Author Archives: Angela Hongmannivanh

Cost Savings

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Cost Savings Program

The Tech Council’s Cost Savings program delivers an excellent ROI, and we have the proof! 

TCM wants to remind you that your membership gives you the leverage of our entire industry’s financial clout to deliver to your company – as a FREE benefit – exclusive deep savings and premier services from leading suppliers! At no cost to you, sign up today and get a $25.00 gift card. 

Have you checked out the advantages of the cost savings program? Want to save money on office supplies or insurance? What about microscope systems or document sharing software? There is something for everyone. 

Nearly 3000 companies currently use the purchasing program and the discounted prices and value added features available to you are based on the total volume of the program. This program gives you the purchasing power of the largest companies in your industry. We have pooled the purchasing power of thousands of companies to benefit your company. Your exact savings will depend on which programs you use as well as other factors, such as product mix, frequency and volume of purchases, etc.

Each supplier knows the unique risks and challenges of our high-stakes industry. Each has been selected to give every company—your company—savings and services usually reserved for only the very largest enterprises.

Enrollment is quick and easy. For specifics on the savings and benefits available to you immediately, click here.

Workforce Development

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A Look at Employer Incentives from the State of Maryland

We’re still reveling in the holiday spirit, but tax season seems to sneak up quickly after the New Year. In an effort to retain employers, reduce the cost of doing business, and attract out-of-state companies, the State of Maryland offers various incentives for employers based on the types of employees they hire and where the business is located. Knowing that the State offers these  incentives may help with the beginning-of-the-year tax blues.

Disabled Access Tax Incentive
Small businesses are eligible for two tax incentives to help cover the cost of providing reasonable accommodations for employees or customers with disabilities, such as sign language interpreters, readers, materials in alternative format (such as Braille or large print), the purchase of adaptive equipment, the modification of existing equipment, or the removal of architectural barriers.

The tax credit is available to businesses that have either revenues of $1,000,000 or less or 30 or fewer full-time workers. The maximum amount of the credit is $5,000. The credit can be used to cover a variety of expenditures, including: The amount of the tax credit is equal to 50% of the eligible access expenditures in a year, up to a maximum of $5,000. There is no tax credit for the first $250 of expenditures.

Empowerment Zone Employment Credit
The Empowerment Zone Employment Credit is an incentive, for businesses located in an Empowerment Zone, to hire employees who live in the zone, earning a tax credit of up to $3,000 per eligible employee. Empowerment Zones are distressed urban and rural areas nationwide that are in need of revitalization. The Empowerment Zone Initiative brings communities together through public and private partnerships to create the investment necessary for economic development. The Federal government assists these targeted communities by providing tax incentives, grants, loans and technical assistance. To determine if your business is located in an EZ, visit the HUD website at http://arcg.is/2h6LoNs.

The Federal Bonding Program
The Federal Bonding Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and serves as a tool to secure the job placement of ex-offenders and other high-risk applicants by issuing Fidelity bonds to businesses who offer jobs to workers in “at risk” groups. These bonds are business insurance policies that protect the employer in case of any loss of money or property due to employee dishonesty.

The bond is given to the employer free-of-charge, and serves as an incentive to the company to hire a job applicant who is an ex-offender or has some other risk factor in their personal background. The employer is then able to employ the worker without taking any risk of dishonesty on the job. It insures the employer for any type of stealing by theft, forgery, larceny, or embezzlement.

The initial Fidelity bond is issued for a six-month period. A total of $5,000 bond coverage is usually issued, with no deductible amount of liability for the employer. Larger bond amounts can possibly be issued if the certified agency issuing the bonds has acquired a special bond package and has determined that larger bond amounts are appropriate. A list of worker qualifications is available at http://bit.ly/2h3yYp4. 

Renewal Community Employment Credit
Similar to the Empowerment Zone Employment Credit, the Renewal Community Employment Credit allows companies located within a Renewal Community (RC) to earn a tax credit of up to $1,500 for each of their employees who lives in the community. Renewal Communities are distressed urban and rural areas nationwide that are in need of revitalization

The Renewal Community Employment Credit is an incentive to businesses that are located in a renewal community to hire and retain employees who also live in the RC. Businesses are eligible for a wage credit of up to $1,500 per eligible employee.

