Federal Hill : Innovation + Job News

SmartLogic Solutions LLC is looking for a new home to accommodate its growing staff as the web and mobile application developer expects to double revenue by next year.

Currently located in the Emerging Technology Center at Canton, the eight-year-old web and mobile application developer intends to leave the incubator within the next six months for another location in the city. The ETC is moving to Highlandtown in the fall. 
 
President Yair Flicker has been scouting commercial buildings in Canton, Federal Hill and Fells Point for a 2,000-square-foot office.  “We need to find something quickly,” he says.
 
SmartLogic develops software for web and mobile products like iPhone and Android applications and brings in about $1.5 million in annual revenue. In one year, from the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, revenue grew 34 percent, according to Flicker.

“If we’re not at $3 to $4 million in revenue by the end of 2014, I’d be disappointed.”
 
To that end, he has instituted several changes. SmartLogic recently hired a marketing director and a development director. The company is also hiring four more employees this year, primarily developers and programmers, to add to its staff of 11.
 
A new website is in the works, with a focus on attracting  small- and medium-sized businesses. Clients include Woofound and McDonogh School. During the course of a year, the company works on 12 to 15 projects.
 
Founded in 2005, the privately financed company moved into the incubator, Emerging Technology Center at Johns Hopkins Eastern in 2006. In 2011, it relocated to the Emerging Technology Center at Canton.
 
Source: Yair Flicker, SmartLogic Solutions LLC
Writer: Barbara Pash
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Two-month old cybersecurity company Riskive Inc. is adding to its current staff of seven. Launched Jan.1 and based in the new Federal Hill incubator Betamore, Riskive is hiring between 18 to 27 this year.
 
Riskive is seeking developers, development leaders, director of engineering, vice president of business development, social media manager, marketing manager and salespeople, according to COO Evan Blair, who co-founded the company with CEO James C. Foster.

The company is hiring junior, intermediate and senior level developers and engineers with leadership experience in order to build a technology that is scalable and to run the company more efficiently, Blair says.

Blair says that cyberdefense tends to be reactive. "People wait until an attack, then go into motion to clean, quarantine and block" the threat, he says.
 
Riskive says it takes a different approach. It is a predictive cybersecurity company for government agencies and private companies. Instead of waiting for a cyber attack that shuts down a computer system or a virus that infects a network, Riskive identifies potential attackers and how they can be addressed.
  
Riskive was the first and, at 500-square feet, the largest tenant in Betamore. The privately financed facility opened in December in a renovated 8,000-square foot building in Federal Hill. The facility is a combination incubator, co-working space and classroom. Members can access Betamore's mentor network and attend events and weekly happy hours.

Blair says the company has enough space at Betamore for the new hires. If it grows too big and has to relocate from Betamore, the company is committed to staying in Baltimore.

"It's not an accident that we’re in Baltimore versus Silicon Valley,” says Blair of the proximity to Fort Meade and the US Army Cyber Command.  
 
Using patented technology, Riskive assembles data from a variety of sources and profiles for a client the types of attackers and the types of attack it faces. The client can use the information to install appropriate defenses, whether on its own or by hiring another company to do so.
 
“We think of ourselves as radar, to determine what’s coming at you before it comes," says Blair.
 
Blair says the three most common kinds of attackers are: countries, in particular the Republic of China, North Korea, Iran and Russia; organized crime syndicates, many in former Soviet Union republics (and now independent countries) or former Soviet-bloc countries; and individual hackers or hacker groups.
 
The motives of the three differ, says Blair. Countries are looking for classified information and intellectual property. Crime syndicates are looking for information with monetary value, like credit card numbers and identify theft. Hacker groups are supporting a cause or carrying out personal vendettas.
 
“All the attacks start out similarly but they range in scale, scope and end goals,” says Blair.
 
Riskive is privately funded. Before its official launch, Blair says it held angel financing rounds. 
 
Source: Evan Blair, Riskive Inc.
Writer: Barbara Pash

Clean Currents, an alternative energy company in Maryland, is moving into a new market and adding more employees. It launched operations last month in eastern and central Pennsylvania, and plans to expand to Philadelphia in early 2013.
 
Clean Currents provides electricity provided through sustainable methods, including wind and solar, for residential and commercial buildings. It also sells and installs hot-water tanks powered by solar-thermal for residences.
 
Founded in 2005, Clean Currents houses its operations in Silver Spring but opened a sales office in February in Baltimore's Federal Hill neighborhood.  “It’s a great city for green activities and it was time for us to be here,” Clean Currents spokeswoman Megan Barrett says. 
 
