Baltimore City Puts $275,000 Into Local Watchmaker

Residents of Baltimore now hold a partial ownership interest in a local watchmaking firm. The city’s quasi-governmental economic development arm, the Baltimore Development Corp., invested $275,000 in the Baltimore Watch Company. This transaction grants the city a 3.75% equity stake in the business, which operates out of the Hampden neighborhood.

This move deviates from the city’s historical approach to supporting local enterprises. While Baltimore has traditionally used grants, tax breaks, and loans to aid businesses, taking a direct ownership position in a private company is rare for municipal entities. The investment was approved during a board meeting earlier this week.

Otis Rolley, the president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp., described the deal as the "first of many to come." He outlined a new strategy aimed at shifting the agency’s financial model. Rolley said the goal is to stop drawing money from city coffers and instead generate revenue for the municipal budget within five years.

The agency has the resources to pursue this strategy. Mayor Brandon Scott’s office allocated $15 million from the current city budget to a new economic development fund managed by the Baltimore Development Corp. Rolley, who joined the administration in June 2025, has restructured the leadership team and launched several new initiatives to support this shift.

Direct government investment in private firms is not unknown in the United States. In a similar recent move, the federal government took a 10% stake in Intel to support domestic chip manufacturing. Rolley cited this as a precedent for using public capital to secure returns.

The Baltimore Development Corp. previously offered small business loans to companies like Under Armour before it expanded internationally. Rolley suggested that an equity investment in such a venture would have yielded a larger financial return for the city. He also noted that the agency already operates the Emerging Technology Center, which provides seed capital to early-stage startups.

Rolley stated that the $275,000 investment in the Baltimore Watch Company is the largest single sum the agency has ever committed to a private company. He called the firm a "phenomenal business" and confirmed that the group’s investment committee reviewed the decision. Rolley said he managed similar investments while serving as CEO of Invest Newark in New Jersey.

The Baltimore Watch Company, formerly known as Tsao Baltimore, was founded by Alan Tsao. The company sells watches with designs inspired by the region, including a limited-edition Old Bay model. Tsao described the city as essential to the brand’s identity. He grew the business from his home before moving to a small storefront in Hampden and recently expanding to a 7,100-square-foot space at Union Collective.

The firm currently employs nine people and plans to increase its staff to between 12 and 15 employees next year. Tsao learned that the Baltimore Development Corp. was seeking a unique, minority-owned business to invest in while he was in the middle of raising $2.5 million from other sources. He called the city’s backing "incredible."