In a move to foster a community of friendship, entrepreneurship and creativity amongst senior-level executives, entrepreneurs, creative and digital technology enthusiasts in the Baltimore region, Innovate Baltimore on Jan. 20, 2009 hosted its first networking party of the year at Blue Hill Tavern, a contemporary fine dining American restaurant and bar.
The event was well attended and attracted professionals from different walks of life such as marketing, and writing, although IT professionals were the most present.
It was a very lively night as old friends bonded well, while new friendships were also formed.
Besides all the partying and networking, one thing was certainly common amongst the attendees: everyone’s doing it big in their respective fields.
Chris Nicoli, Partner at Teltek, a telecommunications solutions integrator firm, told Ib’s Blog that Wednesday’s event was the first of Innovate Baltimore’s gatherings he’s attended, and he loved it.
“There was such a diverse group of young professionals to meet and celebrate with and Blue Hill Tavern was the perfect venue for the host,” Nicoli said, adding that he really enjoyed meeting both of the founders Ben Walsh and Tina Tyndal and learning about the concept and their future plans.
“I believe they have a fantastic concept for a new group. I met game developers, online marketing experts, other tech companies, and even a girl who has organized a wine club in Baltimore; all of which were great contacts for me and my business. I will surely attend the next event,” Nicoli said.
Sharing similar comments with Mr. Nicoli is Nicholas Tanis, Technical Recruiter & Account Management at Corporate Brokers, LLC, one of the INC 500 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States.
Mr. Tanis described the event as “great,” adding that, “it’s nice to meet so many Baltimore professionals with such a variety of skills sets in more of a comfortable/informal setting.”
“It’s definitely a great way for lots of people to form relationships and help build their businesses/careers. It’s all about who you know,” Tanish told Ib’s Blog, adding that he looks forward to keeping in touch with many of his new connections, and “I hope the feeling is mutual.”
Carrie Green, an amateur mosaic artist, also has extensive knowledge in project management and training, and said: “As a job-seeker, networking events are critical to my search and the Innovate Baltimore social at Blue Hill Tavern surpassed my expectations.
“It was well-organized and attracted a great variety of interesting professionals. I met wonderful people and learned about several Baltimore companies. The color-coded name tags were a great idea!”
In September of 2009, Innovate Baltimore was founded by Benjamin Walsh and Tina Tyndal in a move to create a platform for especially IT professionals to connect.
“I felt that there was a lack of energy for entrepreneurship in the region, and I wanted to help fix that,” Walsh, co-founder of Innovate Baltimore told Ib’s Blog.
“I also noticed that while many technology companies use creatives, there were no networking groups where tech and creative could come together; making it difficult for tech-entrepreneurs to find the resources and people they need to start or grow their businesses.”
Mr. Walsh said the goal of Innovate Baltimore is to provide a place where tech and creative professionals can come together to exchange ideas, collaborate on projects, and inspire the growth of creative technology in the region.
However, Innovate Baltimore is not only for the techies.
“As a producer, I build and manage cross-functional teams,” Walsh said, adding that he loves the results that are derived from the intersection of creativity, technology, and team capability.
“Therefore, Innovate Baltimore doesn’t target one specific discipline. Instead we look for those who are engaged in or want to be engaged in the creation of technology products or services. After all, it requires multiple disciplines to launch a business or product,” Walsh said.
Mr. Walsh co-developed Bethesda Softworks’ current Wii strategy which has generated over $14m in sales since 2007.
“I was part of a two-man team that was asked to analyze and define the Wii market, create a strategy to capitalize on that market using Bethesda’s strengths, and then execute that strategy,” Walsh said.
“We later added a third person to the team to help with execution. I can’t disclose our findings or strategy, as that is a Bethesda trade secret.”
Click on album below for event photos
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| Innovative Baltimore January Networking Party |
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