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.

Mentoring Services

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Tech Council of Maryland Venture Mentoring Services (TCM VMS) Continues to Soar – Seeking Startup Companies

The TCM VMS program is looking for startup companies in the technology and life sciences fields, led by an individual or individuals who work full-time on the business that are preparing to raise their first venture capital or institutional round of financing. For more information or to apply, click here

Potential Startup Companies whose applications are accepted will have the opportunity to present to potential mentors at a monthly meeting, after which the TCM VMS will facilitate matches with interested mentors. The TCM VMS will provide guidelines to support the startup of the relationship and assist in the ongoing management of the team mentoring meetings. There is no fee to the startup company for the mentoring program. For more information or to apply, click here

The TCM VMS program is based on a team mentoring approach modeled after the highly-successful MIT Venture Mentoring Service, which has been implemented in more than 60 communities around the globe. The TCM VMS program is currently serving 14 Maryland-based startup companies, which have a nexus to Maryland and a demonstrated proof of concept for their respective product or service. For more information or to apply, click here 

Contact: The Tech Council of Maryland Venture Mentor Services is a program of the Tech Council of Maryland. For more information or to apply, click here.

Cost Savings Program

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Deep Discounts and Exclusive Services available to
Tech Council Members

Your company’s TCM membership leverages the entire industry’s financial clout to deliver to you—as a FREE benefit—exclusive deep savings and premier services from leading suppliers in many vital areas. Are you taking advantage of your free member benefit? For information and enrollment, click here

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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.

Cost Savings Program

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TCM is pleased to announce that the Office Depot member benefit deal just got better.  The program offers aggressive pricing based on $6 million of total annual volume. Office Depot also offers discounted pricing on Copy Print Depot services which provide professional printing, copying, binding, and finishing as well as Promotional Products services with over 1,200 promotional items available for customized company branding.

Whether you have one location or many, the national program continues to offer a local touch. Realize significant cost savings through category management, online tools and reporting that help streamline ordering. See what companies like yours $aved. A few enhancements to the program include:

  • Deep discounts on copy, print and finishing services, including signs, table cloths and marketing
  • Exclusive discounts on HP ink and toner
  • Discounts on breakroom and facility supplies
  • Discounts on office furniture
  • Free Delivery on qualifying orders
  • Dedicated Account Manager
  • Click here for exclusive member promotion

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Contact: See the cost savings and review a list of our reputable partners to get more information. For specifics on exclusive savings and benefits available to TCM members, click here. Take advantage of this Tech Council of Maryland free member benefit today!

Mentoring Services

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Tech Council of Maryland Venture Mentoring Services (TCM VMS) Soaring – Seeking Startup Companies

The TCM VMS program is based on a team mentoring approach modeled after the highly-successful MIT Venture Mentoring Service, which has been implemented in more than 60 communities around the globe. The TCM VMS program is currently serving 14 Maryland-based startup companies, which have a nexus to Maryland and a demonstrated proof of concept for their respective product or service.

The TCM VMS program is focused on startups in the technology and life sciences fields that are preparing to raise their first venture capital or institutional round of financing. Potential startup companies are carefully selected and may include individuals whose organization is their first or second venture.

The TCM VMS program is looking for startup companies led by an individual or individuals who work full-time on the business and will be committed to the program and willing to take responsibility for engaging with their mentor team.

Potential Startup Companies whose applications are accepted will have the opportunity to present to potential mentors at a monthly meeting, after which the TCM VMS will facilitate matches with interested mentors. The TCM VMS will provide guidelines to support the startup of the relationship and assist in the ongoing management of the team mentoring meetings. There is no fee to the startup company for the mentoring program.

Contact: The Tech Council of Maryland Venture Mentor Services is a program of the Tech Council of Maryland. For more information or to apply, click here.

TCM Highlight

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Tech Council to Lead Panel Discussion on the Regional Opportunities of Precision Medicine and Digital Health

The state of Maryland, and specifically Montgomery County, have become leaders in the evolution of bringing together information technology companies with healthcare and life science companies for the purpose of advancing the future of precision medicine and digital health. As a respected representative, the Tech Council is taking the lead in this effort and on November 3, we are hosting an invitation-only panel discussion to lay the groundwork by discussing standards for information sharing, partnering in the development of opportunities, and addressing challenges that are associated with this new paradigm. This is a first-of-its-kind consolidation of discussion to include life sciences, technologies, and healthcare industry specialists with key government and academic leaders.

Topics to be discussed include:

  1. What are the opportunities?
  2. What are the challenges that will need to be overcome?
  3. What resources will be required, and how will those resources be
    marshaled to drive success?
  4. Who needs to partner?

The panel will be comprised of 15-20 selected industry and opinion leaders, and a professional moderator will facilitate the discussion to drive the focus. Members of the panel will develop recommendations and guidance for marshaling government and regional resources, providing industry incentives, and directing public/private collaborations intended to support
precision medicine and digital health initiatives that will facilitate the collaboration and growth of related businesses in Maryland and Montgomery County.

