Maryland Innovation Lab Announces Participating Startups
BALTIMORE, Maryland, United States — March 26nd, 2024 - The Maryland Innovation Lab has announced the 9 participants for its highly anticipated Bootcamp and Pitch Day. The Lab’s pioneering approach connects corporations, governments, and global startups to accelerate business growth through a proven innovation process.
The selected startups are AssetFloow, Colateral, Leeap Labs, Orbital Farm, ORMEX, PARiM, Sustained Impact, Vaayu, and Wholechain. This international cohort includes entrepreneurs from Canada, Germany, Portugal, the UK, and the US.
These nine companies were chosen from over 600 startups and scale-ups identified by innovation firm L Marks following an extensive outreach campaign. The Maryland-based corporate partners, Pompeian, Sodexo, and Simpli, selected these companies to revolutionize their approach to sustainability standards, carbon tracking, supply chain & distribution processes, and understanding consumer behavior and experience.
The three-day innovation bootcamp will enable the teams to rapidly develop customized use cases with expert guidance and mentorship from the corporate partners, L Marks, World Trade Center Institute (WTCI), the Maryland Department of Commerce, and local business executives. Culminating in a pitch and showcase event on April 4th, the entrepreneurs will present their solutions to industry and political leaders within the Maryland business ecosystem. The corporate partners will select the most exciting companies to pilot their unique use cases over a 10-week validation program.
The Maryland Innovation Lab is thrilled to support Governor Moore’s Equitech initiatives and Global Gateway Program. The inaugural cohort consists of global startups, many of which are driven by underrepresented founders. The diversity of the lab spans both the startups and corporate partners, representing the diversity of the State of Maryland.
The Maryland Department of Commerce, WTCI, and L Marks are the forces behind the innovation lab as a part of Maryland’s Global Gateway Program, created last year to attract more international businesses to the state and ease their transition into the U.S. market by connecting them with local incubators and accelerators.
For more information about the Maryland Innovation Lab, please visit:
wtci.org/Maryland-Innovation-Lab
About World Trade Center Institute (WTCI)
The World Trade Center Institute empowers globally minded leaders from the Mid-Atlantic with ideas and connections to drive growth and global good. We focus on existing and emerging global business leaders in the Mid-Atlantic – from high school students to executives in the C-Suite – whose work touches people in the United States and countries worldwide. Our network includes 3,500+ companies and hundreds of academic institutions, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, making it the largest network of global businesses in the Mid-Atlantic.
WTCI hosts events where people can learn and connect. We also offer fellowships to executives who want to grow into the C-Suite at global entities and high school and college students who want a career that touches many cultures and countries. We also help people from other countries learn about a range of issues from their counterparts in the Mid-Atlantic. For more information on WTCI, go to www.wtci.org.
About L Marks
L Marks is a leading innovation specialist that has created over 100 innovation labs and collaboration programs with its partners in Europe, Asia and North America. With a track record of successful collaborations, L Marks brings startups into established corporate ecosystems to drive innovation and growth. Through their expertise and global footprint, L Marks enhances the success and impact of startups across various industries, achieving a successful deployment rate of over 70%. L Marks annually identifies 10,000 startups from more than 80 countries.
About Pompeian Olive Oil
Pompeian Olive Oil is a trusted leader in the olive oil industry, with a history dating back to 1906. Dedicated to providing high-quality, authentic olive oils, Pompeian is committed to promoting healthier cooking choices and culinary innovation. With a focus on sustainability and responsible sourcing, Pompeian Olive Oil has earned the trust of chefs and home cooks around the world.
About SIMPLi
A woman-owned and minority-owned company, SIMPLi’s mission is to simplify and transform a flawed food system into one that is equitable and regenerative – good for the people, producers, and the planet. The company stands out for its commitment to plastic-free packaging for its beans, grains, legumes, superfoods, oils, and spices. In an effort to commercialize sustainable and regenerative organic farming, SIMPLi works with native farming communities around the globe to transition their land to Regenerative Organic Certified®, a method of farming that restores and regenerates the planet. SIMPLi is a leading Regenerative Organic Certified® food company with transitional organic, organic, and regenerative organic certified products offered through its food service and retail channels. Learn more about SIMPLi’s ever-expanding line of Regenerative Organic Certified® products at eatsimpli.com and @eatsimpli.
About Sodexo North America
Sodexo North America is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 53 countries. Sodexo specializes in sustainable food and valued experiences at every moment in life: learn, work, heal and play. The company employs 94,000 people at thousands of sites in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam, and indirectly supports more than 100,000 additional jobs through its annual purchases of $20B in goods and services from small to large businesses. Routinely recognized for the organization’s commitments to sustainability as well as diversity, equity and inclusion, Sodexo North America’s purpose is
to create a better everyday for everyone to build a better life for all.