Pitch Across Maryland bus rolls into Worc. Co.
On Monday, the Pitch Across Maryland bus rolled into Worcester County. This is the bus where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas for approximately four minutes in a form of a video. Michael Binko, the CEO and Founder of Startup Maryland tells us this is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn from others, but also get connected to resources such as funding, staffing, and business opportunities to be successful.
“We as start up Maryland will often start to map their needs to resources that they may not know about or may not have direct access too,” says Binko.
We’re told that during their month long tour they get about 150 pitches and they whittle it down to eight finalists to participate at the Entrepreneurial Expo in Baltimore. One entrepreneur pitching on Monday was Toby Gilbert, the owner of Gilbert’s Provisions, a store and deli in Berlin. With only three months of opening his store and deli, Gilbert tells us he has been swamped.
“It’s been busy, I was going to stay open 6 days a week and then I came, I know my day off and it was packed,” says Gilbert.
Although he’s still in the early stages of his business, Gilbert tells us he already plans on expanding.
“Producing at a higher level, by law you need a a quarter refrigerator for wholesale and I don’t have the room for that right now,” says Gilbert.
Which is what brought Gilbert to the Pitch Across Maryland to record his pitch. In the video, entrepreneurs highlight accomplishments of their businesses and milestones they are looking forward to in order to receive resources like , in Gilbert’s case, it was potential funding to grow his business.
“I want to have all the resources to make it all that I had in mind,” says Gilbert.
Worcester County officials say this is just what the county needs to promote an entrepreneurial spirit in areas such as agriculture and hospitality.
“It represents a movement of small business owners and entrepreneurs that are wishing to share their talent in the kitchen serving our customers that visit out shores. And I think they do it in a small environment where it is comforting to visitors and boosts our economy all over,” says Meredith Mears, the Director of Worcester County Economic Development.
Worcester County is just one of the stops the bus will be making on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The bus will head tomorrow to Salisbury and Wednesday to Easton. For more information about any of the stops on the Eastern Shore click here.
