The first Pitch Dingman Competition of 2013 will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 15 at Tyser Auditorium in Van Munching Hall. Five UMD-based student startups will pitch for the chance to win $2,500 in startup funding. In addition, audience members will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite entrepreneur of the day to award them with additional prizes!
Here’s a little preview of our finalists:
Parallel Tracks
EnTERPreneur Academy Member
Team: Daniel Noskin, Vinnie Vendemia, Scott Block, and Jeff Hilnbrand
Parallel Tracks is a social networking web site and mobile application that gives users the ability to broadcast and listen to music with others in real time, creating a more social and enjoyable listening experience. Using a twitter like interface, users can “track” more than just their friends. They can also follow their favorite celebrities, athletes, and musicians to discover new music in a unique way. Detailed analytics help users strategize their music brand so that they can target specific audiences and advertise accordingly. Now everyone has a music voice. Play it louder!
Adaptive Motion Technologies
EnTERPreneur Academy Member, Dingman Jumpstart
Team: Yoni Kozlowski, Emmanuel Klein, and Jonathan Howarth
Adaptive Motion Technologies LLC is a medical device development company that intends to design, patent, and market prosthetic devices related to the fit and comfort of the human/prosthetic interface. A group of engineers are currently developing three devices designed with the participation of prosthetists, physicians, surgeons, and patents. The principal technique for maintaining a secure fitting of a prosthetic device with a patient is through the use of a socket. A properly fitted socket distributes the forces on the prosthetic device around the patents limb while holding the socket aligned and in place. This is primarily accomplished through the use of custom made shells which are formed based on molds of the patient’s limb. This process is both limited in function and expensive in practice costing about a billion dollars per year in the United States alone. Adaptive Motion Technologies LLC has developed technology which would allow a socket to conform to the unique and variable shape of a patient’s limb every time they don their socket. This would allow sockets to be used comfortably over longer periods of time and without the need for custom components reducing the overall cost. Adaptive Motion Technologies LLC intends to license this technology to a larger company. In this way the company will mature quickly from product development.
UPride
EnTERPreneur Academy Member
Team: Suyash Mehta and Dan Martinez
UPride is an innovative apparel company that strives to bring universities across the nation pride gear. The target audience for the company has no boundaries; it can apply to all ages depending on the nature of the merchandise. Currently, the majority of our merchandise is Maryland Flag themed. We constantly are designing new designs to keep our target audience up to date with the current fashion trends. We have started talking to many large companies about supplying them with our merchandise. In the near future, we plan on branching out and becoming a distributor as well as a retailer.
The Electric Squeeze
Team: Julian Ragland, Fuad Balashov, and Eugene Skinner
The Electric Squeeze is a business dedicated to bringing a culture of music into College Park while helping to create opportunities for local, partner, DJ’s. The business was originally formed as a blog to share the music that its founders listed to with their friends. As it grew, the opportunity to host events at local venues and establish a physical presence presented itself. Since the fall of 2012 the Electric Squeeze has organized seven events in three venues, both in DC and College Park. We plan to continue our growth and would value the Dingman Center’s assistance.
Wheel Shields
Team: Chase Kaczmarek
Shield Boards, LCC produces my patented invention Wheel Shields. Wheel Shields are a skateboarding accessory that solve “wheel bite” (a dangerous safety problem), keep riders dry and allow riders to stand over their wheels. “Wheel bite” occurs during hard turns when wheels come in contact with the deck, stopping the board and throwing riders to the pavement. Wheel Shields completely eliminate “wheel bite” and work universally with any skateboard. Wheel Shields have gone viral: our Facebook page has over 25,000 likes, we’re endorsed by a Guinness world record-holding skater, and we are in an upcoming edition of Heelside Magazine.
Interested in being a part of the action? Your first step would be to attend a Pitch Dingman informal advising session to talk to one of our expert Entrepreneurs-in-Residence who will help point you in the right direction. Pitch Dingman informal advising sessions take place every Friday during the school year from 11am to 1pm at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.