Turk of Tech: 24 Hours With Dave Troy

(Editor's note: this article was produced in partnership with Next American City. It originally ran in the Winter, 2010 edition of that publication.)

Getting to know Dave Troy might require a few visits to Google. A self-described "entrepreneur, software developer and community builder" in Baltimore, Troy first wielded his silicon scimitar in 1986 when he founded a mail computer sales firm at age 14. He'd go on to found ToadNet, an ISP, invest in Core Communications, a CLEC and found Popvox, a global VoIP consultancy � all ventures the average person might need a search engine to help understand.  
          
And Google might be coming to Baltimore, thanks to him. Troy is co-organizer of BmoreFiber, an effort by the Mayor's Office, the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore to respond to Google's request for information pursuant to building a fiberoptic network infrastructure in one or more locales across the country. "This process launched a city-wide conversation about infrastructure, innovation, and how Baltimore can benefit from telecommunications investment," Troy recently blogged. "Regardless of what happens with Google, we've started a process that will yield multiple dividends in the future."
           
If social media is about bringing people together to share information, voice opinions, influence those in power and ultimately empower themselves, Troy essentially is a social media network. When he's not starting companies or helping others fund theirs, he writes code, blogs, tweets and Facebooks. He works with InvestMaryland, an upcoming initiative designed to support the growth of knowledge-based industries by encouraging capital investment in the Maryland Venture Fund. Troy muses on the possibility of breaking up $10 million into "$50,000 chunks" to seed the development of 200 small tech companies. "Now if just five percent of these are home runs, that's phenomenal," he says. "I'm excited about the potential here�I want to work with smart people who are interested in changing the world, who are engaged in the issues of the day, who are intellectually curious."
           
So, where does Troy find these "smart people" in Baltimore? Where does he network, beyond the computer terminal? Here's a typical day:
 
8 a.m.  Troy is "usually doing stuff," such as taking his kids to school in Roland Park and preparing for a meeting with "people involved in politics and the community" such as the executive director of the CollegeBound Foundation (a college access program serving 20,000 urban high school students in Baltimore).
 
9 a.m.  A Bolton Hill resident, Troy "bikes to get around; it's efficient, saves me time parking and I get exercise." He'll stop at the On the Hill Caf� on John Street where he'll read emails and have coffee with the aforementioned politicos, community leaders and "people who are interested in making a difference," such as organizers of a financial literacy program now in some Maryland public schools.
 
10 a.m. Troy hops on his bike and pedals over to what is essentially his headquarters, the Emerging Technology Center at 2400 Boston Street. ETC Canton is home to Troy's Beehive Baltimore, which he describes as a "collaborative, shared work environment for technologists, artists and entrepreneurs," designed to create new ideas and new opportunities for business development. As the ETC website (www.etcbaltimore.com) relates, the center is a "venture of Baltimore Development Corporation, a nonprofit business incubator program�focused on growing early-stage technology and biotechnology companies in Baltimore." Imagine a well-resourced artist or writers' commune, but for tech companies and similar startups.
 
11 a.m. Activities vary. The morning following our interview, Troy was scheduled to appear at a press conference held at the ETC with Gov. Martin O'Malley, U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, Congressman Elijah Cummings, "Kevin Kamenetz, John Sarbanes and a bunch of others"  to announce an initiative for broadband infrastructure for the State of Maryland. "I'm involved in the Google fiber effort so I'm going to be there in that capacity," he says.
 
11:30 a.m. Troy meets with representatives of two companies in which he's an investor, AwayFind and Oculis, whom he connected via yet another brainchild of his, the Baltimore Angels (twitter.com/baltimoreangels). As Troy notes on his blog, "Our investors are current and cashed-out entrepreneurs who have 'done it' and can help other entrepreneurs advance to the next stage. We're looking for entrepreneurs with a strong vision and who are just beyond a friends-and-family round. We meet bimonthly in Baltimore and welcome interested investors and entrepreneurs in the Baltimore/Washington area."
 
12 noon - 6 p.m.  Troy has lunch at "any of the local restaurants around the corner" like Pasticcio's, Hudson Street Stack House or Starbucks. Troy sits on a number of boards, including the Greater Baltimore Technology Council; he's also founder of Distilabs, which seeks to build products in the world of "web and mobile technologies," so lunch time and the hours that follow provide an opportunity to meet with folks involved in these endeavors. Or he might talk with members of the Social Media Committee of the Chesapeake Regional Technology Council (Troy's a member) or with planners for the next TEDxMidAtlantic conference. Troy, a ZipCar user, typically likes to do as much as possible within city limits, anywhere below North Avenue.
 
In between "I'm doing coding and I see my kids," he says.
 
6-9:30 p.m. "I'm usually ready to sign off around 6 p.m., sometimes 7 p.m.," Troy says. "Then I may have a business mixer or awards show to attend" (in 2009 Troy was named Innovator of the Year, and an Influential Marylander in 2010 by The Daily Record) "then eat dinner, sometimes the Brewer's Art or Tapas Teatro, and relax a bit," Troy said. Always seeking networking opportunities, he attends the "Tech Crawl East" event at the new Morgan Stanley building in Fells Point. "It's a kind of speed dating for tech companies," he explains.
 
9:30-11 p.m. Troy is home and "back online" by this time and will "crank on some work," writing code for new software, sometimes until midnight.
 
While Troy can access the world through his fingertips thanks to the Internet, he also does it the old fashioned way�jumping on a plane as he did this past summer, taking trips to Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Berlin, and London among other stops, seeking to connect with "startup communities," getting more in touch with an increasingly global culture.


Comments? Questions? Find us on Twitter, Facebook, or send us an email.

Learn more about Bmore and sign up to receive a new issue every week via email.


Photos by Arianne Teeple

- Dave Troy at the Emerging Technology Center
- On the Hill Cafe on John Street in the historic Bolton Hill neighborhood
- Dave has a meeting at On the Hill Cafe
- The audience listens during TEDxMidAtlantic 2009
- 2009 TEDxMidAtlantic
- The Emerging Technology Center
- Dave Troy rides his bike to a meeting in the historic Bolton Hill neighborhood
- 2010 TechCrawl
- The downtown Inner Harbor in Baltimore