Early Charm Ventures, a venture studio that converts science to business, today announced the launch of a partnership with Baltimore-based Innovation Works to coordinate the planning and implementation of a comprehensive strategy to increase manufacturing and advanced manufacturing capacity and opportunities in Baltimore City.
With this new partnership, Innovation Works – a collaborative resource network that connects neighborhoods, entrepreneurs and investors to build sustainable neighborhood economies in Baltimore – aims to leverage Early Charm Ventures’ new business formation and commercialization expertise to advance the partnership’s strategic manufacturing goals.
In addition, this new partnership supports Innovation Works’ strategy to provide a path to economic sustainability for many Baltimore residents disengaged from the city’s workforce and create new entrepreneurship and job opportunities for a community underserved by Baltimore’s existing social entrepreneurship ecosystem.
"We've been engaged with Innovation Works leadership since it was just an idea because we shared a common vision of impacting Baltimore through innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Ken Malone, Managing Director with Early Charm Ventures. “Recent events have made it clear that we need to partner with them in a bigger way to especially impact advanced manufacturing of strategic products, those things that in times of crisis we really have to have made locally."
As part of this collaboration, Early Charm Ventures and Innovation Works will: identify products of strategic importance to Baltimore, such as personal protective equipment, that can be produced using advanced manufacturing; coordinate efforts to attract funding from government agencies, plus private and philanthropic sources, to drive new opportunities for small manufacturers in Baltimore; jointly promote the partnership’s concept of strategic advanced manufacturing in Baltimore to key stakeholders in the community; and jointly engage with greater Baltimore’s investment community to encourage the formation of investment products aimed at fostering the creation and growth of new manufacturing companies and jobs in Baltimore.
“This partnership with Early Charm Ventures provides a shot in the arm to further grow Baltimore’s historically strong manufacturing base,” said A. Jay Nwachu, President of Innovation Works. “This effort also serves our ongoing mission of recruiting and developing Baltimore-based entrepreneurs who will be the catalysts for new company formation and job growth here in Baltimore city.”
About Innovation Works:
Innovation Works (IW) is an innovative, collaborative resource network that connects neighborhoods, entrepreneurs, social innovation assets, and investors to build sustainable neighborhood economies in Baltimore. IW will turn human capital and local knowledge into 250 social enterprise businesses by 2030, which create 5,000 living wage jobs that improve individual and neighborhood incomes, safety and health leading to sustainable neighborhood economies. IW is currently supporting development and growth of more than 100 growing businesses across Baltimore. Learn more: www.iwbmore.org
About Early Charm Ventures:
Early Charm Ventures is a venture studio, founded in 2012 in Baltimore, that converts science to business. Early Charm specializes in taking brilliant scientific discoveries made at universities and turning them into companies focused on growth. Our best successes come from teaming with entrepreneurial-minded faculty who are rooted in tools for drug design, custom materials, aquaculture technologies and machine vision. Ultimately, we bring to the table our deep experience co-founding companies with leading researchers. With these exceptional people and their ideas, we partner with them to advance or even create whole new industries. Learn more: www.earlycharm.com