Outcomes from the November 3 meeting will be published in the December issue of the Vibe. If you would like more information on this and future discussions, please contact Michelle Ferrone at MFerrone@techcouncilmd.com.

Workforce Development

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A Look at Maryland Workforce Development News

A number of forces are at work within the state of Maryland that contribute to workforce development. Community and four-year colleges and trade schools play the main role in preparing students for careers, and grants received at the state and local level also help to drive the economy and stimulate employment. You may know on some level that all of this is happening, but you may not hear about it. This month, the Tech Council is highlighting some workforce development news.

Universities at Shady Grove
On October 20, USG broke ground on its Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Education Facility. Executive Director, Dr. Stewart Edelstein, said that the new building will allow USG to nearly double the number of students it serves from 4,000 to 7,500 when the building opens in 2019. This means that USG will provide more businesses in Montgomery County and in the region with a talent pool of qualified graduates in cutting-edge high-demand science, technology, engineering, math, and medical sciences positions. USG, along with the University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Maryland, College Park, and UMBC will offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in healthcare, biosciences, engineering, and computational sciences.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Maryland leads the country in academic research and development and has the third highest concentration of high tech businesses in the nation. However, the growth of skilled jobs in Montgomery County continues to outpace available candidates in the region. There is a projected demand for nearly 117,000 new workers by 2017 to fill new or vacated positions in Montgomery County, and an expected shortage of qualified workers to fill the region’s wide range of occupations.

Loyola University
Loyola University Maryland has been awarded an $80,977 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a collaborative project that will significantly enhance undergraduate physics education by developing, evaluating, and sharing methods to incorporate workforce-relevant skills and activities in the student experience. The project, “The PIPELINE Network: Supporting the Development of Physics Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education through Institutional Engagement,” integrates the efforts of Loyola and five other institutions that received grant funding from NSF including the University of Colorado Denver, Rochester Institute of Technology, Wright State University, The George Washington University, and the College of William and Mary. At the conclusion of the three-year project, PIPELINE Network schools will share materials nationally through the American Physical Society. Bahram Roughani, Ph.D., associate dean for natural and applied sciences and principal investigator on the grant commented that, “Incorporating workforce-relevant training into a technical discipline like physics boosts student retention and career readiness and attracts more students from groups that are historically underrepresented in STEM. More broadly, we now have the opportunity to work together to change the widely held perception that pursuing a physics degree limits a student’s career options.”

The University of Maryland/Morgan State Joint Center for Economic Development
The University of Maryland/Morgan State Joint Center for Economic Development (EDA Center) announced recently that a new grant secured from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) will help fund a collaborative initiative that networks resources across the University System of Maryland (USM) to address economic challenges that face Maryland’s most vulnerable communities. Dr. Scott Dempwolf, Director of the EDA Center said that, “By amassing the talent, work, and ingenuity of Maryland’s research institutions with a common thread, we strengthen our efforts as individuals. Combined with the matching support of our partners, the EDA grant will help us continue our efforts through collaboration, research, teaching, and economic development practice.” Dr. Dempwolf will work with University System of Maryland’s new Vice Chancellor for Economic Development to develop a statewide network of economic developers working in and with USM’s 12 member institutions and two regional higher education centers. The network will connect economic research, resources, and best practices across all of the institutions, strengthening the capacity of USM and its member institutions to translate Maryland’s investments in research and education into local economic development impact statewide.

Anne Arundel County
Military service members in Maryland will have access to training for civilian jobs through a $4.3 million Labor Department grant awarded this month to the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation.
The National Dislocated Worker Grant will go toward re-employment services for about 730 service members and spouses stationed mostly at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Meade, Joint Base Andrews and Patuxent River Naval Air Station. The grants, funded through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, are designed to help states and local workforce investment boards re-employ laid-off workers quickly through occupational training.

State of Maryland
The state of Maryland announced a $2 million award from the United States Department of Labor’s ApprenticeshipUSA Expansion Grant. The grant will be used to invest in the State’s registered apprenticeship programming. Maryland Labor Secretary Kelly M. Schulz said that, “Apprenticeships allow Marylanders to work while they learn in some of the State’s leading industries. Investing in the future of the State’s workforce means investing in registered apprenticeships. A bedrock of Governor Larry Hogan’s strategic vision to make Maryland ‘open for business’ is to provide businesses with the skilled workforce they need to compete in the regional and global economies. Under the leadership of Governor Hogan, Maryland is working toward a sizable increase in apprenticeships, from 7,186 in 2012 to 9,258 today, with a goal of 9,500 by the end of 2016.” The new funds will be used to provide additional staffing and outreach to businesses interested in creating apprenticeship opportunities to meet their talent pipeline needs. The funds will also enable the Maryland Department of Labor to create a pilot program targeted at increasing apprenticeship opportunities for skilled immigrants in occupations within the healthcare industry.