As a result of its expansion, Clean Currents is in the process of adding to its current staff of 25. The company plans to hire up to five people for sales positions in Maryland. It is also hiring one person to serve as a community organizer in Pennsylvania.
 
Barrett says that part of Clean Currents’ mission involves encouraging and supporting green activities in local communities. It partners with neighborhood groups, nonprofits and schools to do so. The company's Green Neighborhood Challenge gives communities and nonprofits the opportunity to raise funds for green projects such as building community gardens, starting recycling programs and preserving green space.

On the energy side, the company contracts with wind farms nationally and in the mid-Atlantic region that are connected to the electricity distribution grid. Clean Current sells wind-generated electrical power to customers in the form of renewable energy certificates that are applied to their electricity bills.
 
Barrett says the cost varies by utility area. Clean Current offers fixed-rate contracts of one and two years, in which customers pay the same rate regardless of price fluctuation in the market.
 
Currently, a Clean Currents one-year residential contract to receive 100 percent of your electricity from wind power costs 9 cents per kilowatt hour, the standard measure used for electrical power. By comparison, BGE’s electricity rate for standard offer service is 8.964 cents per kilowatt hour effective through May 31, 2013.
 
Clean Currents uses Solar City, a national company with a Maryland office in Beltsville, for rental of solar panels. This arrangement allows customers to rent rather than buy the solar panels after installation.  Starting in 2013, Clean Currents will have its own solar panel installation program, says Barrett.
 
Federal and state tax credits may apply to solar panels and to solar-thermal hot water tanks.
 
Source: Megan Barrett, Clean Currents
Writer: Barbara Pash
 
 
 

By the end of the summer, entrepreneurs in the Baltimore metro area will have another place to call home. Betamore, “technology campus,” in the words of co-founder Mike Brenner, should be open by then. 

Brenner co-founded the privately-financed facility with Greg Cangialosi. They are in the midst of renovating an 8,000-square-foot shell at 1111 Light St., a new building in Federal Hill, into part incubator, part classroom and part co-working space. The facility will serve its members and the community at large. Membership applications will be available online next month.

Brenner says Betamore is the first incubator in the region, as far as he knows, that will also act as a classroom. In addition, the two founders bring a sizeable mentoring network that they have acquired by working in the city.

Both are well known in the Baltimore tech scene. Cangialosi's Blue Sky Factory, an email marketing and service provider, was bought in 2011, and he now serves as managing director of Baltimore Angel's and CEO of Nucleus Ventures, an investment vehicle. 

Brenner closed out his other ventures to focus on Betamore. These included Sunrise Design, a web consulting and design studio, and Startup Baltimore, a blog that was acquired in March of 2012 by a company in Philadelphia that plans to transform it into Technically Baltimore, an online publication covering technology. The company also puts out Technically Philly.

Brenner declined to discuss financing for the facility except to say that while it was private, the founders are actively looking for public support as well. He says they are not ready to announce the fees that will be charged for memberships at the incubator and community space. 

The facility will have two classrooms. It will offer classes on entrepreneurship and technology for people in the community at large who are interested in the topic. It will also offer six- to eight-week-long courses for people who are career-oriented and want more in-depth study. Brenner says fees for both classes and courses will be charged, the amounts still to be decided.  
 
In the dedicated incubator space, desks can be rented by the month. Brenner says that renters will have access to Betamore's mentor network, events and weekly happy hours. From early indications, he expects renters to be two- to eight-person teams, and to have 50 teams and “really early stage” companies in that space at any given time. He also expects many renters to be programmers.
 
Betamore will not take an equity stake in its renter-companies. Moreover, it will put a time limit, as yet undetermined, on how long they can rent, "to get a fire under their feet," he says.
 
The third space is a community space that, like a typical co-working space, is a social environment. It will be available for people who want to drop by the facility on an occasional basis, whether once a week or once a month. There will be a fee for the community space. 

"So far, we've gotten a lot of interest. Everyone wants to know when the doors open," says Brenner. "I'm hesitant to reveal too many details. We want to do a proper rollout when we're ready to open."

Source: Michael Brenner, Betamore
Writer: Barbara Pash

Parking Panda, the Baltimore startup that finds a spot to put your car, is cruising into new cities and attracting new funding.

Within a few months, it will begin marketing in Philadelphia, its third site. San Francisco, Chicago and Boston are next on the list. Last month, it expanded to Washington, D.C. The company recently received $250,000 from investors, with another $250,000 in the works, CEO Nick Miller says. Miller founded the firm in 2001 with Adam Zilberbaum, chief technology officer. 

