In this Entrepreneur Spotlight we have put our focus on Trivalent, a leading provider of next generation data protection based in Annapolis, MD. We love to interview clients and other local entrepreneurs to make others aware of what is going on in the local business community. We took a few moments to interview Trivalent, to ask some questions and learn more about this fast-growing company.

1. Tell us a little bit about Trivalent. How you first got started and how you have grown since inception in 2010.

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Evergreen Advisors is pleased to announce that Rick Kohr, CEO, will be serving on the judging panel for Ernst & Young’s 2017 Maryland Entrepreneur of the Year program.

EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year has been celebrating entrepreneurs for over 30 years and has been recognized as one of the most prestigious business award programs in the world.  Entrepreneur of the Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year program runs from April to June, where the independent judges review participant applications, conduct interviews, select categories and winners, and award those winners on June 28^th, during a gala at the conclusion of the program.

Other 2017 Maryland judges include:

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Rick Kohr had the pleasure of sitting down with both Tom and Gary to discuss the recently formed Momentum Fund, geared towards increasing new company creation and commercialization of research in Maryland. The Fund will concentrate on filling funding gaps and provide opportunities for innovation.

RK: The first thing I always like to ask is “How would you describe the problem that exists today that you are trying to solve?” It will help us to understand why the Momentum Fund was created. 

GA: First of all thanks for the opportunity, and I’m honored to be on this call. When I started working on the Board of Regents about 8 years ago, I sat in on a committee meeting with our tech transfer work group. It was chaired by a young guy named Mike Gill. It was obvious to Mike, who really got this process rolling, and to me, that there was tremendous brain power in the University System…

Interview – Rick Kohr & USM

Evergreen Advisors announces the promotion of both Justin Horsman and Will O’Donnell to Manager in our Business Valuation Practice.

Justin Horsman joined Evergreen in 2013 and brings to Evergreen experience in valuation advisory services for a variety of purposes, including estate and gift tax, IRC 409A, dissenting shareholder and oppression, Subchapter-S elections, buy/sell agreements, and fair value reporting.  He is a CFA Level 3 Candidate, a member of the American Society of Appraisers, and has passed the four principles of valuation prerequisites. Justin holds his Series 63, Uniform Securities Agent State license, and Series 79, Investment Banking Representative license.
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What can March Madness teach us about business, you ask?  As March Madness quickly approaches, we can’t help but think about who are our teams, the concepts of dedication and hard work, and what it means to aim to be great.

Here at Evergreen, we celebrate March Madness with intensity and high spirits. But how does the game of basketball and March Madness itself relate to our everyday business and individual lives?

Do you exemplify the characteristics of a great individual and an even better team player?

• Teamwork: The great thing about a team is that several unique individuals come together to join as ONE – bringing all of their different talents and skills for one common purpose. To win & to succeed. Take a look at your team – is everyone striving towards the same goal? There is no stronger team than a team who is comprised of people who work for the same outcome and who aim for greatness.
• Leadership: The best teams have excellent leaders, and not just in management. A great team can learn from a great coaching staff, but individuals who exemplify leadership can take the team even further in their successes. Who are the members on your team and are you exemplifying leadership qualities to advance your team’s success?
• Commitment: You may have raw talent, but you must be committed to working hard and exercising your skills repetitively to ensure you stay active and perform well. Train to win. Learn new skills, gain new knowledge, apply those talents, and work towards success. Hard work and dedication pay off, not only in basketball, but in everyday business endeavors.
• Attitude: It is important to have a good attitude and to reflect good character in your team. If you have a poor attitude or display unsportsmanlike qualities, you will bring fault to your character. If one team member has poor character, it will affect the image of your business as a whole and the clients you wish to attract.

Most of all have fun!  It’s much better when you love what you do and have fun doing it!

Who’s your team and how are you contributing during this March Madness season?

