The Fearless Institute Partners With Howard County For New Initiative

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Tech company Fearless will be partnering with the Howard County Economic Development Authority to support government contracting startups and small businesses in the Baltimore region.

The Fearless Institute, headquartered in Baltimore, has inaugurated a satellite office at the Maryland Innovation Center in Columbia to deliver mentorship, targeted programming, office hours and collaborative events to Howard County residents. This partnership will "deepen the relationship" the Baltimore regional partnership has with Howard County, leaders said at a news conference.

“With the recent turmoil of the drastic cuts in the federal workforce, Howard County expanded its strong support for all small businesses and become a regional leader in assisting affected federal workers or contractors who find themselves embroiled in uncertain, tumultuous times,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball at the news conference. “This partnership between known industry leader Fearless and our own Maryland Innovation Center is yet another way we are helping our residents across the Baltimore region navigate the choppy waters of uncertainty.”

The Institute was founded by Howard County native Delali Dzirasa.

“Coming home to Howard County, where Fearless was founded, is a powerful reminder of our purpose,” said Dzirasa, chief executive officer of Fearless and board chair of the Fearless Institute. “It's inspiring to return to a place that continues to align with our mission and momentum. We are better together.”

HCEDA will provide $5,000 scholarships for two Howard County companies- DataSyinc and Gen Y Technology- to participate in the inaugural cohort of Hutch, a program focused on enabling GovTech companies to increase revenue and customer engagement. The program is designed to build capacity in areas including branding, growth strategy, finance, staffing, culture and service delivery. All participating MIC companies will have access to the Hutch mentor network, resources and specialized programming during their cohort period, leaders said at the news conference.

“The Hutch program feels like the blueprint I’ve been missing,” said Daniel Ogbonna, DATASYINC LLC. “The GovCon world is full of invisible rules, relationships and rhythms—and Hutch has a reputation for demystifying all of that while building a real, invested community around it. Hutch represents access, excellence and cultural fluency in a way that few accelerators do. With Datasyinc benefiting from this accelerator program, the mission is to take utilize these resources to build out an organization that can attract and empower the most talented individuals in our community to create economic and social impact for Howard County, so it continues to thrive as one of the most attractive and sought after communities to live in the country.”

Additionally, HCEDA will provide up to 10 scholarships of $3,000 per Howard County Businesses or transitioning federal workers for participation in the Bootcamp Program. These structured, hands-on training sessions are designed to help founders and small business leaders build the skills and strategies needed to succeed in government contracting. Topics include GovCon 101, Marketing for Gov Contractors. Participants will receive hands-on tools and templates to accelerate their preparedness for federal contracting success.

As part of its participation at the MIC, Fearless commits to offering GovCon office hours at least once per week at the MIC for a year. It also will host outreach events, provide access to mentors and programs, co-develop and co-lead workshops and provide an economic impact report at the completion of programs, leaders shared during the news conference.