Innovation Management Program Targets Metro D.C. Entrepreneurs

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Metro-area entrepreneurs can learn how the nature of venture capital is changing and make useful contacts with local angel investors at a downtown Washington, D.C. workshop series (http://www.execed.umd.edu/), organized by the A. James Clark School of Engineering and the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

In its sixth year, the spring 2012 Certificate in Innovation Management (CIM) series, takes place alternate Fridays from April 13-June 22, and is "specifically developed for the start-up audience," said James V. Green, director of entrepreneurship education for the university's Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech).

"Seminars led by world-class faculty in business and engineering, in collaboration with entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists, aim to provide start-ups with the tools and relationships needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape," Green said.

The series is designed to provide useful tips on rethinking growth strategy, creating customer centric marketing, partnering and negotiating, project management and raising capital. Investor John May, co-author of Every Business Needs An Angel and entrepreneur Tien Wong, CEO at Lore Systems Inc., will be among those sharing insight for success and providing practical tools to help businesses grow.

Moreover, participants can plug into a powerful network of local innovators, including those from a growing number of Innovation Management alumni.

Expertise also is provided by the Clark School of Engineering and Smith School of Business, which have a long history of supporting entrepreneurship, especially in the area of technology.

"This unique collaboration of UMD's world-class business and engineering faculty and resources was a very compelling attraction for someone like myself, a CEO for an early stage technology company," said Mike Binko, a 2008 CIM graduate and CEO and president of kloudtrack®.

"The curriculum offers a sophisticated technology-business balance," Binko said. "From overcoming the challenges of protecting intellectual property to 'roadmapping' the steps to taking a company from an idea all the way to market, executives can readily apply the knowledge attained in the CIM program."

Binko said the curriculum reinforced and extended his real-world experiences as a serial entrepreneur and early-stage venture investor. Specifically, the CIM program helped him refine key leadership skills as CEO and Board member of kloudtrack® -- an Annapolis-based firm that provides Cloud 2.0™ technologies and solution services for governance, risk and compliance.

Recently, kloudtrack® was honored as Best Information Technology company for 2011 as part of the Maryland Incubator Company of the Year awards and is currently a Software and Information Industry Association CODiE Award finalist in the category of Best Cloud Innovation.

"Executives, investors and board representatives of early-stage companies can benefit greatly from the CIM program," Binko said. "Combined with other entrepreneur and innovation management resources at the University of Maryland, such as the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and MTech Ventures, the CIM program is another testament to the university's commitment to venture building and the region's innovation economy."

For more information and to secure a seat in the series, register at http://www.execed.umd.edu/.

Contact Alyssa Cohen Sherman [email protected] or 301.314.9441.

SOURCE Robert H. Smith School of Business

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