The credit is 15% of the qualified wages paid during a calendar year, up to $10,000 per employee. Both newly hired and current employees are eligible. The credit is renewable each year, and there is no limit to the number of employees a business can claim, as long as each employee lives in the RC. Both full-time and part-time employees may qualify. Learn more about Renewal Communities at http://bit.ly/2h71OrO.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal income tax credit that can be claimed by employers who hire employees from one of nine targeted groups.

The WOTC can be as much as:

  • $2,400 for each new adult hire
  • $1,200 for each summer youth hire
  • $4,800 for each new disabled veteran hire
  • $9,000 for each new long-term Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipient hired over a 2-year period 

To learn more about incentives for Maryland-based employers, visit http://bit.ly/2gw2x6e

Source: http://bit.ly/2gw2x6e

Capital

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Finding Funding Locally

Sources of funding for businesses come in a variety of forms and from different government entities both locally and nationally. In our two previous articles we covered funding resources from the federal government (SBA) and from the State of Maryland. This month we’ll highlight programs on the local level that are offered by Montgomery County.

Montgomery County Economic Development Grant and Loan Program

Who is eligible? The County provides financial assistance to private employers who retain jobs or stimulate new job creation in Montgomery County. Priority is given to high tech companies, manufacturing companies, businesses located in urban revitalization areas, and private employers providing the greatest public benefits.

Amount: The typical amount ranges from $5,000 – $10,000 but higher amounts are possible for larger projects.

Priority: Priority is given to private employers who will create significant growth, significant capital investment in the County, will improve the County’s economic development strategies, and where it leverages existing state and private sector funding.

Montgomery County MOVE Program

Who is eligible? Businesses that are new to the County that lease up to 10,000 square feet of Class A or B office space. All industries, except retail and restaurants, and all leases up to 10,000 square feet are eligible.

Amount: $8/square feet

Requirement: Sign a minimum 3-year lease 

Montgomery County Small Business Revolving Loan Program

Who is eligible? Small businesses based in Montgomery County with gross revenues of less than $5,000,000 annually and fewer than 75 employees. Program funds must assist the expansion of the business or help retain and stabilize the business.

Amount: Ranges from $5,000 – $100,000 with maximum terms up to 5 years.

Criteria:
Program applicants will be rated on these elements:

  • Financial history (if applicable, including personal financial/credit history) and projections, including balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and bank statements (if applicable)
  • Background, experience, and financial commitment of the company principal(s) and key management personnel
  • Statement of the amount, timing, and projected use of the County’s assistance and any co-venture capital
  • Projected employment growth, and/or other positive economic impacts that the County’s assistance will facilitate
  • Ability of the recipient business to generate sufficient income to service the requested loan

Priority will be given to:

  • Assistance that will materially improve the County’s economy and advance the County’s economic development objectives and strategies
  • Cases where the County’s assistance will function as a catalyst to the company’s subsequent capitalization
  • Cases where the business will create significant employment growth by creating new jobs within 3 to 5 years of funding
  • Businesses for whom private/bank financing is not available at the time of application

Commercial Lending

Montgomery County contributes funds into community banks that have agreed to focus on lending to small businesses in the County. Banks that participate with the County are listed below.

  • Capital Bank
  • Congressional Bank
  • Eagle Bank
  • Wells Fargo Woman/Diverse Business Owner Programs

In addition to funding resources, the County also offers business advice, licenses/permits, and a variety of services at the Montgomery County Business Portal at http://bit.ly/2gCTTP6.

Source: Montgomery County Business Portal – http://bit.ly/2gCTTP6

Government Relations

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Legislature Evaluates
Maryland Job Creation Tax Credit

Since 2012, Maryland has established 14 tax credits with eight of those primarily for businesses. Since then, each enacted tax credit is required to be formally evaluated by the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) and that evaluation is to be reviewed by a special legislative committee. This year, the Job Creation Tax Credit is the subject of this process. In 2018, the process is required to evaluate and review the Research and Development Tax Credit and the Biotechnology Tax Credit. The Cyber Security Investment Incentive will be the subject of the process in 2019.

