Startup leader exits Sickweather CEO role to lead East Coast tech incubator

Serial entrepreneur Graham Dodge is headed back to the East Coast to lead a tech incubator after exiting his position as CEO of Sickweather, one of the KC-based Sprint Accelerator’s early success stories.

“I will be moving back to Maryland for MAGIC [the Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory], but my goal is to stay connected with the KC community as my network here remains a valuable asset for all of my various pursuits,” said Dodge, a Maryland native who also is founder of Garnish Health. “I foresee a lot of MCI-BWI flights in my future.”

He is set to begin the new role at MAGIC Sept. 15. Dodge also accepted a position as Mentor in Residence at Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures in Baltimore.

Laurel Edelman, Sickweather

While the situation remains fluid, Dodge said, Sickweather is moving forward with new CEO Laurel Edelman, who previously served as chief revenue officer for the startup.

Edelman last fall delivered the flu season forecast on behalf of Sickweather — a disease-prediction company that reaches an audience of more than 10 million daily users and powers more than $500 million in annual digital healthcare advertising — at the company’s first Cold Cough and Flu Conference in Kansas City.

MAGIC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit headquartered in Westminster, Maryland, with a mission to build a tech ecosystem that creates and nurtures talent, entrepreneurship, and tech businesses, elevating the Westminster gigabit community to lead the Mid-Atlantic region, according to the accelerator.

“MAGIC is not only transforming Westminster, Maryland, into a technological sandbox that will cultivate new startups and attract big tech companies and investors to our city,” said Dodge, “but they are developing what I call a ‘Silicon Main Street’ model of success that will reverse the flow of commuters departing Main Street communities everywhere.”

Graham Dodge, Garnish Health, Sickweather

Dodge — a patented inventor, public speaker, and technologist with experience designing and deploying large consumer platforms and systems of intelligence using big data and prediction modeling tools — was pointed to the new position by his in-laws. Westminster residents David and Diane Brown saw a news article about MAGIC’s executive director search and encouraged their son-in-law to apply for the job during a recent visit from Kansas City.

He quickly took greater interest as he learned about MAGIC’s role in bringing gigabit fiber connectivity to the City of Westminster, and recognized how that new infrastructure would transform the city, as it did in Kansas City when Google Fiber chose it as their inaugural service location in 2012.

“When we saw Graham’s resume, we thought it might be a prank,” said Robert Wack, president of MAGIC’s board of directors. “His experience is so well aligned with the needs of our organization, and his network is so extensive, that it really did seem like magic when he appeared.”