Baltimore Entrepreneurs’ Organization celebrates continued Business Success
Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), the world’s leading peer-to-peer network of successful business leaders, congratulates its members of the Baltimore Chapter on business achievements that set them apart as Baltimore’s most influential community of entrepreneurs.
“As one year turns into the next, there’s a natural tendency to pause and take stock,” said David Quinn, EO Baltimore chapter president. However, if the incredible achievements of 2018 are anything to go by, none of the members of the EO Baltimore chapter seem like the pausing type.”
Here are some highlights of the many diverse business accomplishments of these remarkable local companies.
Alan Klug
1-800-GOT-JUNK? had a record year in 2018, enjoying more than 30 percent growth in the Baltimore market. The company serviced over 7,500 residential customers and 1,500 commercial customers while expanding into another of the top five metro markets in the United States.
Dr. Hung Cheung
For more than fifteen years, Cogency has been providing evidence-based toxicological, environmental, and medical solutions to their clients, both locally and nationally. In 2018, Cogency worked on a large variety of high-impact projects including a human-risk assessment and morbidity study on a cohort of welders on the West Coast; a cancer-cluster investigation, also on the West Coast; multiple epidemiology studies and outbreak investigations involving legionella and other infectious agents; ongoing research on mitigation methods and technology to control biofilm and microbial buildup; employment of next-generation techniques in outbreaks; and surveillance studies that may drive new paradigms.
Michael Raphael
In addition to the hundreds of 3-D projects the company tackles each year, in 2018, a highly visible two-year project came to fruition. Direct Dimensions has been working to support the visual effects on two major Marvel movies: Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, coming out later in 2019. Not only did this work keep the engineers at Direct Dimensions quite busy, but it also earned them film credits, bringing the total number of projects on Direct Dimensions’ IMDb page to around forty.
Jennifer Rotner
Elite Editing and Elite Authors
When Elite Editing’s largest client, an independent publisher, suddenly closed their doors in January 2018, Jennifer Rotner responded by opening Elite Authors, a publishing-services company that offers the full suite of author services, from ghostwriting and book editing to book cover design and interior formatting. Elite Authors has already completed work on several hundred books for a variety of writers, including New York Times bestselling authors. The Elite team, to celebrate the vision and leadership that allowed Elite to thrive rather than diminish, nominated Jennifer for the Maryland Daily Record’s Most Admired CEO award, an award she received in Novemer 2018, nicely rounding off a tumultuous and tremendous year.
Dennis Hoffman and Kathleen Clem
Engage USA and Straightline Direct Marketing
The owners of Engage USA celebrated their second business, Straightline Direct Marketing, landing on the Inc. 5000 for 2018. In addition, the Frederick Office of Economic Development named Engage USA one of Frederick’s Top 50 Businesses for 2018, all of which were celebrated for having “the largest potential to contribute to the county’s vibrant economy.” Baltimore-based National Federation for the Blind became a client, and they added a twenty-thousand-square-foot data center in Frederick, Maryland.
Matt Mandell
In 2018, Mandell Enterprises sold two e-commerce businesses. In addition, Mandell purchased a domain from Groupon called FeeFighters.com, which provides credit card and payment services for small and midmarket businesses.
Michael Krupp
In 2018, Michael Krupp, the owner and CEO of MD Private Lender, started leveraging his twenty years of real estate lending, development, and investment experience in new ways, specifically by creating a coaching and mentorship program to help others interested in his industry. In 2018 alone, MD Private Lender closed around $5 million in loans.
Sandeep Thakrar
In the last thirteen months, Neema Hospitality acquired three new hotels: Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania; Holiday Inn Express in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; and Suburban Extended Stay in Triadelphia, West Virginia. They now have twelve hotels and over 1,050 properties in their portfolio.
Matt Doud
In 2018, Planit won a total of twelve American Advertising Awards (ADDYs): eight gold and four silver. The American Advertising Awards are granted by the American Advertising Federation of Baltimore, and they honor Baltimore’s most talented marketing and communications professionals. Planit was also awarded two Best of Maryland Awards by the Public Relations Society of America Maryland Chapter for strategic public relations campaigns.
Robert Kinsler
In 2018, United Fray made the Inc. 5000 for the third time and the ICIC Inner City 100 for the first time. They also acquired Metro Sports Leagues in Washington, DC, and Southern Sports Leagues in New Orleans, positioning them for even greater growth in 2019.
Since its launch in 1987, EO has grown to over 13,000 members in 179 chapters in 57 countries. Baltimore’s EO chapter, founded in 2014, boasts 32 members, over US$2.5 million in median sales, and 2,029 employees.
About Entrepreneurs’ Organization
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of 13,000+ influential business owners with 181 chapters in 57 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond. Membership in EO is exclusive and by invitation only. To qualify, an entrepreneur must be the founder, co-founder, owner, or controlling shareholder of a company with an annual gross revenue of US$1 million. Find EO online at www.eonetwork.org.