Since its inception in 2002, the Job Creation Tax Credit has been claimed by 101 businesses who reported creating 17,692 jobs. The tax credits to those businesses totaled an estimated 21.8 million dollars.

To be eligible, a business must be involved in certain industries. Biotechnology, research, development and testing, and information technology are among those business sectors eligible for the credit.

The DLS evaluation found that the Job Creation Tax Credit provides a modest incentive to large businesses but it overlaps with other State employment tax credits. Small businesses are at a disadvantage in trying to use the credit because of its requirement to create at least 30 jobs within two years. Also, the requirement to have a certification from a CPA can be too costly.

The significant recommendation from the DLS evaluation is that the Maryland General Assembly consider consolidating the credit with other employment based credits and lower the job creation requirement to make the credit more broad based.

TCM anticipates legislation to change the eligibility of this tax credit and others during the upcoming 2017 legislative session. Any proposals in this area will be discussed by the Legislative Committee during their regular conference calls starting in January.

Member Spotlight

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Noble Life Sciences

The Tech Council recently visited with Srujana Cherukuri, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, of Noble Life Sciences. The company was founded in Gaithersburg and currently operates the business at their location, which is nestled in a picturesque valley in Sykesville in Carroll County, Maryland.

What services does Noble Life Sciences offer?

We provide integrated GLP and non-GLP preclinical services designed to accelerate development of drugs, vaccines, and medical devices. Our core services are disease and animal models in a wide range of mammalian species, toxicology, analytical and lab services, polyclonal antibody production, and drug evaluation services with significant expertise in the development of new drugs to treat cancer and infectious diseases.

Noble offers real-time, live animal imaging services with the IVIS Lumina series imager. This imaging tool is well suited for preclinical studies of new drugs to treat cancer and infectious diseases as well as cell and gene therapies. Our imaging capabilities also include a C-arm imaging scanner intensifier, radiography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound.

Tell us about this location.  

Spring Valley Laboratories, founded in 1980, was headquartered at this location, at first providing animal housing and antibody production services. Eventually, the company’s services expanded to include GLP-compliant services and large animal testing capabilities. Because Spring Valley’s services and capabilities were complementary to Noble’s small animal testing capabilities and in vitro drug discovery expertise, Noble acquired Spring Valley Laboratories in 2014. In 2015, we consolidated operations at this site. The facility consists of 24,000 square feet of animal housing, support, and lab space on a 25-acre campus. The support space includes two surgical suites with recovery room and intensive care area; labs for clinical pathology, specimen analysis, and necropsy; and areas for test article storage and secure-access controlled archives.

noble-aerial-2

How is Noble different from other companies in this arena?

The key for us is to offer flexibility and competitive pricing to our clients backed by strong scientific experience. In addition, Noble provides high quality and customized services to our clients allowing our clients to participate in their studies. For example, a medical device company may want to use our animals and technicians but have their surgeon conduct the testing of their device. We provide the resources, but they conduct the study. We offer our clients a full range of options including assistance with study design and program development based on our scientific expertise and extensive experience in drug development and medical devices.

What type of support do you offer to startups?

We offer quite a few resources to startups. As anyone in a startup can tell you, it’s not always possible to hire a lot of people and the staff doesn’t always have the scientific expertise that’s needed to plan and conduct a study. So we walk them through the process and help them in preclinical program development. We also help companies with grant applications. For example, we can help them prepare a budget, develop an animal-use protocol, and provide them with a support letter.

Do you see any trends in CROs?

Partnering is popular now because many CROs do not provide a full range of services. For example, a CRO may have most of the capabilities needed to meet their clients’ needs but not have large animal capabilities or a surgical suite. In such a case, the CRO might partner with Noble to offer a more complete package of services. This is a good model for clients who want to have their study managed by one CRO and receive a single report.

What’s in the future for Noble?

