How EO Baltimore helped these Maryland entrepreneurs find success
Brian Taylor, CEO of Goldiata, a digital marketing agency in Baltimore, helps businesses, organizations, and schools increase reach and visibility using online marketing. Goldiata blossomed into a rapidly growing agency, with a massive goal of giving back by donating a quarter of a million dollars by 2028.
expand
Brian Taylor, CEO of Goldiata
'Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I met an EO member. They encouraged me to check out the EO Accelerator (EOA) program. At the time, I wasn't sure what that would mean for me. But as it turns out, that recommendation changed everything,' Taylor says.
In EOA, Taylor didn't just learn how to run a business — he learned how to lead one. 'The operational components — cash flow, systems, and people management — were like puzzle pieces scattered on the table, and I didn't know how to fit them together. EOA gave me the tools to build that foundation. It was practical, actionable knowledge.'
Goldiata reached $1 million in revenue within its first year in the EOA program. That success allowed Taylor to graduate to EO, and 'that opened up a world I could never have imagined,' he says.
Taylor has also been recognized by the Maryland Small Business Association as a top Young Entrepreneur.
Nick Modha is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Baltimore based Monkey in the Metal, a provider of premier solid wood and metal fabrication services. The company specializes in architectural millwork, custom furniture, signage, and artwork for multi-family residential, hospitality, retail, and restaurant spaces. Architects, interior designers, and national level general contractors rely on the company for typical decorative elements, as well as the unusual items.
expand
Nick Modha, founder, Monkey in the Metal
Modha also joined EO through its Accelerator Program. 'EO changed everything for me. There's something powerful about being part of a community where everyone genuinely wants to improve — not just in business, but all aspects of life — and actually help each other along that journey. If you're an entrepreneur feeling isolated, this community is for you,' he says.
Shannon Roberts is CEO of Brand Builders, an event marketing and staffing firm, specializing in the wine, spirits and cannabis industries. Roberts didn't plan to be an entrepreneur, but in her 2009 exit interview from Jagermeister, she explained the reason for her resignation: The company had not adopted a single suggestion she offered about streamlining/modernizing operations, so she started her own company and used those ideas as the foundation for her operational structure.
expand
Shannon Roberts, CEO, Brand Builders
Brand Builders conducts live events, like store tastings and festivals, so when Covid canceled her entire event schedule, Roberts relied on her EO Community for advice and support. 'The EO network sprang into action, delivering an abundance of impactful and relevant content virtually. My forum basically prevented me from bankrupting myself, and because of EO, I was able rebuild the company,' she says.
In 2020, Roberts took her love of entrepreneurism a step further and became an Entrepreneurial Operating System Implementer. 'The EOS work I do is truly rewarding and scratches my problem-solving itch while I help my clients' businesses become more manageable, more scalable, and more profitable,' she says.
Jim Schaefer, founder and president of Schaefer Homes, a construction company that builds new homes in Maryland and Delaware. Since 2016, Schaefer Homes has created attractive, efficient, and attainable homes. Schaefer recalls a financial crisis in 2022, which led him to leveraging his waterman's license and selling crabs roadside in an effort to keep the company and his family afloat.
expand
Jim Schaefer, founder and president, Schaefer Homes
'Since joining EO in 2023, the impact has been transformative. My forum helped me realize that personal growth was key to my business success, showing me the only person holding me back was me. With peer support, I've achieved measurable growth: my revenue went from $2.5 million in 2022 to $7.9 million in 2023, with projections of $25 million for 2025. But the numbers tell only part of the story. The insights I've gained have stabilized my mental state, allowing me to tackle challenges with focus and resilience. The relationships I've built with other members continue to inspire and motivate me,' Schaefer says.
