Title: CEO and Founder of EcoMap Technologies
Age: 24
EcoMap Technologies, a Baltimore-based startup that collects data on various kinds of ecosystems and builds platforms to help people navigate them, was active in three ecosystems last year. Now, it is in 13 ecosystems across the U.S. and abroad, with plans to hit more than 16 by the end of the year.
The young company quickly went from having a handful of small customers to securing multi-year contracts with enterprises. It expanded its team from six to 12 and is now looking to raise its first round of investment capital.
The rapid growth experience has come with “an insane learning curve” for EcoMap’s young CEO, Pava LaPere, who says demand shows no sign of letting up. LaPere said the past year has been incredibly trying, but she has big plans for EcoMap and is ready to keep forging ahead.
You have already accomplished a lot for a founder your age. What are you proudest of so far?
I'm proud that I've been able to build a company that both makes money and does good in the world. Increasing access to information is so important to me, and sometimes I can't believe we get paid to do this at scale. It is really easy to make money if you don't care about whether or not you're doing something meaningful, but I think that going forward, the most successful corporations are going to be the ones who make the world better with their products without sacrificing profitability.
In addition to your work on EcoMap, you've done a lot to support other young, growing companies and founders. Why is that important to you?
Let's be candid for a moment — our country is on fire. There are so many problems that need to be solved, and we need a new economic development strategy that will work for all communities and people. Entrepreneurs, whether starting companies or building initiatives are the ones who solve these problems and drive this growth. When I started supporting young founders through the JHU FastForward Accelerators and Innov8MD, I was just trying to convince more people to be entrepreneurs. Creating more founders and more entrepreneur-led economic development for our city is still my north star. But right now, I want to support young founders because what I just experienced with hyper-growth at EcoMap was the hardest thing I've ever done. I want to be there for other young founders who are experiencing the perils of scaling.
Are there other entrepreneurs you look up to? Who are they and why do you admire them?
I look up to so many of Baltimore's founders. Nick Culbertson [Protenus], who's always level-headed no matter how crazy things are. Jess Gartner [Allovue], who has taught me a level of perseverance I didn't think possible. Ellington West [Sonavi Labs] for being an all-around trailblazer and Aaron Hsu for leading ClearMask through what had to be the craziest hyper-growth ever. Also Ashley Williams [Infinite Focus Schools] and Bree Jones [Parity] for building companies that our world needs, and the Upsurge Team for leading the charge of making our ecosystem more equitable. Every founder in Baltimore — especially our female, Black and brown founders, who still deal with so many barriers — are forces of nature to be admired. I am so grateful to look up to them.
You've founded multiple other ventures. Do you have any ideas for future companies?
I keep a journal of hundreds of different ventures that I want to start or see started, but I've realized my heart is in ecosystem building. After EcoMap, I want to work on something that massively accelerates the rate of new business creation and growth in Baltimore, but I want to focus on [small and midsize businesses] and service-based businesses, since these are really what drive economic development in communities. I also want to start angel investing, because I'm absolutely sick of seeing Black, brown, and female founders have to work 10 times as hard to get early-stage funding. That, more than anything, motivates me to lead EcoMap to a profitable exit.
To read about the rest of our Inno Under 25 class, click here.
