When the organizers announced the sign-up for the first Columbia Tech Breakfast last August, they expected about 60 responses.
But after 150 signed up, says Laura Neuman, CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, a partner in the Tech Breakfast, “We had to find a bigger meeting place.”
The breakfast, a free, monthly event for entrepreneurs, startup companies and community members, meets the second Tuesday of each month at Loyola Graduate Center in Columbia.
The Tech Breakfasts, which began in spring 2012 in Baltimore are the brainchild of Ron Schmelzer, an entrepreneur who felt it would be nice for a group of people in
technology-related fields to get together.
“It was going to be a casual affair of about a dozen people,” says Schmelzer. But attendance quickly mushroomed and before he knew it, he had a list of 820 people for the Baltimore group, many of them from Howard County.
That’s when he and Neuman got together to form a separate Columbia Tech Breakfast. “This is totally home-grown,” says Schmelzer, who continues to run the Baltimore event.
Wasabi Ventures, a venture capital firm, is another partner in Columbia Tech Breakfast through its connection to Loyola University’s Sellinger School of Business. Wasabi’s Kendall Ryan says that the format of the meeting includes 10-minute talks by five or six companies. Applications for presentations can be found online.
“It’s a great opportunity for networking. In some cases, people find potential clients and customers,” Ryan says.
Upcoming Columbia Tech Breakfasts are scheduled for November 13 and December 11, 8890 McGaw Road, Columbia. For information, www.meetup.com/techbreakfast.
