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/

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

Perfect Family, Change Maryland, “Irish”, “Live Life Like You Were Dying”

This coming November, it will be six years since Larry Hogan “shocked” the political world and became Governor of Maryland. It wasn’t long after that we met at his transition office, and he said to me, “Mike, I have twenty-three cabinet positions to fill, I want to get all of them right, no mulligans.” I really need to get economic development right. I ran on “Change Maryland,” and this is our opportunity to get Maryland heading in a better direction.” I said YES, and for the next four years, working closely with the “Gov,” we accomplished things no one thought Maryland was capable of achieving. I recently sat down with my friend and over an hour, covered “a lot of territory.” I hope you enjoy the interview. If there were an expression that would fit the Gov perfectly, it might be, “Take your work seriously, but not yourself.”

Gov, thanks for the memories

Mike

[Read more…]

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
[Read more…]

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.
[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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.
[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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

[Read more…]

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.
[Read more…]

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. The team at Evergreen was instrumental and relentless in helping us originate, structure and close this financing.”

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

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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.
[Read more…]

Evergreen Advisors is a Proud Sponsor of The Salvation Army of Central Maryland Annual Gala on April 19th.  The 12th Annual Compassion in Action Gala will be held at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.  Last year, The Salvation Army celebrated 150 years.
[Read more…]

In this Entrepreneur Spotlight we are focusing on another one of the startups selected for the 2016 AccelerateBaltimore program – ClassTracks.  ClassTracks is a blended learning platform for foreign language classrooms that helps teachers and students spend less time on drills and more time on communicating and speaking the language.  The company was founded in 2014 and is currently based in Baltimore, working out of the ETC (Emerging Technology Centers).

We interviewed Lida Zlatic, CEO and one of the three co-founders of ClassTracks, on how she got the idea for this startup and what types of challenges and successes she and the team are experiencing.

1. Where did the idea for ClassTracks come from?

I’ve always been interested in tech, and as a middle school Spanish teacher in Baltimore City I was really interested in using my knowledge and interest to help my students.  The math teacher in my building was using blended learning (blending online and in-person learning to create a more personalized experience for each student) and having a lot of success, so I was curious to try it in my classroom.  As I learned more about blended learning, I realized that the foreign language classroom was a perfect use case:  students could use technology to more efficiently learn the vocabulary and grammar, and teachers could spend class time engaging students in practice that builds communication skills with the building blocks they learned online.  The problem was that there was no platform that would do what I just described efficiently for a foreign language classroom.  I quit teaching and, by chance, went to a startup weekend education where I pitched my idea and met my two co-founders: Jamel and Thierry.  Jamel was a foreign language teacher that had encountered the same problem and had come up with the same idea.  Thierry was a brilliant engineer who wanted to apply his skills to solve a big problem in education using technology.

[Read more…]

Loople Mobile LLC, one of the 6 startups participating in the ETC’s AccelerateBaltimore program, is an app providing user-verified information in real time about what all of the local bars and restaurants are like and what to expect. The app currently serves the Baltimore area, specifically Fells Point, Canton, Federal Hill, and Towson.

We interviewed Philip DiMuro, Founder and CEO of Loople, to learn more about the mobile app and how they are best serving their client base.

1. How did you come up with the name “Loople?”

The name Loople only came as a result of constantly brainstorming to find something that was unique, engaging, and memorable. We thought about what our product did; keeping others in the loop with what was going on in their area. Playing on the word “loop” lead us into discussing how we helped our users, and this reminded us a lot of being like a search engine, similar to Google. By combining these two words we discovered “Loople” and the name stuck immediately!

[Read more…]

CEO of Evergreen Advisors, Rick Kohr, will be interviewing Chairman of Harkins Builders, Dick Lombardo, at the next “Lessons from Legends” presented by the University of Baltimore.

Harkins Builders, Inc. is one of the top multifamily and commercial construction management companies in the Mid-Atlantic.  Headquartered in Howard County, Maryland, Harkins generates annual revenues of $250 million and has built over 800 projects during its 50-year history.

“Lessons from Legends” is a series of shared stories from the Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore.  Students, alumni and friends have the opportunity to learn from Baltimore’s most influential and successful business leaders about their experiences, career paths, successes and challenges.

Past Legend Appearances Include:

• David S. Cordish, chairman of The Cordish Company
• Thomas S. Bozzuto, chairman and CEO of Bozzuto Group
• M.J. “Jay” Brodie, former President of the Baltimore Development Group
• Gino Gemignani, SVP at Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
• Edward St. John, chairman and CEO of St. John Properties

Join Dick Lombardo and Rick Kohr on April 18th starting at 5pm at UB’s Town Hall as Dick shares about his time with Harkins Builders and what led him to his success as a master in business.

 

Evergreen Advisors Board Member and Founding Partner of Blu Venture Investors has been named as one of the 2016 Crab Trap Judges for the 1st Annual Maryland Crab Trap in Gaithersburg, MD.
[Read more…]

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

EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year has been celebrating entrepreneurs for 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 Thursday June 9th, during a gala at the conclusion of the program.