Evergreen Advisors, LLC Chief Operating Officer and Ellicott City resident one of 52 selected for professional development program

Leadership Maryland announced this week that Shelley Lombardo, MBA ’17, Chief Operating Officer at Evergreen Advisors, LLC, has been chosen to participate in the professional development program dedicated to building a better Maryland by harnessing the strength of its local business and community leaders. Lombardo is one of 52 individuals chosen for Leadership Maryland’s 25^th class – the Class of 2017, who will complete the eight-month hands-on learning program focused on the state’s most vital social, economic and environmental issues.

Following a two-day opening retreat in April, the class will attend five two-day intense sessions traversing the state focusing on Maryland’s economic development, education, health and human services, criminal justice, the environment, and multi-culturalism/diversity. These sessions will be followed by a one-day closing retreat in November and a graduation celebration in December. More than 100 experts representing business, government, education, and the non-profit community will serve as panelists and guest speakers.

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Join Evergreen Advisors and thousands of other industry professionals at the RSA Conference 2017 in San Francisco, California. The conference will be held at the Moscone Center and will take place February 13 – February 17.

Top information security professionals and business leaders will discuss emerging cybersecurity trends and formulate best strategies for tackling current and future threats. At this year’s event, attendees will have access to more than 500 exhibitors, more than 400 expert-led sessions, and invaluable networking opportunities to learn more about new approaches to info security discover the latest technology and interact with top security leaders and pioneers.

Some of the local Companies and Organizations attending include:

• ADG Creative
• Atlantic Data Forensics
• Bandura Systems
• Booz Allen Hamilton
• Bricata
• bwtech@UMBC
• CBRE
• Cisco Systems Security Business Group
• ClearShark
• Connected2Tech LLC
• COPT
• CyberMaryland

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Evergreen Advisors Capital is pleased to announce that it was the exclusive financial advisor to Advantage Engineers, LLC, an industrial consulting engineering firm, in connection with its recapitalization.

Advantage Engineers, LLC provides innovative solutions for complex telecommunications, environmental, and geotechnical engineering and consulting challenges. Advantage Engineers was founded in 2001 and is based in Mechanicsburg, PA with additional full-service offices in West Chester, Pittsburgh, and Allentown, PA; Denver, CO; Columbia, MD; and Mt. Laurel, NJ.

Ed Balsavage, CEO of Advantage Engineers commented, “Evergreen was instrumental in helping us find the right private equity partner while maximizing value.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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Evergreen Advisors Capital is pleased to announce that it was the exclusive financial advisor to Tidal Basin Group of Alexandria, VA, a national consulting firm specializing in supporting state and local governments and nonprofit organizations with pre- and post-disaster recovery programs.

Tidal Basin Group is divided into three firms: Government Consulting, Federal, and Commercial Services. These firms have provided technical support and expertise in over 100 federally declared disasters throughout the United States. Tidal Basin is headquartered in Alexandria, VA with additional offices in Winchester, VA, New Orleans, LA, Frisco, TX, and Orlando, FL. Evergreen Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor in the acquisition of Tidal Basin by Adjusters International, Inc., based out of Utica, New York.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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Evergreen Advisors is pleased to announce the formation of our Metropolitan Washington, DC Advisory Board. The Advisory Board is composed of successful entrepreneurs with extensive experience across  a variety of industries.  The Advisory Board consists of the following members:

• Rick Rudman, CEO, Tracx
• Todd Leto, CEO, Trapollo
• Kay Parry, SVP, Square 1 Bank
• Chris Bergstrom, Digital Health Expert, Boston Consulting Group

Evergreen Advisors also has an Advisory Board for our Metropolitan Baltimore office. To learn more about the members of this board, please visit https://evergreenadvisorsllc.com/about/board-of-advisors/

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In this Entrepreneur Spotlight we are focusing on one of our CFO clients: Protenus.  Protenus helps hospitals protect patient privacy in electronic medical records by detecting privacy breaches in real-time. The solution is a lightweight analytical tool focused on protecting against insider threats. The Company is based in Baltimore, MD and was founded in 2014.

