California, MD – TechPort, a technological incubator that targets startup and early-stage companies, welcomes a new entrepreneurial tenant to its team! Tracy Barkhimer is a veteran, entrepreneur, and is the president of her own company, Tracy A. Barkhimer Acquisition Strategies & Consulting LLC, aka TABASCo. TABASCo is an Acquisition Strategy and Consulting Company. As the owner, Barkhimer consults on leadership and proposal writing for small businesses who want to partner and contract with the Navy.
Barkhimer heard about TechPort through the great work and value spiraling within the community. With her own company, she said she wanted to find a great place to grow, “I wanted to have a legitimate place where I could work and set up my company.” Barkhimer was finally swayed to join TechPort after being involved with Unmanned Propulsion Development (UPD). UPD is a local Southern Maryland based business that develops lightweight flyable generators to replace standard batteries, which results in significantly longer flight times. At UPD, Barkhimer is the Director of Program Development and Marketing.
Barkhimer was kind enough to sit down and speak a bit about her past and give some insight into her experience as an entrepreneur and veteran. Barkhimer spoke about her past work experiences in the navy, and working at Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company. At Boeing, Barkhimer was a Field Marketing Representative and worked with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). After serving Boeing for 3 years, Barkhimer opted to leave and follow her passion to create her own business, and quickly she saw the opportunity to develop her own consulting company, TABASCo.
Barkhimer explained her experience as a woman in the military and corporate world stating that she “always felt accepted in the Navy, but not always in the corporate world.” However, she explained that even when faced with difficulty, may it be in work or the military, there is only one thing you can do and that’s “do the best you can.” Even if it may seem like the finish line is so far away, you will always be able to get there with hard work and intuition. “Don’t give up. Sometimes it may take people a little longer to get there, but you will,” Barkhimer concluded.
TechPort, operated under contract by the University of Maryland, is a technological incubator that offers many services, such as developmental space and a general machine shop, but TechPort is also a creative workspace. TechPort provides the ability to connect with people in the community to make a difference. TechPort is becoming a community hotspot, where visionaries can collaborate, and new interesting ideas can thrive and grow.
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