The company doesn't have exact dates for the expansions after Washington, D.C., says Miller. In part, it depends on demand and how many parking spaces can be arranged. 
 
Parking Panda locates available parking spots in private driveways and garages that drivers can reserve in advance on the web or via mobile phones. In Baltimore and Washington, D.C., it is working with two garage companies, PMI and Central Parking.
 
In addition, Parking Panda works with private home-owners and small business to rent their driveways, parking lots and garages. “We have quite a few private driveways that are rented for Ravens [football] games,” says Miller, who tries to line up parking for other events like festivals and farmers markets.
 
Also, he adds, “we work with certain neighborhoods, like Federal Hill,” where on-street parking is scarce and there are no parking garages.
 
Miller says the price the driver pays is set by the parking garage or driveway owner. Parking Panda takes a 20 percent fee on whatever is charged.  “If they charge $10, we get $2,” he says.
 
Parking Panda has a few, small parking competitors in the area, says Miller.

”But no one is doing what we do, with parking garages and private parking.”
 
Source: Nick Miller, Parking Panda
Writer: Barbara Pash

Follow the sun could be the motto of Advanced Technology & Research, a firm that a few years ago developed a product to do just that.

Instead of stationary solar panels, an increasingly familiar sight on rooftops, the Columbia-based company makes a solar tracking device that rotates as the sun moves. The rotation of the device allows for maximum performance, capturing 30 to 45 percent more energy than stationary solar panels aligned at an optimal angle to the sun, says Robert Lundahl, Advanced Technology's vice president for energy systems and automation.
 
Lundahl says the device has residential and commercial use as an energy-saving measure. But it is being bought and installed for other uses as well. Mid-Atlantic Terminal at the Port of Baltimore recently installed three devices to power electric vehicles operated by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. Wallenius Wilhelmsen is powering two electric vehicles to move personnel and material around the port, and has indicated it may order more devices in the future.
 
Another recent installation was a row house residence in Federal Hill, where the company's distributor NEXUS Energy Homes installed one on the rooftop. It was the first sun-tracking device installed on a Federal Hill residence.
 
Advanced Technology's device can be ordered with one standard-size, 235-Watt solar panel (known as a single tracker) or with two 235-Watt solar panels (dual tracker). The tracker is connected to a mounting. The mounting can be placed on a rooftop or on the ground. A GPS-controlled drive unit rotates the panels to follow the sun.
 
Like solar panels, the device is then connected to an electric grid; accumulated energy reduces the electric bill.
 
The basic cost of the ATR device is $2,895 before installation. The number of devices is determined by roof size and budget. The devices are eligible for state and federal renewable energy tax credits. 
 
Advanced Technology & Research is a 38-year old engineering company that traditionally works with military and coastal agencies. It began making the solar device four years as a response to the increased demand for energy-efficient products, Lundahl says.
 
Landahl says the company is focusing on the mid-Atlantic region now but may go nationwide as the market increases. 
 
Source: Robert Lundahl, vice president for energy systems and automation at Advanced Technology & Research
Writer: Barbara Pash

Many of Baltimore's neighborhood recreation centers are scheduled to close, or have closed already, as a result of the city's continuing budget woes. Members of the Riverside community and Digital Harbor High School boosters have been looking at ways to transform the soon to be shuttered South Baltimore Recreation Center into a neighborhood technology center.

A meeting on the subject will be held Wednesday, Feb. 29 at the Baltimore Room at 100 Harbor View Dr. The meeting is being held jointly by the Key Highway Community Association and the HarborView Social Committee.

Andrew Coy, an educator at Digital Harbor High School who was named one of “10 Rock Stars Making A Difference In Baltimore” by the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, will fill the community in on plans to pay for the transformation. Coy is looking at using grant money to get the centers up and running. Digital Harbor students will also be presenting information about how technology impacts their education. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m..


Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Jane Wehrle, founder of the Loop, an activity network in South Baltimore 

Apothecary Wellness in Federal Hill has added three new employees.

The holistic wellness spa and boutique has added a new esthestician, a massage therapy assistant and Dr. Homa Hashime, a holistic medical practitioner to its team.

The addition of a naturopathic medical doctor to the staff means that Federal Hill patients who choose naturopathic medicine will no longer have to travel to Hampden for care. To promote this expansion, Apothecary Wellness has planned an open house Jan. 29.

“We are seeing a drastic change in the way people are taking care of themselves, including the products they are choosing to use," says Christine Cochrum, co-owner of Apothecary Wellness. "We are excited to be a part of that change and we hope to continue to inspire wellness in our community."

