ClearShark Keeps Its Fins In Community Waters

As president and founder of ClearShark, Martin Bentz takes pride in providing technology solutions to the intelligence sector of the federal government. In layman’s terms, his company offers cybersecurity and data storage to agencies that combat everything from drug trafficking to climate change to foreign technology threats. But, as gratifying as that service is, he gains just as much enjoyment from the company’s other mission: giving back to the community.

ClearShark partners with a bevy of nonprofits, including Special Olympics Maryland, RISE for Autism, Lake Shore Baseball and Toys for Tots. “I don’t want to be a greedy organization,” Bentz explained of ClearShark’s community involvement. “I know a lot of these organizations need the help.”

Currently, the business is focused on the Across the Bay 10K, which will be held on November 8. Bosom Buddies Charities, Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Benedictine Foundation are the main charity beneficiaries, but runners can support other organizations.

ClearShark is serving as an event partner and the title sponsor for the ClearShark "Shark Sprint" kids' race portion of the event on November 7 at 11:00am at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. All shark sprinters will receive a tech shirt, commemorative race bib and a finisher medal.

Taking the company’s involvement a step further, marketing and communications manager Brittany Wilson will don a shark suit, and if she passes a certain number of racers, the company will donate funds to The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults, a Baltimore/Columbia-based charity.

“That’s something totally different, way outside of our lane, but we wanted to draw some attention, and [Brittany] came up with this,” Bentz recalled. “She came to me and I said, ‘The money is going to a good place. Let it rip.’”

Bentz approaches every task with that same enthusiasm. A Chesapeake High alum and former civilian employee with the Department of Defense, Bentz formed ClearShark in 2001. Since then, his company has blossomed on a national level.

“I started the company because I felt like some other companies were getting greedy or they were not doing the right thing,” Bentz reflected. “So our single mantra is to do the right thing at all times, and it has paid off. This literally started in my basement and it is now well over a hundred million dollar business.”

Bentz recalled how “the two amigos” — himself and Kefton Schermerhorn — kept things running the first few years. “My personal roots were in Fort Meade, so that was our initial focus,” Bentz said. “But now, we’re doing work all throughout the United States, all throughout the federal government, so it’s pretty cool.”

The business has won myriad awards from several partners for providing storage, systems, network and security solutions, but what really excites Bentz is the company’s local involvement.

“These awards are cool, but from our side, our greatest accomplishment as far as I’m concerned, we have a [heck] of a team, we have low turnover, we’re giving back to the community — its all of these other things that tend to be secondary or nonexistent at some companies.”

As Bentz praised the work of his team, he expressed that ClearShark plans to be around long-term, as both a business and a community partner.

“It’s doing a lot for the greater good,” Bentz said. “It’s helping protect the whole country – some of these programs, it’s amazing stuff that they do. So I’m very passionate about it … We’re here to help. That’s what we do.”

To learn about the solutions offered by ClearShark or the business’ community involvement, visit www.clearshark.com.