We interviewed Nick Culbertson, Co-Founder of Protenus, on how he got started in the business and what he is currently facing in his role within this startup

1.  Tell us a little bit about Protenus. The idea behind it, how you got started, and what the initial purpose of this business was.

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Evergreen Advisors is a proud sponsor of the 2016 Howard County Good Scout Breakfast. The Breakfast is held to honor the recipient of the 2016 Good Scout Award, which recognizes an individual with outstanding contributions to improve the quality of life in Howard County while exemplifying the precepts found in the Scout Oath and Law. The 2016 honoree is Mr. Allan H. Kittleman, Howard County Executive.

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Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore is holding their 2016 Annual Meeting on November 17th. The meeting will be held at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel from 4:30-8:30pm.

EAGB’s Annual Meeting is a celebration of the events and people that make the region a world-class place to live, work, learn and invest.

It will showcase the dedicated commitment of business leaders, innovators, students and government officials and the products, companies and initiatives they’re leading, building and creating in the great region.

Join the EAGB by purchasing your tickets now. http://www.greaterbaltimore.org/events/annual-meeting.aspx
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Evergreen Advisors’ Joe Statter will be on the panel for An Owner’s Journey, a panel discussion presented by U.S. Trust on Oct 6th.  The discussion will be held at The Hotel in Arundel Preserve in Hanover, Maryland.  Attendees will  hear about the experiences of the panelists’ on selling and transitioning companies.  The panelists will provide insight and strategies for the challenges business owners face when deciding what the next step is for their business.
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Harris is a Vice President in Evergreen Advisors’ CFO Advisory practice. He is based out of the Columbia office and has added his international background knowledge to our firm upon his start with Evergreen in April. We asked Harris a few quick questions to learn more about what he is working on and who he is working with here at Evergreen.

1. Tell us how your international background helps with your current clients?

Several of our clients are expanding internationally both in EMEA and APAC.

Having launched several international operations in the past, I am able to provide advice and guidance as to how to approach setting up international entities, hiring employees, opening bank accounts, and setting up accounting operations, while at the same time being compliant with local regulations.

2. What industries are you currently working within? 

I am mostly working with technology companies with a focus on cyber.

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Evergreen Advisors’ Rick Kohr will be a speaker for the September MD Cyber CEO Breakfast Club on the 13^th.  September’s topic of discussion will be “Strategic Funding Options.”

Rick will be the Investment Banking and Venture Capital speaker.  Other speakers for the morning will include: Mike Willets, PNC; Art Jacoby, MD Cyber Investment Partners; and Moss Amer, TEDCO.
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Evergreen Advisors is a proud sponsor of the 2016 Beta City Event taking place on September 29^th. The event will be held at City Garage in Baltimore.

Beta City is presented by Betamore and Sagamore Ventures and is an annual event that recognizes and celebrates leaders, makers and innovators in Baltimore.  The event brings together Baltimore’s greatest minds for a full day of pitches, startup demos and a celebration of the growing community. Beta City includes a Live Pitch Competition, a tour of City Garage, and a celebration of the greatest innovators in Baltimore.  An Awards Ceremony will take place honoring the winners from the Pitch Competition.

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Evergreen Advisors is pleased to announce the addition of Ron Gula to the Evergreen Advisory Board.

Evergreen Advisors focuses on assisting companies in the areas of corporate finance, growth and exit strategies, business valuation and CFO Advisory services.  Ron will be joining board members Demian Costa of Sagamore Ventures, Chuck Cullen of Grotech Ventures, Ken Ulman of Margrave Strategies, Tom Sadowski of University of Maryland, Gregg Smith of Optio Labs, Rick Gertiz of LifeJourney, Paul Silber of Blu Ventures, and Jon Shaw of MetaSource.