To become a member of EO, you must own a business that's generating at least $1 million in annual revenue or join our Accelerator Program, which accepts entrepreneurs whose businesses range from $250,000 to $1 million in revenue and are looking to grow to a million within two to four years.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Michigan lawmakers pitch earmarks, including a critic who called them "quid pro quo"
State Rep. Jim Desana has argued earmarks should be banned from the Michigan budget, but not the kind he's asking for: A $1.75 million grant to renovate a baseball stadium in his district at Taylor's Heritage Park. That's in part because the House has added new layers of transparency to the process, including hours of public hearings this week, the Carleton Republican told Bridge Michigan. "I think that an earmark that benefits a private individual or a private company is especially egregious, but this earmark just benefits the downriver communities, especially Taylor," DeSana said. A baseball fanatic, DeSana helps run a collegiate summer team, the Michigan Monarchs, and he personally offers pitching and batting training through a business he operates out of his home in Carleton. The $1.75 million in taxpayer money he is requesting would be used to help renovate a Taylor baseball stadium that hosts the Junior League World Series. Each year, teams from around the world come to compete for the championship — Taiwan has something of a dynasty at the moment. The money, along with matching funds from the city of Taylor and private donors, would mean "a new edifice, grandstand, new chair-back seating, press box and lighting," DeSana said. The request is a first for DeSana, a staunch conservative who has been a strident critic of earmarks, calling them a form of "quid pro quo" that allows lawmakers to pick " winners and losers " instead of seeking competitive bids, which leads to more expensive projects with more waste. But his request is different, DeSana argued in a recent interview, because the baseball field is in a public, city-owned park, and the World Series draws thousands to the area each year, generating economic activity. "I think that legitimately, this falls under that whole broad category of how to improve your community parks and recreation," he added. Michigan's earmark process has been rife with controversy for years, in part because lawmakers have tucked away requests in huge spending bills that were passed in the dead of night. Some have raised eyebrows, including grants to private firms and projects led by major donors. Others have led to criminal investigations or charges, including millions for rockets and projects led by people with political connections. But House Republicans have moved to reform the process this year under Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township. Under new transparency rules he pushed, lawmakers were required to submit any earmark requests by May 1 – long before any House votes – to allow for public review. Collectively, lawmakers requested nearly $3.4 billion for 791 projects, including money for a therapy program in Warren, bridge repairs in Sheridan Township, services for 'New Americans' in Madison Heights, clock tower repairs at Jackson Community College and more. The House Labor and Economic Opportunity Subcommittee held three marathon hearings on the earmark requests last week, taking testimony from a host of lawmakers and local officials on a litany of requests for taxpayer funding. "There's a lot of needs out there, and it's just a matter of sorting through those and finding out which ones the state can and should be funding," said Rep. Nancy Jenkins-Arno, a Clayton Republican who chairs the subcommittee. Most of the requests were relatively mundane, such as a request for $2.5 million to build a jetty at the mouth of the Black River in Alcona County. "They're just dredging and dredging where, if we put the money towards the jetty to stop the sand, they would no longer have to dredge," said Rep. Cam Cavitt, a Cheboygan Republican who sponsored the request. Even as the House works through its newly transparent process, it's not yet clear what earmarks will make it into the final state budget. The Democratic-led Senate has not adopted the same earmark process, but Hall has been adamant: Grant requests that don't comply with new House rules won't make it into the budget. "I don't care who the politician is. I don't care what the program is. We're not making an exception," Hall told reporters in late April. In a statement to Bridge Friday, Hall indicated he isn't backing down, arguing the reforms "have made Lansing uncomfortable. That's a good thing." "House Republicans voted to prevent any vote on earmarks that haven't been disclosed, and the House is now bound by that rule. Senate Democrats will now have to adapt to a more open government," he added. But with both chambers locked in negotiations after missing a July 1 budgetary deadline, it's become less clear how the standoff will resolve. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for reforming the earmark process in her 2025 State of the State address, and at the time Brinks had sounded open to change. "The transparency issues in terms of earmarks — it's something that we've already been working on in the Senate over the last two years, so we will continue that work," Brinks told Bridge immediately following the speech. A spokesperson for Brinks didn't immediately reply to a request for comment on this story. The Senate in June approved a budget without any apparent earmarks, but legislators close to negotiations said they still expect some to make it into any final deal. The grants have usually not appeared in the state budget until shortly before final votes. The House has yet to pass a general government budget, but has passed a proposal for school funding. House Democrats joined Republicans in filing advance earmark requests but did not participate in this week's hearings, aside from a staffer for state Rep. Karen Whitsett, a Democrat who has sided with Republicans on issues in the past. In a statement, House Democrats' spokesperson Jess Travers called the hearings a "political stunt" and accused Republicans of "delay tactics" rather than passing a full state budget. "House Democrats are focused on passing a full budget that protects school lunches, SNAP and Medicaid," she added.
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
Palantir exec calls LLMs a 'jagged intelligence' and outlines the company's next steps in the AI race