We want to grow our business by offering our clients high quality, cost effective preclinical services. We will be increasing our sales and marketing presence as well as continuing to expand our technology platform to add more value to our clients.

We’re also excited about a new externship program that we developed with Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health. Through this program we offer full-time Ph.D. candidates non-academic experience for 6-12 months. After they are trained in our sales process, they spend 10 hours a week helping us to increase our client base by using their scientific background and their sales training. The externs benefit because they gain business development experience and can explore alternate career paths which they may pursue in the future.

Have you utilized any of the Tech Council’s benefits?

Absolutely, we’ve taken advantage of the VWR member discount program for years and see that as a big benefit.

Who can Tech Council members contact for more information?

They can contact me at my business number 410.795.2222 or my cell 301.642.7826 or at scherukuri@noblelifesci.com.

TCM Featured Highlight

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TCM Moves Convergence Forward in Maryland with Panel Discussion

There have been a lot of discussions recently about the convergence of life science, technology, and healthcare and its future in the state of Maryland. As an ecosystem, the consensus is that we could be doing a better job of bringing together these industries for the purpose of driving precision medicine and the companies and organizations that support it. To that end, the Tech Council hosted a panel discussion on November 3rd at the Institute for Bioscience & Biotechnology in Rockville. Several key opinion leaders from life science, technology, and healthcare gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges of precision medicine and how Maryland can become a “top three” in terms of the convergence. The panel delivered key takeaways about data management access, best practices, patient representation, and the development of an asset map for our area.

We expect to form an advisory committee from the participants to continue to move the topic and discussion forward. The Tech Council would like to thank all of the participants and our sponsors, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Schiff Hardin, Selnova, and iExecuVision.

Capital

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How the Small Business Administration Can Help Finance Your Business

Starting or expanding a business comes with a range of responsibilities from strategy to hiring to most importantly, funding. Learning about financing options and choosing a lender can be intimidating, but the Small Business Administration (SBA) is a good place to start. The agency provides an array of financing for small businesses from the smallest needs in micro-lending to substantial debt and equity investment capital (venture capital). Loans are made through banks, credit unions, and other lenders who partner with the SBA.

The SBA provides assistances primarily through these programmatic functions:

Starting and Expanding Businesses

  • Basic 7(a) Loan Program: Gives 7(a) loans to eligible borrowers for starting, acquiring and expanding a small business. This type of loan is the most basic and the most used within SBA’s business loan programs. Borrowers must apply through a participating lender institution.
  • Certified Development Company (CDC) 504 Loan Program: Provides growing businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and buildings.
  • Microloan Program: Offers very small loans to start-up, newly established, or growing small businesses. SBA makes funds available to nonprofit community-based lenders which, in turn, make loans to eligible borrowers in amounts up to a maximum of $50,000. Applications are submitted to the local intermediary and all credit decisions are made on the local level.

 Disaster Loans

  • Disaster Assistance Loans:
Provide financial assistance to victims of disasters or to individuals in a declared disaster area. You may be eligible for this type of loan even if you don’t own a business.
  • Economic Injury Loans:
Assist small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and nonprofit organizations as they recover from economic losses resulting from physical disaster or an agricultural production disaster.

Export Assistance Loans

  • Export Express: Provide exporters and lenders with a streamlined method of obtaining financing for loans and lines of credit up to $500,000. Lenders use their own credit decision process and loan documentation; exporters get access to their funds faster. SBA provides an expedited eligibility review with a response in less than 24 hours.
  • Export Working Capital: Offers loans targeted at businesses that are able to generate export sales but need additional working capital to support these opportunities.
  • International Trade Loans: Gives term loans that are designed for businesses that plan to start/continue exporting or those that have been adversely affected by competition from imports. The proceeds of the loan must enable the borrower to be in a better position to compete. 

Veteran and Military Community Loans

  • Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan:
Offers funds to eligible small businesses to meet ordinary and necessary operating expenses that could have been met, but are unable to meet, because an essential employee was “called-up” to active duty in their role as a military reservist.

