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Technical.ly
13-04-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Economic development already has CRMs. What would an ecosystem approach look like?
Ecosystem building, which prioritizes collaboration and growth among local entrepreneurs and organizations, is increasingly being recognized as a key regional economic development strategy. To serve that industry, EcoMap is launching a tool that's similar to a traditional CRM in that it facilitates data sharing and collaborative tracking — but in this case, to track entrepreneurial support efforts across multiple organizations. EcoMap's ERM may help formalize regional ecosystem building as a measurable discipline, potentially expanding the economic development software market beyond traditional boundaries. Modern client relationship management software emerged because of technology changes. In the early 2000s, cloud services, mobile computing and the recurring monthly payment model defined CRM as a business category, and made Salesforce its original standard-bearer. Baltimore-founded EcoMap is launching in June its ERM, or Ecosystem Relationship Management — not because of a technology change, but an industry one. 'It's meant to facilitate collaboration, data sharing, and ultimately track and measure the impact of ecosystems at large — and of specific elements within that ecosystem as it relates to supporting entrepreneurs,' said Sherrod Davis, the CEO of the startup founded in 2018 by Johns Hopkins University graduate Pava LaPere. The $100 billion CRM category thrived because technical capacity finally met a long-standing need for sales and marketing teams to better track deals. EcoMap's ERM is a bet on 'ecosystem building' continuing its journey from business metaphor to established discipline. That discipline encompasses what its industry calls place-based, tech- and entrepreneurship-led economic development. Economic development is no trivial target market. US states and local governments spend at least $90 billion on business and talent attraction annually, according to a McKinsey analysis. Billions more are spent on IT solutions, data analysis and myriad workforce and economic development programs from a range of government, quasi governmental and nongovernmental organizations at the local level. Not to mention the hundreds of billions of dollars of federal funding injected into tech- and entrepreneurship-related programming in the Biden administration. The challenge, and opportunity, for an entrepreneur like Davis is that the industry he's selling into is fractured and beset by incumbency. Economic development is big enough, and CRM standard enough, that several tools focus on it. Existing approaches follow a familiar use case: Help a government or civic organization track relationships across a sales cycle, such as a business owner expressing interest in relocation and an economic development following that prospect. But the logic only works inside a single, existing organization, such as a chamber of commerce, or a business attraction agency. EcoMap isn't the only team taking an ecosystem approach that could facilitate across organizations. Kansas City-founded SourceLink defined the approach with its founding in 2003 to provide early website, directory and later CRM-like services to entrepreneur support organizations. That org was created with the backing of the Kauffman Foundation, which funded much early research and entrepreneur support strategies. EcoMap's difference then is to bring a fast-paced, sharply marketed and venture-backed approach to what has been a fairly niche corner of a relatively obscure industry. They've raised enough outside investment that they look like a big fish in what remains a small pond. Davis needs the pond to grow. Creating a new category in relationship management Ecosystem building is an at-times quaint alternative to the sharp-elbowed economic development of the late 20th century. Back then and still often now, policymakers and site selectors squabbled over tax incentives and industry marketing to attract corporate offices and manufacturing facilities. Even in a single market, many overlapping organizations inconsistently coordinated their efforts. Ecosystem building as a concept is a 'grow your own' first strategy, in which a stack of services help entrepreneurs and workers develop in a community alongside more established businesses and organizations. As many as two-dozen conferences have 'ecosystem' programming across the country this year, according to a analysis. 'You're seeing the professionalization of the field,' EcoMap CEO Davis said. 'Folks in more traditional positions of power — state and local governments, universities, funders — are recognizing ecosystem building as a mechanism for economic development.' As we speak, is running a small pilot in Baltimore: If you visit a news story in our Baltimore section, you'll see a chatbot in the corner. That tool is trained on both EcoMap's resource data and our archived reporting — a hybrid ecosystem guide that can point a reader to relevant events, funding sources, or mentorship opportunities. It's an experiment, but it aligns with what I think we're all trying to do: make ecosystems more legible, navigable and accountable. Because we're not just building companies anymore. We're building the support systems that help people build companies. That's a job that deserves its own tools — and maybe, finally, it's getting them. LaPere started EcoMap by doing what a lot of us (and here I very much include myself) were doing in the 2010s: listing, or mapping, the providers in our hometown that provided at-times redundant services for fledgling tech and startup communities. From spreadsheets to early software, EcoMap started selling itself as a way for any local ecosystem to track what resources it had. Now comes the ERM. 'It's about creating digital connective tissue,' Davis said. 'Most of the interactions in an ecosystem are inter-organizational. Historically, CRM tools were built to manage relationships within an organization. But ecosystem builders work across organizations.' The ERM allows different entrepreneur-support organizations (ESOs) to collaboratively manage founder case files — tracking referrals, milestones and support provided across institutions. It might remind of Philadelphia-founded Crossbeam, a startup with a 'data escrow' platform that lets firms share intelligence. Here EcoMap is betting they can help entrepreneur support organizations collaborate. EcoMap faces at least two obstacles. One is that the ecosystem approach fails to overtake the established economic development practice. The other is that even well-intentioned economic development pros struggle to collaborate across teams. Davis says early use cases have worked. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation coordinates navigators across multiple ESOs that use EcoMap to serve more than 20,000 stakeholders a year. Now, with ERM, those navigators can track not just who got help, but what kind of help — and whether it worked. 'Six or twelve months later, we can say: 'That referral led to a new market, or investment, or product launch,'' Davis said. 'We can start to tell the impact story.' That moves ecosystem building out of the realm of good vibes and nice panels into something more durable. It also could help Davis, who has investor demands on his shoulders, widen the focus further: from economic development as a category (call it a $150 billion market) to local economies as a whole (perhaps $2.3 trillion in size). Like what CRM once did for sales, or what 'customer success' software did for SaaS teams, ERM attempts to create a category — and with it, a shared language and set of expectations. 'This is about ecosystem intelligence,' Davis told me. 'Just like Google Maps didn't just digitize the atlas — it changed how we move through the world.'
