We interrupt this regularly scheduled programming of sporadic business & design posts to go microcosmic and comment on a Baltimore Tech scene announcement.
I’ve got too much work to do today to be writing this but I feel like, even in my most remote outsider-ness, I have to get down some thoughts about the abrupt changes going on at GBTC.
This morning, the Greater Baltimore Tech Council announced an unexpected change in leadership and even with the limited information I have, I am both shocked and disappointed by this change. Earlier this year at a Women Tech luncheon, I had the pleasure of meeting Sharon Webb, now former GBTC Executive Director. She was in her first month at the job and as I told her I was new to town and starting my own business, she sat and listened to my grievances about the start-up scene in Baltimore. I don’t even like it calling it that (start-up) because that, I believe, is part of the problem. And with this leadership change, I fear it’s only going to get worse. (Read Amy Hoy’s post bashing the start-up scene. I share a similar point of view.)
I have two businesses. One, Wellmade Design Company, offers design services to businesses. Social Proper is a line of products that connect individuals through design. While I am an entrepreneur in the traditional sense and I’m smart and a little nerdular, I’m no Zuckerberg. I’m not expecting my businesses to take off overnight. I’m not AT ALL interested in accepting outside funding for my businesses. I’m not what people consider a start-up, in the contemporary sense.
Back to meeting Sharon, I told her about how frustrated I was that there was little respect for designers in the tech community and how I just needed someone to recommend an accountant (I have a great one now, btw, if you’re looking). I was looking for group health-insurance or group supply discounts but I couldn’t find this kind of small business community within the tech scene. Don’t get me wrong, the start-up scene was great in that it exposed me to ideas, apps, and people who WOULD help Wellmade grow. But, I found it to be equally frustrating.
I didn’t see Sharon again until Start-Up Weekend, a weekend that perfectly encapsulates my feelings about the tech scene. Two of the 4 winning teams sported logos I’d designed. But to get through that weekend, 54 hours with ambitious near-sighted and often skill-less men was one of the most exhausting experiences of my life. The winning team dropped my logo for a %^*(&%$# logo contest and the other team I worked with was completely dysfunctional.
It’s funny how one great interaction with someone can make you believe in them. While Start-Up Weekend was pretty much my last appearance in the tech scene, I’ve kept tabs on Sharon and the GBTC with great hope that 2012 was going to lead to significant changes. I’d heard of potential refocusing away from “tech” and more on the early-business environment. What I’d most hoped for was an organization that supported small starting companies, even service providers, with a sense of community. That connected people. That pushed an agenda of longevity, ethics and you know, work.
Too many people in the tech scene are trying to make a bazillion dollars overnight. They’re no different from the fame seekers in LA or political climbers of DC. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be better recognized for my design skills. But I find the tech-start-up-entrepreneur-scene to be toxic and exhausting. I’m fine with taking my time, honing my skills, getting a client and then getting another one. The current Baltimore tech scene makes me feel like I’m wrong. I’d hoped that the changes in the GBTC would support a sustainable community of business owners like myself.
I’ve got nothing against Jason Hardebeck. I’d never heard of him until today. He sold his company to Facebook for an undisclosed amount. And that is the part that scares me. Here we go again with the dollar-symbol-eyes of the Baltimore tech scene. Or will we? It took him 12 years to get to that point. While no one asked my opinion, it’s my hope that Jason remembers his early days and tries to continue the shift that I believe Sharon started. Away from 1/1,000,000 chances and toward perseverance and community.
And now back to your regularly scheduled programming designing.
Hey, I didn’t even play the woman card. Go figure.
The write-up in the Baltimore Business Journal seems to suggest that you are on to something – http://goo.gl/NSZ3G
“Mills said Webb’s vision for the GBTC focused on start-ups and smaller companies. But that did not fit into board members’ visions of the changing tech community depending heavily on investment in larger companies across multiple industries.”
As someone who straddles the left brain/right brain continuum, I totally GET where you are coming from. But like design, a Tech scene can be explosive, creative, collaborative, and FUN, but only if molded and huided by leadership that gets that.
I’m sorry to hear that the GBTC may be moving away from their focus on start-ups. Perhaps another organization in a near-by county will step in to fill the void. You might want to keep your eye on Howard County….just sayin’.