The life of a startup is, if nothing else, unpredictable.
Whether a founder channels their personal mission into a university affiliate, a bootstrapped private company, a nonprofit or something else, their best-laid plans are vulnerable to unanticipated shifts. The economy could turn. Once-friendly VCs or foundations might lose their risk appetite. A crucial contract might not come through. Even those ventures with promising models can simply run out of money.
All parts of that journey matter. That’s why we reached out to the RealLIST Startups we honored in Q1 to see how things have been going. In Baltimore, our list went beyond the typical early-stage, tech-producing private companies to include less-typical outfits like an accelerator operator and a center at Morgan State University.
Those who responded, in Charm City and beyond, paint a picture of dynamism, with developments ranging from major raises and contracts to rebrands and other strategic pivots.
Modest staff and funding growth
Nearly two-thirds of respondents (61%) across Technical.ly’s five geographic areas of focus — Philly, Delaware, Baltimore, DC and Pittsburgh — reported increases in their headcounts since being honored, while just over 30% who maintained their staff sizes. Only 5% said their teams shrank.
In Baltimore specifically, 6 of 10 honorees reported staff increases. But that growth was relatively small, with the largest current headcount being 7, at the University of Maryland BioPark-based Irazú Oncology. And only about 60% of Baltimore respondents plan to grow staff in the next year, compared to almost 83% across our publication’s footprint.
Financially, 8 of 10 Charm City startups landed new funding since we put them on the list last February. Amounts ranged from $3,000 (for DJ’s Event Planning, which provides free support services to entrepreneurs) to $250,000 (a VC raise for cognitive health-focused platform Sommos).
Some of our honorees also noted client or customer funding boosts. Fem Equity CEO Adeola Ajani said her platform was able to help its female users increase earnings by $1.5 million. Its greatest struggle involves scaling its operations with the right business model, including business-to-business and business-to-consumer components. Still, it raised $75,000 from awards and customers.
“While the platform has gained significant recognition and partnerships, figuring out how to sustain long-term growth and become a dominant player in the market has required ongoing innovation and strategic thinking,” Ajani said.
Content retrieved from: https://technical.ly/startups/reallist-startups-baltimore-2024-check-in/.