Technical.ly
09-04-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Under Armour is back as the NFL's sneaker and glove partner — with a bonus for youth sports camps
Power Moves is a recurring series where we chart the comings and goings of talent across the region. Got a new hire, gig or promotion? Email us at baltimore@ Macroeconomic turmoil isn't stopping people in Baltimore from welcoming new products, forming new partnerships, making new hires and even opening new buildings. We've got news from EcoMap, T. Rowe Price, Under Armour and more. Keep reading to get the details on those and more regional power moves. First, check out the chart below for a snapshot of what kind of jobs are in demand right now in the Baltimore region, and how much those employees make. Under Armour partners with NFL, again The Locus Point-headquartered sportswear company will provide footwear and gloves for the National Football League, complete with the company's logos for on-field apparel. Under Armour previously had a deal with the NFL between 2006 and 2020. Sportswear giants Nike and Adidas also provide footwear and gloves, per NBC, and Nike still has an apparel deal with the NFL. Under Armour will also get 'support' from the NFL for its information platform Under Armour Next, which is an online platform for youth sporting camps and events, per a press release. 'At Under Armour, we're passionate about nurturing talent and transforming the way athletes perform. We know what it takes to succeed on the field,' said Sean Eggert, UA's senior vice president of global sports marketing. 'With a shared dedication to investing in the game, from the pros to grassroots, we're thrilled to continue shaping the future of the sport alongside the NFL.' This move comes less than a year after Under Armour was told to pay $434 million as part of a settlement where the firm was accused of misleading investors about sales. EcoMap builds out its 'ecosystem intelligence' product suite There's a new tool to help economic development leaders and entrepreneur support organizations better connect to founders, thanks to Baltimore AI software company EcoMap Technologies. Officially launched this week, it's called the EcoMap Ecosystem Relationship Manager. When at 'full capacity,' per a press release, the tech will be able to organize and analyze activity by organizations helping entrepreneurs, with the goal of helping attract investments to regions. 'We're driven by a vision to break down barriers so entrepreneurs can access the resources and networks they need to build something lasting,' said EcoMap cofounder and CEO Sherrod Davis. 'The data and intelligence will help ecosystems to tell their stories, and that's why this tool will be a vital part of the digital infrastructure for our customers.' This product is part of the company's 'Ecosystem Intelligence' line. That suite also includes a resource hub for founders, a chatbot feature and a community portal that operates similar to a social media feed. EcoMap's tech has been used in Oregon, Indiana, Arkansas, Maryland and other states. The EcoMap Ecosystem Relationship Manager will be accessible to the public in June, but those interested in learning more about it can join the waitlist. Investment management giant opens new HQ T. Rowe Price workers have begun moving into new global headquarters at Harbor Point. The publicly traded firm, founded in Baltimore in 1937, previously had offices on Pratt Street downtown. This new two-tower, seven-story building is 550,000 square feet and broke ground in 2022. About 2,000 employees will work out of the offices, per a press release. The company sees the move, which had a price tag of $278 million, as a recruiting and retention tool. 'With state-of-the-art amenities, our new space elevates connected experiences while providing additional choice in work settings for collaboration, social, and break spaces for our associates,' said Amy Beall, T. Rowe's head of corporate real estate and workplace strategy. 'This move will enable us to further enhance our collaborative culture and to attract and retain top talent.' More leadership moves: Maryland's TEDCO released a talent strategy report about the cybersecurity workforce, including proposals to create more apprenticeships and start teaching cybersecurity throughout K-12. Nearly 3,000 jobs related to health agencies are the latest federal mass layoffs to hit Maryland, the Baltimore Banner reported. Care Beyond Diagnosis and Landrace Bioscience have merged to create the biotech company 11Three, with offices located at the University of Maryland BioPark. Gov. Wes Moore's secretary of appointments, Tisha Edwards, is leaving her post and will now serve as CEO of the Maryland Bankers Association, the Baltimore Business Journal reported. Lucy Rutishauser, the former CFO of the media giant Sinclair, has retired after eight years on the job, per the Business Journal. Loyola's Sellinger School of Business named two people to the school's board of sponsors. Nicole Nesbitt is a Loyola graduate and partner and global head of institutional client service at Baltimore investment firm Brown Advisory. Laura Neuman, also a Loyola grad, is an entrepreneur and business advisor via her own firm, Neuman Strategy. Greater Baltimore Committee unveiled 'Bold Moves' as the region's new brand in March after research among focus groups, evaluations of similar regions and a national survey to see how people perceive Baltimore externally. Baltimore tech government contractor RELI Group hired Sarah Sanchez as its new vice president of digital services. Hunt Valley solar firm Solar Gaines is building out its leadership team. Genevieve Gravina will serve as the director of business development and Daniela Schneider will work as the director of procurement. Global entrepreneurship programming and investment provider Techstars unveiled the inaugural class of its AI Health Baltimore accelerator. Johns Hopkins University laying off its 1,000 employee workforce, the Baltimore Banner reported. Traffic management and vehicle technology company Rekor Systems' CEO David Desharnais resigned after less than a year on the job, the Baltimore Business Journal reported.
