Even the smallest local startup companies are thinking global.
Baltimore?s Emerging Technology Centers will sign an agreement today with the Dublin Business Innovation Center to partner in assisting technology-based companies from the other?s countries in opening offices abroad.
“Clearly, business is done internationally now,” said Neil Davis, vice president of the ETC. “We like to provide to our companies a real low-risk opportunity to go international if they want, and Dublin is a great place to start.”
Richard Morton, project executive of the DBIC, said the two organizations met through the World Trade Center Institute and thought a partnership could benefit new technology companies in Baltimore and Dublin.
“Our entrepreneurs are looking at a global market,” Morton said. “We want to work with the best … and that?s the ETC. We see this as a natural step in terms of progression.”
Under the agreement, ETC and the Guinness Enterprise Center, DBIC?s technology incubator, will provide “soft landing” business assistance services and office space to technology-based firms that are looking to establish an international presence. The term “soft landing” means the organization will make things as easy as possible for the foreign firm to build its business.
The incubators will also create local advisory committees of experienced businesspeople for each company participant. The committees will provide the companies business advice and industry contacts to help the firms get off the ground in a foreign country.
Both groups said there was interest from their growing local technology companies to expand globally. “The issues we find in dealing with companies are very similar,” Morton said.
“The European market is growing, and Dublin is a good gateway for Baltimore-based companies,” Davis said. “When companies come here, we?ll help them gain information and resources to help them make decisions.”
The ETC, a venture of the Baltimore Development Corp., opened in 1999 and has assisted 144 companies, creating 1,000 jobs. About $817 million in outside investment has been raised by ETC companies.
The DBIC was formed in 1987 and has assisted in creating more than 341 new businesses, employing about 4,250 people.
The ETC has a similar partnership with the Maryland/Israel Development Center, helping Israeli technology companies open offices in Maryland.
