This is an overdue post on my productive visit last July 31 to tour the Maryland Innovation Center and get acquainted with its support programs and facilities for MD small businesses. MIC’s Jillian Joseph led me on a personal tour of the building as well as an explanation of all its resources.
MIC at a glance (brick-and-mortar)
MIC is located at 6751 Columbia Gateway Dr, Suite 500, Columbia, MD , and is administered by the Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA). The building is 60,000 sq ft innovation hub with coworking, private offices, classrooms/training rooms and event space.
The following outlines MIC’s key resources for small business:
- Event/meeting spaces: Multiple modern rooms (e.g., “Platinum,” “Gold,” “Silver,” and “Accelerator” rooms) with A/V, flexible seating, and options for 40–130+ attendees; booking starts around $70/hr.
- Vibe/amenities: Contemporary lobby and collaboration areas; high-speed connectivity; free parking (suburban campus); built for workshops, panels, and pitch events.
- Programs for solopreneurs: tutorials, events & mentoring
- Workshops & tutorials: MIC runs frequent entrepreneurial training, educational workshops, panels, and pitch competitions; programming is listed on its Events page and HCEDA’s Eventbrite. As an example, see below the promotional poster for Julie Davis’ website webinar last August 5.
- Virtual access: MIC hosts a recurring Virtual Open House to learn about services remotely; many sessions are recorded or offered as video for members.
Eventbrite - Mentoring: Members can access Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) mentorship, plus curated investor and partner connections—an emphasis MIC highlights across its site.
- The Business Revitalization Initiative Through Entrepreneurship program—or BRITE—accelerates the journey from innovation through commercialization. From mentoring to marketing, product development to pitching, BRITE provides early stage startups and seasoned businesses in Howard County with direct pathways to entrepreneurial success.
Membership & pricing (current “from” rates)
MIC publishes simple, tiered pricing (“starts at” levels):
- Elevate (Coworking): $200/mo (coworking + conference room access, mailbox, e-signature, member benefits).
MIC – - Amplify (Coworking + Mentorship): $300/mo (adds 1:1 EIR mentorship; access to video/podcast studio).
MIC – - Empower (Dedicated office + Mentorship): offices from $550/mo (adds a private office, priority access to lounge/training rooms, expanded meeting access; application/interview required).
MIC – - International (Soft-landing): $400/mo with counseling/mentoring for international companies.
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Member perks: Discounts on BRITE classes (10–50%), HCEDA events, and more.
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How MIC compares to WeWork & similar DC coworking
What MIC is: an incubator/accelerator + workspace backed by a county EDA—i.e., space plus structured programming (BRITE), curated mentorship (EIRs), investor/pitch pathways, and community partnerships. If you’re a solopreneur seeking education, mentors, and a startup network—not just a desk—MIC’s bundle is unusually robust for the price.
What mainstream coworking is: workspace-first with amenities and community events, usually à la carte for meeting rooms and no built-in mentoring. Examples/prices in DC:
Bottom line for a solo consultant:
Choose MIC if you want affordable space + structured growth support (classes, mentors, warm intros, pitch opportunities) under one roof. The $200–$300/mo tiers beat many DC coworking prices when you factor in mentorship and programming value, and the office-from-$550 path is a low barrier to a private office inside an incubator.
Choose WeWork/Industrious/Spaces if you mainly need flexible urban locations, day-to-day desk access downtown, or day passes near clients/metro, and you’ll source education/mentors separately.
My thanks to Jillian Joseph and the MIC staff for a great tour of their facility, which may well be a great resource for my MD Solopreneur clients in future.
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