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InvestMaryland Challenge: Q&A with CoFoundersLab

Emily Kimball —  March 11, 2013

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 Rockville-based CoFoundersLab, founded in 2011. To find out a little more about this up-and-coming company, we spoke with co-founder and CEO Shahab Kaviani.

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

A. CoFoundersLab is a matchmaking service for entrepreneurs to find their business partners, and we do it in two ways—we have an online matching site called CoFoundersLab.com, which is very much like Match.com but for business partners, and also through in-person events that we do in about 20 cities throughout the country, every quarter in each city. For example, here in the Baltimore metro area, we do it at the University of Baltimore, at the ETC, at Betamore, at the Rockville economic development center, and in downtown D.C. with Cooley, and in Arlington with Arlington Economic Development. We’re a business matching service to help you choose your business partner with a more objective criteria, according to who complements you the best, rather than just who you’re friends with and who you happen to know.

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“The port has successfully withstood a challenging economy and has outperformed many other major U.S. ports thanks to shrewd infrastructure investments, unique job-creating business partnerships, and long-term contracts with major international shipping companies.”

Governor Martin O’Malley on the Port of Baltimore’s cargo traffic

Posted by Emily Kimball on February 28, 2013 In DBED, Industry News, Innovation & Tech, International, Manufacturing & Production, Maryland Economy , ,
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Q&A: Jeani Park on Maryland’s growing cybersecurity industry

Emily Kimball —  February 25, 2013
jeaniwide

Jeani Park is introduced by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.

Cybersecurity experts just might be the superheroes of information technology, guarding companies, customers, governmental agencies and other organizations against Internet threats.

Jeani Park was recently appointed director of cyber development for CyberMaryland by Gov. Martin O’Malley. Park stands at the center of this rapidly evolving industry that is adding new companies and new jobs throughout the United States and, especially, in Maryland with its high concentration of cybersecurity businesses.

Park brings more than 20 years in product development and extensive experience in consulting, speaking and writing about cybersecurity. She also has big plans for raising Maryland’s profile as an industry hub.

We sat down with Park to discuss her goals as director, as well as her first major event on behalf of the state—the 2013 RSA Conference, between Feb. 25 and March 1 in San Francisco.

Q. What are the national and international pressures related to cybersecurity? Why is it such an important issue?

A. It’s a big issue because the country’s really looking for economic growth. In the U.S., our IT industry is growing at between 2 and 3 percent. When you look at other regions, in Asia and South America, they are growing at like 20 percent in IT security. Cybersecurity is an area where there’s really pent up demand, so it can help the economy.

It’s also part and parcel for both defense and proactive protection of assets in the country. Most of the new wars are going to be cyber wars. What we saw with the Stuxnet virus in 2010, for example, was the first time nuclear power plants and other critical infrastructure were attacked from a cybersecurity standpoint. So we know in the future we’re going to see less and less traditional types of terrorism and threats and attacks—it’s really going to be in the cyber realm.

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Jeani Park Tapped as Maryland’s New Cyber Development Director

Emily Kimball —  February 20, 2013

Maryland’s burgeoning cyber security industry has a new leader— Gov. Martin O’Malley announced the appointment of Jeani Park as director of cyber development on Tuesday.

Sarah Gantz of the Baltimore Business Journal reports:

Park, a commercial cyber security strategist, will be responsible for supporting product development, education and talent recruitment among cyber companies. She will also push for expansion of the state’s cyber security programs and assistance for startup companies …

Cyber security has been a major focus for O’Malley, who sees the industry as an opportunity for job growth and economic development in Maryland. In his fiscal 2014 budget, O’Malley is proposing a $3 million cyber security tax credit, which would largely be modeled after the state’s biotechnology tax credit.

Find the full story from the Baltimore Business Journal here.

Park has over 20 years in software industry experience, and has become an illustrious writer and speaker within the security industry.

“We are fortunate to have someone with Jeani’s experience, expertise and insight to help guide Maryland’s cyber initiative and continue the growth of innovation in our State. Given her background as a successful technology professional who has worked in Silicon Valley and Austin, she will be instrumental in supporting entrepreneurs and building the pipeline for cyber venture capital deals tied to InvestMaryland,” O’Malley stated in a release from his office.

Find the full release from the governor’s office here.

The governor also blogged about the importance of cyber security here on The Huffington Post.

Keep up with cyber security industry developments here on CyberMaryland.

 

Frostburg forges China connections

Nick Sohr —  April 19, 2012

Frostburg State University’s College of Business will launch three new study abroad programs in China this year to better equip its graduates to find work with global businesses and organizations in a fiercely competitive job market.

