Introducing the Hutch Class of 2026

Eight founders. Four months. One mission: building technology that works for everyone.

There’s a particular kind of boldness it takes to build a civic technology company in a market that wasn’t originally designed with you in mind. It takes grit to navigate procurement systems, contracting requirements, and institutional gatekeeping.

These founders aren’t here because the doors were open, but because they saw a need in their communities and believed strongly enough in what they were building to change the system.

That is the kind of founder Hutch was created for.

And the Hutch Class of 2026? They embody that in every sense.

Today, Fearless Institute and Hutch are proud to officially announce the eight companies selected to join Hutch’s newest cohort. This is a class of visionary founders building AI, cybersecurity, creative, and government technology solutions that are as technically rigorous as they are purposeful.

What Hutch is and why it matters

Hutch is a GovTech incubator program of the Fearless Institute, the nonprofit partner of Fearless – a Baltimore-based technology company on a mission to create software with a soul. This signature program was built to do something different. It provides socially and economically depressed founders with the infrastructure, network, and expertise needed to succeed in some of the most complex markets in the country, including government, healthcare, education, and commercial sectors.

The path from a “great idea” to a “government contract” is rarely straightforward. It requires deep sector knowledge, strategic positioning, compliance expertise, and a network of advocates who can open the right doors. For too long, those resources have been concentrated in the hands of a few.

Hutch is working to change that, and the results speak for themselves.

By the numbers:

• 50+ companies supported through the Hutch program since its founding
• $90M in revenue generated by Hutch alumni
• 272 jobs created by the Hutch network
• 90% of Hutch companies still operating and scaling post-program

These aren’t just statistics; they are proof that when you invest in the right founders with the right support, the returns go far beyond the balance sheet. They ripple into communities, reshape industries, and redefine what it looks like to build technology that serves the public good.

We’re building more than companies, we’re building an ecosystem

This cohort represents the continued commitment to creating a tech ecosystem that is not only innovative, but navigable.

“What excites me most about this class isn’t just the caliber of the companies, it’s what they represent for the broader ecosystem,” says LaToya C. Staten, Executive Director of Fearless Institute.

“When we invest in socially and economically depressed founders building for government and public-sector markets, we’re not just helping individual businesses succeed; we’re strengthening the connective tissue of an entire ecosystem. Each company that goes through Hutch adds another node to a network that makes it easier for the next founder to find their footing, win their first contract, and build with confidence. That’s how you create lasting economic mobility: community by community.”

This philosophy is at the heart of everything Fearless Institute does. The goal has never been to simply incubate startups, it’s to build a navigable ecosystem where founders don’t have to start from zero, where knowledge is shared, where networks are accessible, and where the pathway from idea to impact is as clear as possible.

That ecosystem thinking extends beyond programming, it shows up geographically, too.

The Hutch Class of 2026 spans the broader Mid-Atlantic region, with six Maryland-based companies including four rooted right here in Baltimore, one in Oakland, MD, and one based in Howard County, alongside founders representing Washington, D.C. and Dover, Delaware.

Regionally connected and locally invested, this is a cohort that understands these markets, these communities, and what it actually takes to build within them, and that shared context makes the network stronger for everyone in it.

This is what a thriving regional GovTech ecosystem looks like in practice: not concentrated in one zip code, but networked across cities and states, with Baltimore at the center.

For the founders themselves, that sense of community is part of what drew them here in the first place.

“What drew me to Hutch was the understanding that there’s a greater good behind what we’re building,” said Alessandra Smith, Co-Founder & CEO, TangiblEmpact.

“Outside of just delivering a service or product, that work leads to a larger impact for a group of people; whether that’s rooted in your personal story or something that’s shaped your purpose. Knowing that Hutch operates from that same place of intentionality is what made it the right fit for me.”

Catalyzing economic mobility through GovTech

The numbers are well-documented, the government technology market is a multi-billion dollar industry, yet access to that market remains deeply inequitable. Socially and economically depressed businesses are becoming obsolete in contracting pipelines, not because of a lack of capability, but because of a lack of access.

Hutch exists to close that gap.

By equipping founders with the tools to enter and compete in government markets, Hutch creates a direct pathway to economic mobility for founders, their employees, and their communities.

Every contract won by a Hutch founder is capital that stays in the community. Every job created is an opportunity that didn’t exist before. Every company that scales is a signal to the next generation of builders that this is possible.

The Hutch Class of 2026 is eight more bets on that future.

Introducing the Hutch Class of 2026

• Beyond Consultants LLC (Braxton Croley): Experts in closing the gap between cloud-based contact center modernization and rigorous IT security compliance.
• Downtown Strategy Group, Inc. (Dr. Duane Wallace): A strategy and digital services firm helping mission-driven organizations navigate government contracting and public health initiatives.
• Eagle Lens Media, LLC (Timothy Marshall Jr.): A full-service multimedia production company elevating brand influence through high-impact storytelling.
• Epic Art Universe (Dion Bowen): A veteran-owned creative agency using “Design for Impact” to bridge visual communication with strategic business growth.
• Govas Solutions Inc. (Harold Kwigova): Provider of adaptive network security systems built on the pillars of Faith, Family, and Servitude.
• Keyspider AI (Logan Nathan): An AI-powered platform revolutionizing digital accessibility and information discoverability for governments and enterprises.
• NERD (Ursula Spencer): A governance-focused firm moving regulated industries past AI experimentation into safe, scalable operations.
• TangiblEmpact (Alessandra Smith): An AI-powered decision-making infrastructure helping planners and developers make faster, feasible land-use decisions.

What comes next

Over the next four months, these eight companies will move through Hutch’s intensive nine-module curriculum. They will cover everything from finding your why, go-to-market strategy and government contracting to brand positioning and storytelling.

They will be supported by a network of mentors, advisors, and Fearless team members who are invested in their success. Most importantly, they will do it as part of a growing Hutch community; a network of alumni, partners, and investors working toward a tech ecosystem that is equitable, navigable, and built to last.

Learn more about Hutch and our founders at hutchstudio.io.

About Hutch

Hutch is a comprehensive GovTech incubator program of the Fearless Institute, designed to equip entrepreneurs with the infrastructure, expertise, and network needed to build resilient, scalable ventures that directly address community challenges – turning innovation into tangible economic opportunity.