The open house will feature free samples of the natural products that the boutique carries, make-up and skincare demonstrations and educational opportunities with the spa's practitioners.

Writer: Amy McNeal
Sources: Jane Seebold; Federal Hill Main Street; Christine Cochrum, Apothecary Wellness

A group of Baltimore Main Streets board members and merchants attended a White House Business Leaders Briefing last month to showcase the Federal Hill microloan program at a small business forum.

“Federal Hill Main Street is launching this because of a lack of access to capital for small businesses in our community. I think nonprofits are the future for lending to small businesses - banks certainly aren't doing it,” says Jane Seebold, Executive Director of Federal Hill Main Street.

The program offers small, short-term loans – from $500 to $2500 – to businesses in Federal Hill for low interest rates. The loans can be used by the businesses for specialized tasks like technology upgrades or seasonal inventory purchases. The loan board has secured an insurer after a lengthy struggle.

Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Jane Seebold, Federal Hill Main Street

Did you remember Small Business Saturday? Now in its second year, the program sponsored by American Express aims to draw attention to local businesses for post-Thanksgiving shopping.

“I did patronize a couple local businesses in my neighborhood Saturday for that reason, but truth be told, I tend to shop local for everything I can, including Christmas presents," says Zoe Saint-Paul, local blogger and founder of SlowMama.com

Neighborhood retailers were offered an advertising boost this year featuring politicians like U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin encouraging Marylanders to “Shop Small” this holiday season. Cardin, a Democrat who represents Maryland, recently co-sponsored a bill to give Small Business Saturday an official designation and date in 2011.

Alexa Webb, owner of Alexa Webb Artisan Jewelry in Federal Hill, says sales from Small Business Saturday increased 480 percent this year compared with last year. Webb credits the advertising campaign in part.

According to the National Retail Federation, an estimated 212 million shoppers spent $45 billion on consumer purchases during Thanksgiving weekend last year. Figures are not yet available for this year.

Writer: Amy McNeal
Sources: National Retail Federation; Alexa Webb, Alexa Webb Artisan Jewelry; Zoe Saint-Paul, SlowMama.com; the Office of U.S. Senator Ben Cardin

Tourism is heating up for the summer in Baltimore. As the city enters a summer packed with headline-making events like the Grand Prix and Baltimore Pride, the hospitality sector is looking forward to a busy and profitable season. 

"Tourism is lifting itself, and doing very well," says Tom Noonan, President and CEO of Visit Baltimore. 

At the Inner Harbor, increased tourism spending is providing opportunities for growth. The Rusty Scupper, a staple of the Inner Harbor tourist trade, expects revenues to increase 25% this year. The National Aquarium and The Maryland Science Center are also experiencing increases in visitor traffic and revenue. Baltimore's popular free bus service, The Charm City Circulator is experiencing increased ridership, and expects to reach 2 million riders this year. 

Visit Baltimore has taken the expected increase in tourism seriously. Through its Certified Tourism Ambassador program, Visit Baltimore aims to have hundreds of specially trained personnel around the city to provide welcoming help to visitors. The program will train hospitality industry workers, police officers, cab drivers and workers in other tourism related industries to help tourists navigate the city and answer questions about history, venues and landmarks. 

"We're training a knowledgeable force, so that as a guest you'll run into someone who is certified, has taken a class and passed an exam," adds Noonan. 

Hotel occupancy is increasing, fueled by both a rebounding travel market and a healthy convention business downtown. Baltimore's hoteliers are adding approximately 2,500 new rooms to handle the increased demand. The city's hospitality profile will increase with the addition of the new Four Seasons Hotel in 2012.

Author: Amy McNeal

Source: Tom Noonan, Visit Baltimore

It's time for racing fans to start their engines. Izod IndyCar Series officials, Gov. Martin O'Malley, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Jay Davidson, CEO fo the Baltimore Grand Prix and Baltimore Racing Development made it official that August 5-7, 2011, The Baltimore Grand Prix will see Indy car racers hit the streets of Baltimore at speeds of more than 230 mph.

"This is an historic day for Baltimore and the State of Maryland, as well as the entire East Coast region, as we have finalized plans for the Izod IndyCar Series racing in Baltimore in 2011," says Davidson.

The August 2011 race will be the first of a planned five-year deal between the City and the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the Izod IndyCar Series. With the deal, Baltimore joins a select group of cities, including Long Beach and Indianapolis, hosting an open-wheel racing event.

"This three-day festival of speed will not just include car racing, but will feature family-friendly activities, offer great entertainment and much, much more," says Davidson.