“As employment prospects for graduates continue to remain uncertain, students should be looking to include experiences on their resume that distinguish them in the employment marketplace,” said Sudhir Singh, associate dean of the College of Business. “A study abroad experience in China is, in some ways, the equalizer that will make our students very competitive with their counterparts from the larger institutions for employment in larger multinational organizations in the for-profit, non-profit, governmental or NGO sectors that they might initially have even shied away from.”

Through the new study abroad programs, students will experience and study China’s vibrant culture and booming economy.

From May 20 through June 2, a dozen FSU students will travel to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Xi’an. Led by Yan Bao, associate professor in FSU’s Department of Accounting, and Lilly Ye, assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and Finance, the program will give students insights into China’s economy and business practices, with visits to factories, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and cultural destinations, as well as meetings with Chinese executives and Chinese college students at FSU’s partner institutions.

“We will have very special visits to places not regularly accessible to travel agencies,” Bao said.

While in Beijing, the classes will get to talk to top business leaders at the hotel where they will be staying, and learn about the design of the hotel and marketing and business practices used to run it. FSU’s students will also be able to visit a notable brokerage firm in Beijing thanks to a contact there.

Frostburg’s MBA program will also offer an international experience in China. Six students will travel to Beijing and Changsha for two weeks starting May 31.

Thomas Sigerstad, associate professor in FSU’s Department of Management, who is leading the trip, said the trip will give MBA student teams who are required to study certain industries a unique research opportunity.

“Some of them will be in the States doing research, while others will be on the China trip. They’ll be … doing field trips and visiting aluminum factories, equipment manufacturers and rice milling,” he said. “When students get done, they’ll have a 100-page, single-spaced report to wave around in interviews and say, ‘I studied in the fastest growing country in the world.’”

This fall, the business school will kick off a semester-long study abroad program at Hunan Normal University, FSU’s partner institution in Changsha. Three faculty members from the College of Business will teach five-week, accelerated sessions to span the 15-week semester. The semester also includes a three-credit “Chinese Culture and Business Communication” course taught by an HNU faculty member.

Singh said the college will seek to defray costs for students through scholarships and other funding sources.

“We hope that in two to three years, study abroad in China and other countries will be institutionalized within the College of Business’ educational culture and, who knows, students and their parents will elect to come to FSU’s College of Business because of its particularly successful global learning opportunities,” Singh said.

Maryland exports rose 7% in 2011

Nick Sohr —  March 8, 2012

By Nick Sohr, Managing Editor, MDbizMedia

Maryland’s exports grew 7 percent in 2011 to nearly $10.9 billion, Gov. Martin O’Malley announced Wednesday at the World Trade Center Institute’s annual International Business Leadership Awards event.

Last year was the second straight year of growth for Maryland exports, according to U.S. Department of Commerce figures. After hitting an all-time high of $11.4 billion in 2008, Maryland exports sank to $9.2 billion in 2009 as the global recession choked spending. Exports began to rebound in 2010, when the state shipped nearly $10.2 billion worth of goods overseas.

O’Malley called the extension of that trend into 2011 “a clear indicator that Maryland is continuing to stimulate our economy by exploring new markets for trade and investment.”

“Ultimately, our strength and global competitiveness depend on our willingness to make the modern investments that a modern economy requires to create jobs,” O’Malley said.

Canada was once again the state’s largest export market, accounting for nearly $1.7 billion, or 15.45 percent of goods shipped overseas.

Exports to China and South Korea also grew. The governor led a trade delegation of nearly 70 business executives, educators and government officials to those countries in June. The trip yielded more than $85 million in trade and investment deals for Maryland and companies located in the state.

China, the state’s second-largest export market, was the destination for $666 million worth of goods from Maryland, up from $573 million in 2010. Exports to South Korea, the fourth-largest market, rose to $538 million, up from $480 million.

Gov. Martin O'Malley and the chief minister of Hyderabad, India

O’Malley led a second trade mission last year, taking more than 100 people to India. That trip, just after Thanksgiving, netted nearly $60 million in deals.

Exports to India rose last year to $252 million, up from $232 million in 2010.

According to a report released Thursday by The Brookings Institution, export production supports 67,600 jobs in the Baltimore area. Exports support another 146,200 jobs in the Washington, D.C. metro area, which includes Northern Virginia, Maryland suburbs some of West Virginia.

The report showed national export trends mirroring those in Maryland. During the recession, growth in exports to major developing countries — China, India and Brazil — accelerated.

Maryland’s exports to Brazil were $192 million in 2010 and $272 million last year.

Vehicles represented the largest slice of Maryland exports in 2011, with $1.7 billion worth leaving the state for foreign destinations.

The Port of Baltimore shipped 446,403 automobiles last year, up 12 percent from 2010.

Electric machinery and machinery were the second- and third-most valuable export sectors, respectively, followed by aircraft and spacecraft in fourth place. Maryland exported $783 million worth of aircraft in spacecraft in 2011, a 52 percent increase over the $513 million in 2010.

