Mtech Ventures helps early-stage startups survive the critical period in their development between conducting customer discovery and raising their first round of venture capital. The Mtech Ventures facility offers affordable space and hands-on mentoring for early stage companies. Companies involved in the program also benefit from the extensive facilities and services available from the University System of Maryland, one of the country’s largest public research and teaching systems. Mtech Ventures is designed to accommodate a variety of space configurations for offices and laboratories suitable for both prototype development and small scale production.
The Mtech Ventures Incubator offers affordable space and hands-on mentoring for early stage companies. If you are a faculty member, graduate student or alumni working on a tech-enabled startup, Mtech Ventures can help you identify strategic advisors, discover product market fit, size your market and more.
Companies involved in the program benefit from the extensive facilities and services available from the University System of Maryland, one of the country’s largest public research and teaching systems. Mtech Ventures will connect you to student interns, funding opportunities, prototype development and research partnerships throughout the university.
Mtech Ventures Services
- 1-on-1 access to business mentors and EIRs
- Customer discovery education and support through the UMD I-Corps program
- NSF I-Corps application assistance
- Industry analysis and market research
- Assistance with team building and operations
- Assistance in building a prototype
- Access to IP and Corporate Law attorneys
- Application assistance for SBIR/STTR grants
- Pitch deck preparation for Angel/Venture Capital funding & introductions
- Monthly milestone meetings with Mtech Ventures staff (or more frequently as needed)
- Potential for strategic partnerships with corporations through the Corprenect Program
Mtech Ventures Amenities
- Two conference rooms for 8-10 people
- Mailbox service and package reception
- HVAC with some utilities included
- Wet labs with B&V Testing biosafety cabinets and B&V Testing Airfoil ByPass fume hoods
- Private office space
- Coworking office space
- 10-feet lab benches
- Standard 120V outlets
- Access to student and staff athletic facilities
Being a part of the Technology Advancement Program (now Mtech Ventures) raises the company’s profile. It decreases the risk to the investors.
Mtech Ventures Company Spotlight: Martek Biosciences
Martek Biosciences, a company that launched leveraging several Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) programs at the University of Maryland, was acquired by Dutch company Royal DSM NV for $1.1 billion in 2010.
Martek was the second company sold for more than $1 billion that made extensive use of Mtech’s venture-building and biotechnology programs during its early stages. Digene Corporation was acquired by Qiagen NV for $1.6 billion in 2007.
Martek was a leader in the innovation, development, production and sale of high-value products from microbial sources that promoted health and wellness through nutrition. The company’s flagship product was life’sDHA™, a sustainable and vegetarian source of algal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) important for brain, heart and eye health throughout life for use in infant formula, pregnancy and nursing products, foods and beverages, dietary supplements and animal feeds.
Use Mtech Ventures to…
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Find a lab/office for my venture
Located on the College Park campus in the Herbert Rabin Technology Advancement Building, Mtech Ventures is strategically situated adjacent to the bioscience, engineering and computer science complexes. Mtech Ventures has 14 labs that are each 1,000 sqft and can be leased by one venture or shared by two. The incubator also has 17 private offices that are adjacent to labs and four that are standalone. Mtech Ventures is designed to accommodate a variety of space configurations for offices and laboratories suitable for both prototype development and small scale production. Virtual incubation with mailbox service is also available. For fabrication and testing on a larger scale, the university’s advanced laboratories and scale-up facilities are easily accessible.
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Get business advice for my venture
Mtech Ventures helps early-stage startups survive the critical period in their development between conducting customer discovery and raising their first round of venture capital. This assistance includes hands-on mentoring for early stage companies.