Discovery gets into ‘Shark Week’ Spirit
Our HQ is just a little more jawsome this week. #SharkWeek
A photo posted by Discovery Communications (@discoverycomm) on Jul 5, 2015 at 6:44pm PDT
Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications kicked off its annual Shark Week Monday. The company is letting people in Silver Spring know with its “Jawsome” artwork adorning its headquarters. Shows airing this week on Discovery Channel tackle topics ranging from an investigation into a possible serial-killer Great White shark to a journey to Cuba to explore a remote shark habitat.
This will be Discovery’s 28th season of Shark Week. In recent years, the company has aired pseudoscience “Megalodon” programs that skirt the line between fact and fiction, but this year the channel’s head of development, Howard Swartz, says they’ll focus on shark science and research.
The week is a ratings boon for the network. Last year, the channel netted 42 million viewers over the course of the week.
Local small businesses honored at awards ceremony
The Montgomery County Small Business Awards bestowed honors June 24 on a number of local companies.
The following businesses received awards, according to the county’s Department of Economic Development, which gave out the awards:
• Bioscience Company of the Year – Sanaria (Rockville-based malaria vaccination company)
• Cybersecurity Company of the Year – VariQ (information technology company on Twinbrook Parkway in Rockville)
• Hospitality Company of the Year – Maryland Soccer Foundation/Maryland SoccerPlex (sports complex in Boyds)
• IT Company of the Year – e-Management (Silver Spring-based federal information technology contractor)
• Nonprofit of the Year – CollegeTracks (Bethesda-based college aid organization that helps low-income students navigate the college admission process)
• Retail Company of the Year – Christopher’s Hardware (Olney community hardware store)
• Start-Up Company of the Year – Elizarov Consulting (Silver Spring business and education consulting group)
• Veteran-Owned Company of the Year — Ascendant Program Services (real estate maintenance, development and research company based in Silver Spring)
• Montgomery County Business Innovation Network Company of the Year – BlueNovo (Silver Spring-based healthcare and technology consulting business)
• Workforce Development Company of the Year – Congressional Bank (Bethesda-based community bank)
• Small (one-10 employees) Business of the Year – Rife International (energy consulting company based in Bethesda)
• Small (11-50 employees) Business of the Year – United Solutions (Rockville consulting company)
• Small (51-200 employees) Business of the Year – Athena Consulting (Gaithersburg-based staffing agency)
• Small Business Champions –Advanced Bioscience Laboratories (research and manufacturing bioscience business based in Rockville)
New Silver Spring pet store scheduled to open later this month
Photo by Andrew Metcalf
UNleashed by Petco has signs posted at the former U.S. Postal Service building on Georgia Avenue announcing it will open in the building on July 27. There’s also a sign saying the location is currently hiring sales associates, pet groomers and dog walkers. The concept is smaller than Petco’s typical stores and carries a wider selection of locally-made and natural products, according to the company’s website. Another store is located on Connecticut Avenue in Aspen Hill. The post office building was built in 1936-1937, but vacated by the postal service in 1981.
The Potomac family of serial entrepreneurs
Potomac’s Upender family is all about starting businesses, even on their summer vacation, reports The Washington Post. Barg Upender has started 10 businesses—six busts and four successes. His wife, Madhavi, recently started her own sleep-science company, Awarables, and left the family’s European vacation this summer to pitch her company to a sleep science company. Meanwhile the Upenders’ two sons also are involved; one already filed for a patent while the other makes products on a 3-D printer, according to The Post report published Sunday.