 

Maryland exports by destination

2010 2011
World  $  10,163,267,062.00  $  10,879,302,820.00
1 Canada  $     1,588,495,695.00  $     1,680,623,565.00
2 China  $        573,637,574.00  $        666,495,759.00
3 Saudi Arabia  $        499,070,489.00  $        553,636,582.00
4 Korean Republic  $        480,527,618.00  $        538,133,009.00
5 Netherlands  $        676,723,510.00  $        514,688,587.00
6 Japan  $        400,116,173.00  $        432,146,110.00
7 United Kingdom  $        385,226,521.00  $        398,436,414.00
8 Mexico  $        488,305,898.00  $        322,227,189.00
9 Egypt  $        427,643,654.00  $        301,517,478.00
10 Belgium  $        284,938,756.00  $        278,884,941.00

Maryland exports by type

2010 2011
All  $  10,163,267,062.00  $  10,879,302,820.00
1 Vehicles/ Not Railway  $     1,722,934,362.00  $     1,706,042,161.00
2 Electrical Machinery  $     1,142,522,066.00  $     1,205,844,730.00
3 Machinery  $     1,144,135,361.00  $     1,147,861,143.00
4 Aircraft/Spacecraft  $        513,872,459.00  $        783,630,610.00
5 Misc. Chemical Products  $        755,163,344.00  $        663,040,923.00
6 Mineral Fuel/ Oil Etc  $        377,404,121.00  $        661,774,008.00
7 Optic/Med Instr  $        486,774,543.00  $        650,367,825.00
8 Pharmaceutical Products  $        667,666,251.00  $        432,852,932.00
9 Iron And Steel  $        250,975,701.00  $        420,200,581.00
10 Plastic  $        293,039,717.00  $        312,225,776.00

Baltimore’s Premier Rides Takes Roller Coaster Technology to New Heights

MDbizMedia —  January 3, 2012

by Karen Glenn Hood, DBED Marketing & Communications

Mad Cobra, located in Dalian, China

It is a little known fact that tucked away in a chic industrial space on East Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore is one of the world’s top designers and manufacturers of theme park attractions.

Premier Rides, which started up in the early 1990s to service theme park rides, soon began making inroads into an industry dominated mostly by European companies. 

“We provided the best service and were able to fix complex issues,” said Premier Rides President Jim Seay, adding that when the company made the transition to designing and manufacturing theme park rides, “instead of starting out small, we leapfrogged and started out designing and manufacturing big attractions.”

 

In fact, in 1996, one of Premier’s first projects was the original Outer Limits: Flight of Fear attraction at Kings Dominion. It was the first Linear Induction Motor (LIM) coaster, the magnetic drive technology that Premier pioneered under Seay’s leadership.

Yamaha Racing Coaster, Bandung, Indonesia

Today, the company employs about 25-30 people at its Baltimore headquarters, where the design, prototype and marketing of the theme park attractions is done. Roughly another 200 subcontractors work at a space near BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, where the fabrication of the rides takes place. When the fabrication is completed, Premier sends an expert team to the client’s site to construct the ride.

“It’s like delivering a giant erector set,” said Seay, who, before joining Premier in 1996, was a project engineer for Hughes Aircraft and engineering and maintenance executive at Six Flags Theme Parks.  

Recently, Seay joined Governor Martin O’Malley on the State’s trade mission to India, where he signed an agreement with Mumbai-based Adlabs Entertainment LTD, which is planning to build a theme park in India. Premier Rides will design and manufacture a custom theme park attraction that will employ the very latest technologies and provide a one-of-a-kind experience.

Sky Rocket, located in Pennsylvania

“Emerging economies are moving so quickly,” Seay said, who also joined the State’s trade mission to Asia in May 2010 and does many projects overseas. “We are dealing with incredibly successful entrepreneurs in these countries and there is an expectation to get these projects done quickly to accommodate what has become a growing theme park industry.”

One of the company’s most memorable accomplishments, Seay recalled, was a coaster Premier designed for Universal Studios, Revenge of the Mummy. The ride is designed to simulate being in the movie, with 3-D mummies coming at the rider in high speed in near total darkness. The design allowed for 13 trains to run simultaneously.

“We know that visitors to theme parks often have to wait hours to get on a ride,” Seay said. “When we can watch them get off the ride and high-five each other, that is the best compliment of our work.”

Maryland in Asia: Life Happens but Marylanders Push Forward

MDbizMedia —  June 10, 2011

Members of the Maryland delegation who traveled to Asia for an economic trade mission encountered an obstacle on the road that leads to the Great Wall in China.

Despite the obstacle, Marylanders pushed forward and reached their destination.

Governor O'Malley and DBED Secretary Christian Johansson, showing their Maryland pride, pose at the Great Wall.