The Baltimore Grand Prix will offer racing enthusiasts as well as those new to the sport, a combination of racing and festivities that will begin Friday morning and culminate on Sunday with the big event - the Izod IndyCar Series race. Organizers are planning a variety of non-racing activities including a family fun zone, go-karting, beer gardens, extreme sports demonstrations, and professional beach volleyball. Live music will also be a major component all weekend that will feature local artists performing during the day and nationally-known acts in the evenings.

Source: Jay Davidson, Baltimore Grand Prix and Baltimore Racing Development
Writer: Walaika Haskins

 

A new statistical analysis of Baltimore shows that the city has made important improvements in areas central to the city's improvement, including crime, housing, and education prior to the recession. Other social conditions, such as the number of teen births and the number of children with elevated levels of blood lead, have also improved according to the latest "Vital Signs" report by the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance-Jacob France Institute. However, the report shows that while there have been significant improvements in a variety of economic and social indicators in Baltimore, not all neighborhoods within the city have benefited equally.

Available on the BNIA-JFI's new website, analyzes data from nearly 80 indicators provided at the Community Statistical Area level. CSAs, created by the Baltimore City Department of Planning, are clusters of neighborhoods organized around Census Tract boundaries, which are consistent statistical boundaries. Neighborhood borders don't always fall neatly into CSAs, but CSAs represent conditions occurring within the particular neighborhoods that comprise a CSA.

"This latest edition of 'Vital Signs' will help us access how our neighborhoods are doing and what we can do to help improve outcomes," says Janice Hamilton Outtz, senior associate for Civic Site and Initiatives at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. "I am excited about the new report."

The 8th edition of "Vital Signs reveals the following important trends currently impacting the city:

• The city's population declined by 3 percent, from 651,154 in 2000, to 631,815 in 2008. While a handful of neighborhoods lost population, several more, including downtown (22 percent), Loch Raven (8.4 percent) and Northwood (9.9 percent), experienced a growth in population.
• Median sales prices for homes in the city increased by well over 100 percent in the past eight years, although the pace of that increase has slowed considerably since the start of the recession.
• Both adult and juvenile crime has decreased in Baltimore City. In particular, Baltimore City's Part 1 crime rate has declined from 106.0 incidents per 1,000 people in 2000 to 78.3 incidents per 1,000 per people in 2008.
• The number of residential properties receiving rehabilitation investment is climbing, and may be continuing as the recession lingers and more homeowners choose to stay in their current home.
• Baltimore's high school completion rate is on the rise, while its rate of truancy in elementary, middle school and high school (including students who drop out of high school) is in decline.
• The teen birth rate dropped from 83.3 teens out of 1,000 in 2000 to 66.1 teens per 1,000 in 2008�a decline of 17.2 percent.

Other measurements, such as the larger number of Baltimore residents visiting local emergency rooms for non-emergency diagnoses and treatment, expose a city that continues to be constrained by larger trends such as rising health care costs and a lack of adequate medical insurance.

"While Baltimore City has made significant improvements in areas such as crime and education, we appear to be hampered by many of the same things that have struck other urban areas in this recession," says Matthew Kachura, program manager for BNIA-JFI at UB. "But we also are seeing some resilience, such as the increase in home prices, median household income, and an impressive number of small businesses based in well-established city neighborhoods like Edmonson Village and Greenmount East, and by the growing number of city residents who claim at least some higher education in their backgrounds."

BNIA-JFI began in 1998 as a partnership between the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers. In 2006, BNIA joined with the University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute in an expansion of its capabilities. BNIA-JFI has strengthened the "Vital Signs" report and provided additional services and resources for those who seek data, information, and analysis about the city.

BNIA-JFI's latest product is a new Web site, www.bniajfi.org, which provides a wide variety of data, maps, and information for the City of Baltimore and its neighborhoods. Anyone interested in how Baltimore measures up can find easy-to-use statistical analyses, maps, reports and links relevant to the city.

This information is reflected in the latest "Vital Signs" report. For example, Edmonson Village reports the city's highest percentage of successful small businesses (69.2 percent), while a total of 50.9 percent of all city residents reported some type of college attendance as of 2008.

"These trends of educational attainment, lower crime and rising housing prices may not lead to a total revitalization for the city," Kachura said, "but show that many neighborhoods are improving and these improvements paint both a better and a realistic picture of Baltimore. The larger question is whether these trends can be maintained and translated into long-term improvements for Baltimore and its neighborhoods. For the most part, though, they are good news for the city."

Source: Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance-Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins