On June 15, the Board of Directors of the Maryland Business Incubation Association (MBIA) voted Launch Workplaces as its newest member, being the first coworking company to be accepted as an incubator in the state! This will provide our members with more resources and avenues of growth compared to similar shared office companies. MBIA president, Robert Snyder, was impressed with our Gaithersburg location, the educational programs we offer and the entrepreneurial spirit of our members that reflect well of the other business incubators across the state; such as the Business Innovation Network, BWTech at UMBC, ETC in Baltimore and FastForward at Johns Hopkins.
MBIA also announced their 2017 Maryland Incubator Company of the Year (ICOY) awards. These awards publicly recognizes achievements by current clients and graduates of Maryland incubators and provides a forum for the nominees to increase their visibility in the business, technology and investment communities.For the first time, they allowed coworking companies to apply in an “unaffiliated” category. Launch Workplaces member Ajay Gupta’s company Health Solutions Research, applied and was named one of three finalists, giving his company exposure to important people across the state of Maryland. Congratulations Ajay!
The MBIA was founded in 2002 to advance business incubation in Maryland. Representing 22 incubators, MBIA supports nearly 550 companies across the state in both urban and rural areas. Since its inception, its incubators have generated 11,800 jobs, making it equivalent to one of the state’s largest employers. Business incubators support new and early-stage businesses in Maryland. In 1986, the first public incubator was established at the University of Maryland in College Park. Recognizing the economic challenges facing new companies, business incubators are facilities that provide reasonable market rents, shared services and technical assistance to start-ups and early-stage companies, including manufacturing, biotech, service and technology firms.
If you would like to join our entrepreneurial community, contact us!
Karen Kalantzis, Community Manager
(301) 232-3301