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The CyberMaryland Conference brings together academia, government and private organizations in a two day event to network and discuss cyber related industry topics and opportunities. Maryland is recognized as a cybersecurity leader, so what better place to hold the conference than in Baltimore, MD. Speakers and panelists on cyber and technology will be presenting on thoughts and issues in the cyber industry today. The conference is hosted by The National Cyber Security Hall of Fame and Federal Business Council.

Evergreen’s Rick Kohr has attended the event over the past several years and will be back again this year.  Several of Evergreen’s Advisory Board members will be serving as speakers and panelists.

For more information about the 2016 Conference, please visit http://www.fbcinc.com/e/cybermdconference/overview.aspx

Rick Kohr, CEO of Evergreen Advisors, met up with Michael Moore, CEO of what used to be Sparrows Point Terminal in Baltimore, now known as Tradepoint Atlantic. Rick and Michael talked about the transformation of the terminal into an international business area in Maryland and what this transformation means for Baltimore and Maryland’s economic development.

“I had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael to discuss his current role and how he is planning to expand business both internationally and right here in Baltimore.  I learned some interesting things I had not previously known about Baltimore and its opportunities for expansion, and I am excited to share those with you here.”

Rick Kohr, CEO, Evergreen Advisors

Print PDF Here: EA Interview Michael Moore 2016

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Evergreen is pleased to announce the addition of  new members to our firm since our last newsletter in January of 2016. We are thrilled to continue our expansion in all of our practice groups, and will continue to see more talented professionals to join our ever growing team.

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Hiring an outsourced CFO is more than just having a part-time employee helping with the simple accounting needs of your business.  CFO’s bring expertise that reach deeper than basic accounting functions.  At Evergreen Advisors, we go way beyond the basics.  We offer an array of services to our clients to ensure they are improving financial reporting, closely managing cash flow, increasing profitability, gaining knowledge of the current capital markets and focusing on the keys to creating shareholder value.

Why choose us? We make sure that you focus on running and growing your business as we manage the financial reporting, capital needs and human resource aspects.
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Credentials are important – They imply that an appraiser possesses a level of expertise and competence in the business valuation profession. Credentials establish minimum training and experience requirements, professional and ethical standards, and require the completion of mandatory continuing professional education (“CPE”) courses. Credentials set a standard to which all certified appraisers adhere to in order to preserve the trust of the public and are intended to assure that all credentialed appraisers maintain a requisite body of knowledge and apply methodologies consistently throughout a professional organization. [Read more…]

Evergreen Advisors Capital (“Evergreen”), a boutique investment bank, is pleased to announce that it served as the exclusive financial adviser to Perthera, Inc. (“Perthera”), a leading precision medicine company, in its institutional Series A financing.

Perthera is the market and technology leader in Precision Cancer Analysis (“PCA”), which provides physicians a more accurate understanding of a patient’s cancer and thereby the ability to identify prospective treatment options personalized to the individual patient. At the same time, a PCA provides individuals access to a world-class actionable therapy plan wherever in the world they may be.

Andrew Mignatti, Chief Executive Officer of Perthera commented, “We are pleased to complete this funding round and accelerate our progress in changing the way cancer is treated and enabling patients, no matter where they are located, to access state of the art therapies. Joe Statter and the team at Evergreen were instrumental and relentless in helping us originate, structure and close this financing.”

Joe Statter of Evergreen Advisors Capital noted, “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Andrew and the entire Perthera team to provide the company with the growth capital they need to continue their remarkable progress in the fight against cancer.”

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP served as legal counsel to Perthera.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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Evergreen Advisors, a leading investment bank and corporate advisory firm, with offices in both Columbia, MD and Tysons Corner, VA, is pleased to announce the addition of Demian Costa to the Evergreen Advisory Board.

Evergreen Advisors focuses on assisting companies in the areas of corporate finance, growth and exit strategies, business valuation and CFO Advisory services.  Demian will join a distinguished group of advisory board members including Chuck Cullen of Grotech Venutures, Ken Ulman of Margrave Strategies, Tom Sadowski of University of Maryland, Gregg Smith of Optio Labs, Rick Gertiz of LifeJourney, Paul Silber of Blu Ventures, and Jon Shaw of MetaSource.
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Evergreen Advisors is pleased to announce the addition of a new member to our team.

