Finding Funding for Your Startup

The Dingman Center at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business recently expanded its Capital Access Network (CAN), a pipeline for connecting startups with investors, to include entrepreneurs working with the Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer Office. The center also works with the Baltimore Emerging Technology Centers, the Montgomery County Incubator system, and the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute to connect entrepreneurs of mid-Atlantic start-up companies with more a network of than 75 active, accredited angel investors and venture capitalists for early-stage capital.

In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Melissa Carrier, director of venture investments and social entrepreneurship at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, talks about the importance of access to funding for Washington-Baltimore region startup companies.

Entrepreneurs seeking seed and early-stage funding apply to participate in the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship’s Capital Access Network and are screened by the center’s team of staff, entrepreneurs-in-residence, and MBA students. Each month, three companies are selected to present to CAN investors at the Smith School. After each event, the Dingman Center team works with investors and supports the companies throughout the funding process. CAN has been in operation since 2005, last year accepting nearly 70 applications from companies that resulted in 22 presentations to investors and four funding events.