Special Purpose Loans

  • CAPLines:
Help small businesses meet their short-term and cyclical working-capital needs through the SBA umbrella program called CAPLines.
  • Pollution Control Loans:
Provides financing to eligible small businesses for the planning, design, or installation of a pollution control facility.
  • S. Community Adjustment And Investment Program (CAIP):
CAIP is a program established to assist U.S. companies that are doing business in areas of the country that have been negatively affected by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). To be eligible, a business must reside in a county noted as being negatively affected by NAFTA, based on job losses and the unemployment rate of the county.

Grants
The SBA does not provide grants for starting and expanding a business, but they do provide grants for small businesses that are engaged in scientific R&D. You can qualify for federal grants under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. SBIR and STTR programs encourage small businesses to undertake R&D projects that meet federal R&D objectives and a have high potential for commercialization. More information on SBA research grants can be found at SBIR.gov.

To make the process easier for borrowers, the agency has an online referral tool called LINC. The tool connects small business owners with participating SBA lenders in their communities by enabling prospective borrowers to complete a short online questionnaire. The responses are forwarded to participating SBA lenders that operate within the small business’ county, and if lenders are interested, then contact information will be exchanged.

To learn more about the SBA and its lending programs, visit www.sba.gov.

Source: Small Business Administration – https://www.sba.gov

Workforce Development

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Baltimore-Based Company Helps You Recruit with Personality Testing

Wouldn’t it be nice if your recruiting team had a Director of Psychology? You know, someone who could really dig deep and find out if job candidates will fit into your culture and succeed in their positions? Baltimore-based Traitify won’t offer up a psychologist, but they are helping companies find qualified candidates through personality testing that has been developed by their in-house psychology team. In an effort to help people make better career decisions, reduce turnover, and create strong teams, Traitify’s tool lets you analyze core personalities of candidates with work-based personality assessments that are designed to measure personality as it relates to work.

Traitify has developed several personality assessments that are quick to complete and are optimized for mobile viewing. Their longest-running assessment takes about two minutes, and they claim a completion rate of 94.7%. If you want to create your own assessment, Traitify offers that option as well. The first of three assessments, Careers, tests for seven personality types (action taker, analyzer, inventor, mentor, naturalist, planner, visionary) and for personality traits. Traits enable you to assess the individual on a granular level to determine what makes them unique, and each assessment measures 56 in total including open-minded, rational, empathetic, intuitive, confident, etc). As a supplement to the Career assessment, the Introversion/Extroversion deck measures social style and a user’s proclivity to be an introvert or an extrovert. This is a key feature of understanding the needs and preferences of users and is an important element of personality.

Traitify offers two other assessments that can be used for recruiting and for other purposes. The second assessment, Core, measures overall elements of an individual’s personality and assesses a full range of characterological components in order to gain an overall picture of a person. The personality information derived from this assessment can be used to gain a general understanding of the user’s personality or to match individuals with other people which can be used for dating or content curation. Heroes is the third assessment, and it allows IT developers to make recommendations based on science, not assumptions. Personality blends, types, and traits can be matched in just minutes. This is a good tool for marketers as it enables them to segment users into distinct audiences to customize messaging, experience, offerings and more.

Additional utilities can be added to the assessments results in the form of personality blends, environments, complements/conflicts, famous people, and career matching. Data that is collected from each assessment is displayed on an Insights page that shows the personalities of people who you are considering hiring or who work for you already. A smart filter helps with team building in that it allows you to select specific sets of people, departments, etc. and the Quick Compare lets you compare every personality type of individuals within a department or in different regions.

Traitify subjects each assessment to extensive testing to ensure its accuracy in real-world use. Tested on the Cronbach’s Alpha, their Career assessment received a 0.94 which is higher than some of their traditional competitors. Additionally, Traitify practices predictive validity, where the data is looked at directly for accuracy, rather than comparing scores to those of a different group of individuals that might be irrelevant to your industry or needs.

By choosing to utilize one, or many, of Traitify’s assessment you will be in good company. Organizations such as Capital One, Johns Hopkins, Monster, Manpower, and Snagajob are all customers. The Traitify website also offers insights into recruiting and personality testing on their blog. So if you are looking to add to your arsenal of recruiting tools, try using a service from a Maryland-based company that is looking to enhance the local and national workforce.