Beth Robison  recently joined the Evergreen Advisors team.  Beth has joined the Columbia office as Finance Manager and will be responsible for supporting the financial operations of the firm’s CFO clients by providing accounting, payroll, fixed asset, financial reporting, budgeting, and outsourced services.

Mark Gretz, head of Evergreen’s CFO Advisory Practice, stated, “We are excited to have Beth join our Evergreen and CFO Advisory team as we continue to expand our client base.”

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This year marks the 15^th Annual Maryland Incubator Company of the Year (ICOY) Awards Celebration.  Evergreen Advisors’ Rick Kohr has been honored to serve as a judge throughout the process.

The 2016 Maryland ICOY Awards publically recognizes achievements by current clients and graduates of Maryland incubators and provides a forum for the nominees to increase their visibility in the business, technology and investment communities.  The ICOY awards are chosen in several categories by a selection committee of regional industry leaders and early-stage investors. Award recipients benefit from publicity and gain greater credibility in the business, technology, and investment communities.

Organizers have named 22 finalists for the 15th Annual Maryland Incubator Company of the Year Awards. All finalists will be featured and recognized at the Awards Ceremony on June 21, 2016. Categories include: Best Life Sciences Company, Best Information Technology Company, Best Technology Professional Service Company, Best Cyber/Homeland Security Company, Best Green Company, Best New Incubator Company and Best Graduate Company.

The 22 finalists include:

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Evergreen Advisors Capital, a middle-market investment bank, is pleased to announce that Chesapeake System Solutions, Inc. (“Chesapeake”) has been acquired by Trintech, Inc. (“Trintech”) a portfolio company of Vista Equity Partners and Spectrum Equity.  Evergreen Advisors Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Chesapeake.

Chesapeake delivers innovative financial software to the world’s leading retail, banking, corporate, insurance and financial institutions. Trintech is a leading provider of cloud-based financial solutions for the integrated Record-to-Report process.  Trintech has over 900 clients worldwide with offices in the USA, UK, Australia, Netherlands, France, and Ireland, and partners in South Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

“We are thrilled to join an amazing team who, like us, works extremely hard to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction while transforming the systems and processes that make up the Record-to-Report market,” said Peter Vogelberger, CEO of Chesapeake System Solutions. “This is great news for our customers and our employees. Trintech shares our philosophy and vision for the future of the market, and we are excited to help expand their industry-leading Cadency® suite.”

Paul Klick of Evergreen Advisors Capital noted, “This transaction brings together two of the leading providers of enterprise class financial records management.  Together they create a powerful platform serving the global marketplace.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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In this Entrepreneur Spotlight we are focusing on another startup that was selected as one of the 6 finalists for the 2016 AccelerateBaltimore program – Fusiform, Inc.  Fusiform, Inc. develops a software solution for use in making the design and fabrication of orthotic devices better and faster.  Fusiform, Inc. is located in Oakland, Maryland, and was founded in 2015.

We interviewed Param Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Fusiform to learn more about his company, their product, and how they are transforming the medical world.

1. How did your team meet and when did you first see the need for improvements of orthotic devices?

The story of Fusiform begins in a rural village in India. In high school, I started an international nonprofit called the Lotus Life Foundation (www.lotuslifefoundation.org) which provides orthotic and prosthetic medical devices to children with disabilities in rural India. Our ultimate goal is to remove the stigma surrounding disability in India.

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Evergreen Advisors is pleased to announce the addition of a new CFO Advisor in our Columbia office.

Harris Charalambous joined Evergreen Advisors in April of 2016 as Vice President in the CFO Advisory Practice, and will be responsible for helping to expand the CFO Advisory Practice, focusing on the Baltimore and surrounding Maryland areas.
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