At Cupid’s Cup last Friday, six finalist startups from across the nation had six minutes to deliver a business pitch to Kevin Plank’96, Founder & CEO of Under Armour, and a panel of five other judges in front of 1,000 attendees at UMD’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. It was the University of Maryland’s Earth Starter, maker of the Nourishmat modular garden kit, who took home $52,500 as the Grand Prize Winner and Audience Choice Award Winner. Earth Starter will also benefit from exclusive access to Plank’s professional network, one of the added bonuses of winning this year’s expanded competition.
University of Virginia’s CoverPlay Audio took home second place, and UMD’s Diagnostic anSERS finished third. The remaining competitors, HolePatch LLC from Case Western Reserve University, MoolaGuides from Florida State University, and Neural Analytics from UCLA, also gave phenomenal pitches and we were proud to have them as Cupid’s Cup finalists. Thank you to the 1,000+ guests including students, faculty, staff, regional entrepreneurs and special guests for joining us for this celebration of campus and regional entrepreneurship.
Cupid’s Cup 2013 Prize Breakdown
Grand Prize – $50,000: Philip Weiner, Earth Starter, LLC
Second Place – $15,000: David Marriott, CoverPlay Audio
Third Place – $5,000: Sean Virgile, Neural Analytics
Audience Choice: $2,500: Philip Weiner, Earth Starter, LLC
UMD Prize – $5,000: Sean Virgile, Neural Analytics
Cupid’s Cup wasn’t the only competition of the day. Guests at the Business & Innovation Showcase were asked to Text-to-Vote for the 5 Coolest Booths who would each win $2,000. Winners included past Pitch Dingman Competition winner, Wheel Shields, past Cupid’s Cup Grand Prize Winner, MyFridgeRental.com, EnTERPreneur Academy member, Triple Impact, and regional startups Gill Grilling and Homesnap.
For a complete recap of the event, check out our press release here: http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/news/releases/2013/040813.aspx
As well as local coverage here:
College Park Patch
The Diamondback
The Washington Post
InTheCapital
Congratulations again to all of our winners. Thank you to everyone who participated in the competition and showcase! We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and are confident that you will find success in your ventures!