A closer look at our Tech on Deck
What if someone’s clothes could sense when they were getting too hot, and help to cool them down? What if more cancers could be diagnosed without painful biopsies? What if new medicines could be developed using software, instead of years of failed lab experiments?
These are the kinds of future-looking questions driving the startups and entrepreneurs at Early Charm, a Baltimore venture studio that specializes in turning science into revenue.
Early Charm’s mission requires a deep understanding of the unmet needs and demands that exist today, but also those that will come in the future.
The studio currently has a growing portfolio of more than 30 startup companies developing technologies ranging from 3D printed industrial ceramics, to cancer-detecting medical devices, to tech that improves shrimp farming.
Startup incubator and accelerator models are familiar and abundant in tech ecosystems today. But Early Charm has a unique and much more hands-on approach to company building. Its involvement goes well beyond just writing checks and offering business advice from time to time. Early Charm co-founds companies around promising technologies, found at universities and research labs across the country, alongside the scientists and inventors who conceptualized them. The studio’s employees then serve as the management team, the operators, and the entrepreneurs behind every one of its portfolio companies.
This model has been developed and honed over the past eight years. And we decided it was time we shared the results.
In this blog, we will introduce some of our Early Charm portfolio members and the next generation tech products they are developing.
Here are a few examples:
A sonar device that provides real-time biomass data for shrimp and fish farmers, so they can better manage their crops and maximize profits.
Functional face paints and textile treatments for military personnel that are flame retardant, heat reflecting, and insect repelling.
- Piezoelectric yarn, a yarn made of nanofibers that generate electricity when twisted or stretched, which has great potential for various smart garment applications. For example, it could be used to produce clothes that can detect when a wearer is sick or putting too much strain on their joints.
Medical imaging technology that uses laser energy to detect and diagnose certain cancers more accurately than existing technologies, like traditional ultrasound.
Stay tuned to read more about how and why our companies are solving current and future problems with technology.