Startup Maryland announced updates to the schedule (Sept. 12–Oct. 2) and the rough route for the Pitch Across Maryland, the fourth annual statewide tour and celebration of entrepreneurship and high-growth startup companies. The tour again will traverse the state, with the purpose of celebrating Maryland’s diverse communities of venture building. A sampling of details, key data and results from previous tours follow.

  • 35 tour stops around the state in 2014; 32 in 2013; 25 in 2012
  • More than 50 “Rock Star“ tour sponsors/partners, including universities, economic development agencies, angel/venture capital investors, incubators/accelerators, affinity brand owners, sponsors
  • Months of active media coverage; more than 1 million press impressions
  • More than 600 startups attended tour events in 2012, 2013 and 2014; 168 startups “pitched“ their idea/business in 2012, 161 in 2013 and 170 in 2014
  • Video Pitch Competition winnowed field to Top 3 Fan Favorites and 8 Finalists as Best Candidates for Venture Investment
  • Startup Maryland was invited to the White House to brief other national startup ecosystem builders on how the Pitch Across Maryland helps cultivate strong startup communities

“Celebration of Maryland’s entrepreneurial spirit is front-and-center as the Pitch Across Maryland shines a spotlight on the Free State’s leadership in many of the most lucrative industry and innovation categories,“ said Michael Binko, founder of Startup Maryland.

“From traditional ‘feds, eds and meds’ (government/education/health care/life sciences-bio), to cloud computing, cybersecurity, creative/arts, clean energy, manufacturing, sustainability, to autonomous systems and the Internet-of-Things (IoT), Maryland entrepreneurs are breeding ventures that disrupt a wide array of industries.“ For more information, visit http://startupmd.org/pitchmd.