 |
| JHU labs and offices join the top-floor tenants at R. House |
By JHTV staff
Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV) has spent the better part of a year renovating the second floor of R. House to transform it into our newest FastForward innovation hub. With our grand opening right around the corner, we wanted to share who we are and how we hope to fit into and contribute to the community.
JHTV is the commercialization arm of Johns Hopkins University. We work with researchers to translate their technologies and discoveries into marketable solutions that address today’s greatest challenges. Much of our effort involves supporting entrepreneurs who want to build businesses based on these technologies through our FastForward program.
FastForward empowers start-ups—both those founded at Johns Hopkins and others unaffiliated with the institution—by providing them affordable space, services, mentorship and funding opportunities. The most visible manifestation of this is our three Baltimore City innovation hubs.
These hubs are the launching pads for start-ups developing manufacturing technologies, telemedicine platforms, therapeutics, diagnostics and medical devices, and other technologies.
In 2013, Johns Hopkins opened its first FastForward innovation hub in the Stieff Silver building, but this summer, FastForward R. House will replace it. The 9,000-square-foot FastForward space on R. House’s second floor will feature co-working, office and conference space, laboratories, and a maker space with a 3-D printer for building prototypes. Up to 10 start-ups at any given time will lease space there.
The R. House facility will not be the only space supporting innovation in Remington. In the coming year, we plan to open an innovation hub dedicated to Johns Hopkins’ student entrepreneurs in the Gray Ghost building. In the past few years, our student entrepreneurs have built start-ups creating an array of solutions from cloud-based pathology platforms and custom manufacturing technologies to fashionable backpacks for photographers and online recruiting platforms.
We’re proud of the many accomplishments of our FastForward start-ups, and we’re hungry for more. JHTV is on a mission not just to create the next Gatorade, Genentech, or Facebook—all amazing companies that emerged from a university—but to ensure that successful FastForward companies stay in Baltimore, add jobs to our economy, and contribute to the revitalization of the city.
Baltimore has a number of tangible advantages for start-ups, including its proximity to major East Coast markets, federal agencies, and renowned academic institutions. However, Baltimore’s intangibles—its grit, its dogged support of homegrown businesses and its charm and neighborhood quirks—are what make our city a tremendous place to live, work and play and are an important part of convincing promising start-ups to stay.
We believe that Remington, with its up-and-coming food scene, unique history, and diverse culture, will play a role in helping us convince people that Baltimore is a great place to set roots. This will strengthen the city and the neighborhoods that we all love so much. We look forward to being a part of this great community.
