Larry Hogan compares his campaign to a startup that 'captured more than 50% of market share'

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Rick Seltzer

Governor-elect Larry Hogan talked the language of business at TEDCO's Entrepreneur Expo on Wednesday.

Rick Seltzer

Staff reporter- Baltimore Business Journal

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Say all you want about governor-in-waiting Larry Hogan not rolling out any policies. The man knows how to talk business.

His ability to speak the language of private industry and the startup scene was on display Wednesday when he took the stage at the Maryland Technology Development Corp.'s Entrepreneur Expo. Hogan started out by saying his successful campaign for governor was much like the work of the entrepreneurs in attendance.

"This was a startup," he said of his campaign. "We had very little money. We had some ideas and some solutions. We saw kind of a large, untapped market that was out there. We put together a small, dedicated team who worked really hard day and night, and we raised some seed capital from some small donors, and we even got some public funding."

Hogan knew how to close the comparison with a speechwriter's flair that still played to his crowd.

"We went on a road show, we used traditional and new media to get our message out," he said. "And as of last Tuesday we captured more than 50 percent of market share."

Politicians have to be able to speak to their audience if they want to be successful. But Hogan's three-minute speech to a room full of entrepreneurs, business executives and investors is notable for its blend of business-speak. He told attendees what they wanted to hear in a language they like.

He also promised to be their friend once he gets into the governor's mansion. Hogan said TEDCO and entrepreneurs will be a priority and will have an open door with his administration.

Whether that proves to be the case is yet to be determined. But while we wait to hear more about the substance of the upcoming Hogan administration on business and technology policy, it's clear he's figured out the style.