED is once again mounting Contract Connections, a day-long forum showcasing federal facilities in Maryland and their contracting opportunities.  Attendees will be able to meet face-to-face with top federal agencies and their contracting officers, hear industry forecasts, subcontracting opportunities and tips on how best to secure more federal contracts.

This year’s event is March 15th, at Turf Valley Resort near Ellicott City, Maryland. Registration is open now, but limited.

 

Registration is open for third CreateBaltimore

Tim Windsor —  January 28, 2013

createbaltimore

CreateBaltimore is coming Saturday, February 16, 2013:

CreateBaltimore has become an annual gathering of Baltimore-based innovators and changemakers. In an intense, day-long event, members of our city’s robust creative community combine ideas and action on behalf of Baltimore. We offer a unique opportunity to connect disparate groups: technologists and artists, entrepreneurs and activists, institutions and instigators, young students and seasoned professionals. At CreateBaltimore, individuals from these seemingly isolated groups are united by their shared commitment to this city.

If you are passionate about what you do, willing to challenge your thoughts, ready to share your opinion, and believe you can learn and grow from others, this event is for you. Ultimately, anyone with an open mind and an innovative spirit can help make Baltimore a lively, thriving, sustainable city.

You can register for CreateBaltimore on their website.

Live from TEDx Baltimore

Tim Windsor —  January 24, 2013

We’re live as TEDx returns to Baltimore today. Follow all of the action here as it develops through the day. You can also watch the live stream of the day’s speakers, all day long on Friday.

Live updates are after the break:

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Who we’re looking forward to hearing at TEDx Baltimore: Noor Siddiqui

Tim Windsor —  January 23, 2013

TEDx Baltimore is this week — on Friday — and a few tickets are still available (with a $10 discount if you use the code COMMUNITY2013 at checkout).

One of the speakers we’re really looking forward to hearing from is Noor Siddiqui, a young woman with Ivy League written all over her qualifications. And yet she decided to opt out of college and leap full-time into the world:

After graduating from high school, she set aside her university acceptance letters and opted for the Thiel Fellowship. The Thiel Fellowship grants 20 entrepreneurs under 20, $100,000 to move to Silicon Valley and pursue ‘game-changing’ entrepreneurial ventures. Noor is working on building a more inclusive world by harnessing untapped productive energy at the base of the pyramid.

Should be an inspiring talk.

Hurry. TEDx Baltimore is in just two days. (And, full disclosure, DBED is a sponsor)