Top News / October 17, 2011

Invest Maryland: New bill could bolster venture funding

With many growing startups struggling to bridge the funding gap between seed money and late-stage venture capital, the technology and venture capital communities in Maryland are backing a proposed program that could fill the void. Approved by state lawmakers this spring, InvestMaryland will auction off tax credits to insurance companies to generate $100 million to invest with venture capital funds in state-based companies.

In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Elana Fine, director of venture investments at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, talks about the outlook for regional venture investments and what the Invest Maryland program will do for state companies.

Fine directs the Dingman Center’s Capital Access Network (CAN), a pipeline that connects startups from regional tech councils, incubators and state-funded institutions with a network of more than 40 active, accredited angel investors and venture capitalists for early-stage capital. The Center has been a hub of campus and regional entrepreneurial activity for 25 years. It also helps lead the University of Maryland’s Technology Transfer programs and provides MBA and undergraduate students at the Smith School with practical experiences and opportunities to pitch their business ideas, obtain feedback from experienced entrepreneurs-in-residence and access funding. 

Smith Business Close-Up is co-produced by the Robert H. Smith School of Business and Maryland Public Television. The television segment focuses on the latest thinking in business management, and features in-depth interviews with Smith School faculty and other members of the school’s community of business leaders.

Where to Watch
Smith Business Close-Up can be seen bi-weekly on Maryland Public Television's Your Business and Money. The program airs at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays and is repeated the following Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on public television stations throughout Maryland and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, including:

  • WMPB-TV (Ch. 67), Baltimore
  • WMPT-TV (Ch. 22), DC metro/Annapolis
  • WCPB-TV (Ch. 28), Salisbury
  • WFPT-TV (Ch. 62), Frederick
  • WWPB-TV (Ch. 31), Hagerstown
  • WGPT-TV (Ch. 36), Oakland

Media Contact

Greg Muraski
Media Relations Manager
301-405-5283  
301-892-0973 Mobile
gmuraski@umd.edu 

About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

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