Other judges include:

• Chuck Cullen, Grotech Ventures
• Larry Harding, Radius
• John Heller, HealthPro Rehabilitation
• Kwame Kuadey, GiftCardRescue.com
• Natalia Luis, M.Lius Construction
• Jennifer Meyer, Betamore
• Sheela Murthy, Murthy Law Firm

[Read more…]

Join Evergreen Advisors’ Rick Kohr and thousands of other industry professionals at the RSA Conference 2016 in San Francisco, California.  The conference will be held at the Moscone Center and will take place February 29 – March 4.

Top information security professionals and business leaders will discuss emerging cybersecurity trends and formulate best strategies for tackling current and future threats.  This year they are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the RSA Conference, which is set out to be the biggest one yet.  At this year’s event, attendees will have access to more than 500 exhibitors, more than 400 expert-led sessions, and invaluable networking opportunities.

Rick Kohr of Evergreen Advisors states, “This is the best opportunity to see the cutting edge of cyber technologies, meet key funding sources and connect with new companies.  It is one of the best industry conferences in the country for, arguably, the fastest changing technology landscape in the world.”

Some of the local Companies and Organizations attending include:

• Evergreen Advisors, LLC
• CyberMaryland
• bwtech@UMBC
• Maryland Department of Commerce
• Hexis Cyber

[Read more…]

Evergreen Advisors Capital (EAC), a middle-market investment bank and subsidiary of Evergreen Advisors, LLC, is pleased to announce that two of its 2015 deals, one involving The ROI Companies and the other Paragon Bioservices, Inc., have been named as nominees in The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) – Maryland Chapter’s “Deal of the Year” competition.

Evergreen Advisors Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor to The ROI Companies of Timonium, MD, a full-service revenue cycle management firm specializing in the healthcare industry, in connection with its recapitalization.  Chicago-based, Edgewater Funds provided the equity financing.  The company is headquartered near Baltimore, with offices in the Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Washington, DC markets.

[Read more…]

Evergreen Advisors is a prominent middle market investment bank and advisory firm focused on guiding companies in the areas of corporate finance, growth and exit strategies, business valuations and CFO advisory services.  The firm announced today the celebration of its 15th Anniversary serving clients.

When asked about his vision back in 2001, CEO Rick Kohr stated, “It was the desire to succeed and prove out the model to myself and the marketplace.  I wanted to build a meaningful, high-reputation business that is a relationship business and not solely a transaction focused business.  I am very thankful to our team of individuals who are both creative and capable of finding solutions that others don’t find.  Best effort, creativity, and integrity are the three areas that we are as good as or better than any other firm.  Our success over the past 15 years has been a result of that commitment.”

[Read more…]

Joe Statter, President and Managing Director of Evergreen Advisors Capital (EAC), interviewed last month with Executive Leaders Radio, the #1 business radio show from Philadelphia through Washington DC.

Executive Leaders Radio honors individuals who have risen to leadership roles through hard work and dedication.  This highly popular radio program shares the stories and wisdom of leaders like Joe Statter with a diverse listener audience with the goal of helping others achieve success.

Listen to Joe talk about the impact of his sisters on him, the human element of investment banking, his mentors, early career experiences, and how much he cares about the outcome of his clients.

You can listen to Joe’s segment here: http://www.executiveleadersradio.com/shows/executive-leaders-dc/01-21-2016.aspx 
[Read more…]

Evergreen Advisors is a proud sponsor of the 2016 ETC AccelerateBaltimore (AB) program.  AccelerateBaltimore is an initiative of the ETC (Emerging Technology Centers) in conjunction with The Abell Foundation, who helped to supply funding for this initiative.  The ETC is Baltimore’s award-winning incubator and aims to close the gap between innovative ideas and the ability to bring them to market.  The ETC’s AB program provides startup companies with seed capital, free resources, access to an advisory team, an instructional program, mentors, and connections to potential partners and investors.
[Read more…]

With the wrap up of 2015 and the start of 2016, I took a few moments to reflect on not only this past year, but on the past 15 years, since the beginning of Evergreen Advisors.  This year marks Evergreen Advisors’ 15th Anniversary, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about where we have come over the years and the exciting future that lies ahead.

Rick Kohr, CEO, Evergreen Advisors

1. This year we celebrate Evergreen’s 15th Anniversary. What thoughts and emotions come to mind when you think about that?

We have developed a unique business model that works with companies throughout their life cycle.  We recognize how hard it is to build a business and the key elements needed to attain success.  You overlay that mindset to what we have accomplished, while enduring a major economic downturn from 2008 to 2012, and you have to be appreciative of the individuals who have helped build a meaningful business over this time frame.

We work in a business that allows us the window into an owners mind – learning about the financial details of their business and their issues in a first meeting.  It is a privilege we take seriously.  There are few professions that have that honor. [Read more…]