The 7th Annual UMD Entrepreneurship Invitational, Powered by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship was overwhelmingly successful with the launch of Startup MD, the BB&T Business Invitational, keynote speakers Governor O’Malley and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank at Cupid’s Cup, and over 600 attendees at the day’s events. Cupid’s Cup Grand Prize and People’s Choice winner was Reed Street Productions, taking home $17,500 in prizes.
BB&T Business Invitational winners were Veenome (regional company) and My Fridge Rental (UMD community company), each receiving $2,000. With praise from President Wallace Loh and Dean Anand on the quality of the companies and execution of the day, this has been the most successful UMD Entrepreneurship Invitational to date. Keep reading for highlights and photos of the day.
Startup Maryland is a regional initiative launched out of the Startup America Partnership. Driven from within the community and led by entrepreneurs Startup Maryland is locally-operated and inclusive. Startup Maryland strives to connect innovation communities and recognize the importance of startups, ramp-ups and speedups to the state and regional economies. The official launch of Startup MD was the first event of the day at the UMD Entrepreneurship Invitational. The video below, features highlights from the event.
BB&T Business Invitational is a showcase of University of Maryland companies, regional startups, and campus and regional resources for entrepreneurs. Attendees had the opportunity to network with UMD students and alumni, local entrepreneurs and investors, and business leaders from the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Sponsored by BB&T, prize money was awarded to top exhibitors as voted on by event attendees.
Dan Waetjen, BB&T group president for the Greater Washington region, presented prizes from BB&T for exhibitors at the BB&T Business Invitational:
- $2,000 best UMD Community company – My Fridge Rental (winners of the 2011 Cupid’s Cup)
- $2,000 best Regional company – Veenome
Cupid’s Cup, a business competition for student and alumni entrepreneurs, began in 2006, due to the vision and generous support of Kevin Plank ’96, founder and CEO of Under Armour. The competition is designed to identify and support students and young alumni who have already started their own businesses. Five finalists pitched their businesses to Kevin Plank and a panel of veteran entrepreneurs for $25,000 in prizes.
- $15,000, 1st place – Reed Street Productions, operators of Run for Your Lives, a zombie themed adventure race attracting thousands of participants
- $7,500, 2nd place – Food Safety Administration, provider of online courses for food service professionals required to earn food and alcohol safety certifications
- $2,500, People’s Choice Award, decided by audience vote – Reed Street Productions (sponsored by Sam Medile ’80, a successful entrepreneur and former Terp student athlete)
Other finalists:
- 10G Systems, supplier of web-based transportation software to small to mid-size shippers
- Route One Apparel, an e-commerce platform for creative apparel designed by students
- Visisonics, a UMD spinout that enables realistic 3D audio for music, movies and gaming in standard headphones
To see a full photo album from the day, go to http:/ter.ps/mar30photos