Source: Traitify – www.traitify.com

Member Spotlight

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ontapOn Tap Media
This month, the Tech Council brings you an interview with On Tap Media Publisher, Jennifer Currie and Key Account Manager, Tom Roth.

Tell us about On Tap Media.
On Tap was started by my [Jennifer’s] brother in 1998 as an entertainment resource for people living in Washington, D.C. When we started the magazine, the premise was “preview, not review.” We really just want to let people know what events are happening in the area. Our content isn’t opinion-based or partisan; we’re here to say, “Hey D.C., take a deep breath.”

The publication is print and web-based and the circulation is about 35,000. It’s distributed for free on the first Friday and Saturday of each month at 500 locations in the D.C. area. It’s also formatted for mobile on our website at www.ontaponline.com.

We have eight employees who work in the office here in Alexandria (not including Blue, a very friendly Australian Shepherd mix) and sixty who work virtually. Some of our clients are surprised to see a fully cohesive team show up at an event after we’ve planned all of the details virtually. We’ve always worked this way, so it’s natural for us.

In addition to publishing a local entertainment magazine,
you also manage events.
Yes, we’re heavily involved in event planning in Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, and D.C. This was a logical next step for us. We would host a party at a restaurant, for example, and then the evolution of that was to plan their next event and use our publication as a way to promote it. We plan, for the most part, free, non-ticketed events end-to-end which can include hiring bands, caterers, and photographers, executing and managing sponsorship agreements, marketing, and much more. We do a lot of grand opening events for developers and property management companies. Additionally, we are partners with Monumental Sports Network and we produce events for the Nationals and the Friday Night Concert Series in Yards Park.

What is the biggest challenge in event planning?
The biggest challenge is ensuring that we get a good crowd at each event. We take our commitment to the events very seriously, and our clients’ goals are our goals. If we plan a grand opening for an apartment building, we want to get the right people there so that they will rent those apartments.   

What is the craziest event that you’ve been asked to produce?
Corona asked us to put together the Running of the Chihuahuas event for Cinco de Mayo. We’ve done it five years in a row now, and last year we had 96 dogs race with 2000 (human) attendees at The Wharf in D.C. It’s a fun event that raises money for local animal charities. We also did a fashion show in SE D.C. where we assembled a glass runway atop a pool. Just to push the limits a bit further, we even had a fireworks display lit from a barge off of the river.

How can you help Tech Council members?
We can help members create events or look for ways to get involved in their communities. The tech sector is a big draw for retail and housing, so we help those sectors reach the right audiences. We did an event for Mallory Square apartments in Rockville and in that case, we helped them connect with a demographic of people who would be interested in living there.

If readers are interested in having you plan an event for them, what is the next step?
They should email or call me at jennifer@ontaponline.com or at 703.465.0500 or Tom at tomroth@ontaponline.com or at 301.910.2784. We look forward to working with the Tech Council members.

Government Relations

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2016 Election to Effect Many 2017 Maryland Policy Decisions

The 2017 General Assembly session will be greatly affected by the results of the recently completed 2016 election. It will provide the overriding context for all the decisions that will be made between now and April.

Already certain questions are emerging which, although not answerable now, will shape all the public decisions made in Maryland over the next two years. Those include:

  • Does Governor Hogan have the potential to get more votes in 2018 than he got in 2014?
  • Will turnout in Democrat strongholds like Montgomery and Prince George’s counties continue a downward trend?
  • Will Anne Arundel and Charles County continue to trend toward Democrat candidates?
  • How will a Trump Presidency affect the candidacies of Democrat elected officials in rural Maryland in 2018?
  • Can Republicans use the popularity of Governor Hogan and the votes for President –elect Trump to elected more Republicans in places like Baltimore County?

The Tech Council of Maryland will be analyzing many of the election results, including those in the attached chart, to determine how they will change Maryland policy makers and their thinking. Many of those effects will be discussed at the TCM legislative committee meeting over the next few months. Click here for election results.