State Meets with French Cancer Research Companies Looking for U.S. Opportunities

MDbizMedia —  April 6, 2011

by Christine Hansen for MDBizMedia

DBED Secretary Christian Johansson speaks to French cancer research companies looking to do business in the U.S.

The Maryland Biotechnology center hosted a day-long regulatory workshop today for a cluster of French biotechnology companies, including Cancer BioSante, Lyonbiopole and Medicin, and UBIFRANCE, looking to do business in the U.S.

The workshop follows a letter of intent signed by the State of Maryland and the Cancer-BioSante Cluster at the BIO International Convention in Chicago, to build scientific and industry partnerships centered on cancer research, diagnostics and therapeutic strategies.

“As new therapies become available for the treatment of cancer, there will be an increasing need to better match patients with individualized treatment regimens,” Jean-Pierre Saintouil, the CEO of the Cancer-BioSanté cluster, said in a statement.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with Maryland companies, academic institutions and federal facilities to assist in linking diagnostic technologies, clinical and regulatory expertise to pursue solving some of our most challenging clinical problems in cancer patient management,” he said.

Fifteen Maryland biotechnology companies were also in attendance to assist the French companies in their pursuit to commercialize health products in the U.S. market.

“Maryland is the gateway for global life sciences companies looking to market diagnostics, drugs and medical devices in the U.S.  This meeting marks the first of several planned events to connect life sciences companies in France and Maryland to identify opportunities for partnership, share best practices and help facilitate commercialization,” said Dr. Judy Britz, Executive Director of the Maryland Biotechnology Center.

Jean-Pierre Saintouil, the CEO of the Cancer-BioSanté cluster, talks about the partnership with Maryland.

From 2001 to 2006, the State’s bioscience industry grew by nearly 15 percent, adding 3,200 jobs to top more than 25,000 bioscience jobs in Maryland. In addition, from 2002 to 2007, Maryland’s university bioscience research soared, growing 44 percent from $877 million to $1.3 billion. Maryland ranks second in federal obligations for research and development ($11.6 billion). On a per capita basis, Maryland ranks first among the states in federal R&D obligations.

Maryland Hosts Balkan Business Summit

MDbizMedia —  March 23, 2011

by Christine Hansen for MDBizMedia

DBED Secretary Christian Johansson and Dr. Miomir Mugosa, Mayor of Podgorica, Montenegro

Business leaders, government officials and dignitaries from Maryland, DC and the Western Balkan region convened today at the University of Baltimore for the U.S. Balkans Business Summit. The two-day event includes panels on energy, transportation, tourism, defense, manufacturing, and information and technology.  The first business summit of its kind, the event aims to promote bilateral trade and investment opportunities between American and Western Balkan governments and businesses, and exchange information and views relevant to strengthening economic relations.

“We are very pleased to be hosting the U.S. Balkans Business Summit here in Maryland, the first of what we hope will be many more to come,” said Christian Johansson, DBED Secretary.  “Maryland is home to more than 400 foreign-owned companies from 30 countries, with approximately 3.5 percent of our workforce employed by foreign owned-firms.  Even in these tough times, we have attracted 40 foreign-owned companies since 2007. We hope to continue our growth and expand on our partnerships with growing regions like the Western Balkans.”

Business and government leaders gather for the U.S. Balkan Business Summit at the University of Baltimore.

Representatives from the Western Balkans countries including Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, were present. The region is home to six of the pan-European transport corridors that have been specifically designated as such by the European Union, linking northern and Western Europe to the rest of the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia, Russia and Ukraine.  In December of last year, heads of state and government were invited personally by Governor O’Malley to attend this event, and to encourage dialogue on business opportunities.

Letter from Governor O'Malley to Western Balkan Leaders

“Two years ago our company went to Montenegro to talk about doing business there,” George G. Perdikakis, Vice President and Director of Corporate Communications, Marketing and Special Projects for KCI Technologies, said.  “We are an engineering business and we do transportation and environmental type of projects.  We went to Montenegro to explore what our opportunities in transportation and solid waste might be.”

In 2010, Maryland exports were up 10 percent, from $9.2 billion in 2009 to $10.2 billion.  Top exports from Maryland to the Western Balkans from 2008 to 2009 included electrical machinery, machinery, iron and steel products, and miscellaneous chemical products, totaling over $53 billion.

“I work for Jadroagent Bar, a shipping and freight agency and I am here seeking opportunities with American companies that have interest in investing in Montenegro or have an interest in developing business relationships with us,” Nikola Banovic’ of Montenegro’s Jadroagent International Shipping and Freight Agency, Ltd said.  “Our company is a shipping company so we act like a freight forwarder.  We do logistics and act as a port agent, so there are several aspects in which we are interested in doing business with American companies.”