TEDCO’s Entrepreneur Expo to Host “From Lab to Liquidity” Panel

Session will feature investors and founders from 100KM Ventures, AIN Ventures and Ion Storage Systems, moderated by TEDCO’s Avanti Shetye

COLUMBIA, Md., (September 30, 2026) — TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announces the “From Lab to Liquidity” session at the upcoming 2026 Entrepreneur Expo taking place at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor on October 27, 2026.

The session will bring together Shalanda Armstrong, founder and managing partner of 100KM Ventures, a Washington, D.C. firm investing in early-stage companies from pre-seed through Series A; Emily McMahan, co-founder and general partner of AIN Ventures, a seed-stage fund investing at the intersection of dual-use and deep technology and in military veteran-led startups; and Jorge Schneider, chief executive officer of Ion Storage Systems, the Beltsville solid-state battery manufacturer that began as research in a University of Maryland laboratory — for a conversation moderated by Avanti Shetye, senior director of investment operations and compliance at TEDCO.

Turning breakthrough science into a commercially viable company is one of the hardest, and most capital-intensive, journeys in entrepreneurship. The path from lab to market requires more than technical innovation. It requires the right investors, the right milestones and a strategy for navigating capital, partnerships, manufacturing and market adoption. This candid conversation brings deep tech together from both sides of the table: what investors need to see before they place a bet, and what it actually takes for founders to turn that investment into a scalable company.

“The companies that come out of a lab are not harder to fund because the science is weak. They are harder to fund because the timelines and the capital needs look nothing like software,” said Shetye. “Investors who understand that are the ones writing checks in Maryland, and founders who understand it are the ones who get them.”

The panel will unpack how investors evaluate technical and market risk, what milestones unlock the next round of capital, where venture capital fits alongside government and strategic funding, and how founders can navigate the challenging “middle mile” between a working technology and commercial scale. Expect an honest discussion about the realities of funding and building deep-tech companies, from the lab to manufacturing, from first investment to follow-on capital, and ultimately toward liquidity.

Few states generate more of this raw material. The U.S. National Science Foundation reports that federal obligations for research and development to performers in California and Maryland together account for nearly 27% of all such funding across the states, with $17 billion directed to Maryland, and the State hosts more than 78 federal laboratories, according to the Maryland Department of Commerce’s Guide to Tech Transfer in Maryland. Ion Storage Systems is one company built on that foundation: it traces to research in the laboratory of University of Maryland professor Eric Wachsman and now produces solid-state battery cells in Beltsville with support from ARPA-E, the Department of Energy, the Defense Logistics Agency and the Army Research Laboratory. Converting that research depth into companies, and those companies into returns, is the practical question this panel takes up.

The session also reflects TEDCO’s own role in that pipeline. Both 100KM Ventures and AIN Ventures are partners in TEDCO’s Venture Capital Limited Partnership Equity Program, funded through Maryland’s allocation under the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative.

TEDCO’s award-winning Entrepreneur Expo shines a spotlight on regional entrepreneurship. Attracting more than 1,170 attendees, the event collects some of the region’s top entrepreneurs, business owners, innovators, venture capital investors, legislators and resources for a day of celebration. This year, the event will take place in Baltimore, one of the top 20 best cities for entrepreneurs, offering a full day of interactive workshops, insightful discussions and inspiring connections.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from the region’s top experts; secure your spot at this impactful event now at tedcomdexpo.com/event/2026/register.