A Palantir exec had some strong words for Large Language Models. The Denver-based AI software company reported its first-ever billion-dollar quarter in Monday's Q2 earnings report, and the executives opened the investors call with comments on LLMs and how it plans to win the AI race. " LLMs, on their own, are at best a jagged intelligence divorced from even basic understanding," Ryan Taylor, the company's chief revenue officer and chief legal officer, told shareholders on the earnings call. "In one moment, they may appear to outperform humans in some problem-solving task, but in the next, they make catastrophic errors no human would ever make." "By contrast, our ontology is pure understanding concretized in software. This is reality, not rhetoric," Taylor added, referring to a company approach to AI that is based on using logic and data to recreate a digital model of how an organization works. These comments came after the company smashed analyst expectations and nearly doubled its commercial revenue in the US since last year's second quarter to $628 million, mostly thanks to a 10-year, $10 billion consolidated contract with the US Army. Company executives also outlined how it plans to win the AI race and what kind of talent would thrive at Palantir. Shyam Sankar, chief technology officer, told investors that the Trump administration's new AI Action Plan, which promotes the deregulation of AI, has taken "all the brakes off" and that industry customers are "really excited to get to work." These comments are in response to a Bank of America analyst, who asked how Palantir plans to win the AI race both in innovation and in talent retention. "If you are a highly talented person and would believe that the West is superior or at least tolerant of me telling you it every day, you'll not find a place anywhere I've seen — and now over 20 years I've interacted with almost every agency in the West, many of the largest companies, many of the smaller companies — that is comparable on time of joining to full agency like Palantir," Karp said toward the end of the call. "If you come to Palantir, your career is set," he added.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
Michigan lawmakers pitch earmarks — including a critic who called them ‘quid pro quo'
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State Rep. Jim Desana has argued earmarks should be banned from the Michigan budget, but not the kind he's asking for: A $1.75 million grant to renovate a baseball stadium in his district at Taylor's Heritage Park. That's in part because the House has added new layers of transparency to the process, including hours of public hearings this week, the Carleton Republican told Bridge Michigan. 'I think that an earmark that benefits a private individual or a private company is especially egregious, but this earmark just benefits the downriver communities, especially Taylor,' DeSana said. A baseball fanatic, DeSana helps run a collegiate summer team, the Michigan Monarchs, and he personally offers pitching and batting training through a business he operates out of his home in Carleton. The $1.75 million in taxpayer money he is requesting would be used to help renovate a Taylor baseball stadium that hosts the Junior League World Series. Each year, teams from around the world come to compete for the championship — Taiwan has something of a dynasty at the moment. The money, along with matching funds from the city of Taylor and private donors, would mean 'a new edifice, grandstand, new chair-back seating, press box and lighting,' DeSana said. The request is a first for DeSana, a staunch conservative who has been a strident critic of earmarks, calling them a form of 'quid pro quo' that allows lawmakers to pick ' winners and losers ' instead of seeking competitive bids, which leads to more expensive projects with more waste. But his request is different, DeSana argued in a recent interview, because the baseball field is in a public, city-owned park, and the World Series draws thousands to the area each year, generating economic activity. 'I think that legitimately, this falls under that whole broad category of how to improve your community parks and recreation,' he added. 'Sorting through' requests Michigan's earmark process has been rife with controversy for years, in part because lawmakers have tucked away requests in huge spending bills that were passed in the dead of night. Some have raised eyebrows, including grants to private firms and projects led by major donors. Others have led to criminal investigations or charges, including millions for rockets and projects led by people with politicalconnections. But House Republicans have moved to reform the process this year under Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township. Under new transparency rules he pushed, lawmakers were required to submit any earmark requests by May 1 – long before any House votes – to allow for public review. Collectively, lawmakers requested nearly $3.4 billion for 791 projects, including money for a therapy program in Warren, bridge repairs in Sheridan Township, services for 'New Americans' in Madison Heights, clock tower repairs at Jackson Community College and more. The House Labor and Economic Opportunity Subcommittee held three marathon hearings on the earmark requests last week, taking testimony from a host of lawmakers and local officials on a litany of requests for taxpayer funding. 'There's a lot of needs out there, and it's just a matter of sorting through those and finding out which ones the state can and should be funding,' said Rep. Nancy Jenkins-Arno, a Clayton Republican who chairs the subcommittee. Most of the requests were relatively mundane, such as a request for $2.5 million to build a jetty at the mouth of the Black River in Alcona County. 'They're just dredging and dredging where, if we put the money towards the jetty to stop the sand, they would no longer have to dredge,' said Rep. Cam Cavitt, a Cheboygan Republican who sponsored the request. Budgetary standoff Even as the House works through its newly transparent process, it's not yet clear what earmarks will make it into the final state budget. The Democratic-led Senate has not adopted the same earmark process, but Hall has been adamant: Grant requests that don't comply with new House rules won't make it into the budget. 'I don't care who the politician is. I don't care what the program is. We're not making an exception,' Hall told reporters in late April. In a statement to Bridge Friday, Hall indicated he isn't backing down, arguing the reforms 'have made Lansing uncomfortable. That's a good thing.' 'House Republicans voted to prevent any vote on earmarks that haven't been disclosed, and the House is now bound by that rule. Senate Democrats will now have to adapt to a more open government,' he added. But with both chambers locked in negotiations after missing a July 1 budgetary deadline, it's become less clear how the standoff will resolve. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for reforming the earmark process in her 2025 State of the State address, and at the time Brinks had sounded open to change. 'The transparency issues in terms of earmarks — it's something that we've already been working on in the Senate over the last two years, so we will continue that work,' Brinks told Bridge immediately following the speech. A spokesperson for Brinks didn't immediately reply to a request for comment on this story. The Senate in June approved a budget without any apparent earmarks, but legislators close to negotiations said they still expect some to make it into any final deal. The grants have usually not appeared in the state budget until shortly before final votes. The House has yet to pass a general government budget, but has passed a proposal for school funding. House Democrats joined Republicans in filing advance earmark requests but did not participate in this week's hearings, aside from a staffer for state Rep. Karen Whitsett, a Democrat who has sided with Republicans on issues in the past. In a statement, House Democrats' spokesperson Jess Travers called the hearings a 'political stunt' and accused Republicans of 'delay tactics' rather than passing a full state budget. 'House Democrats are focused on passing a full budget that protects school lunches, SNAP and Medicaid,' she added. ___ This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
