By Danielle Bennings
Daniel Noskin ‘14 is an entrepreneur at heart. The first time he came to the Dingman Center was in September of 2010 to attend the first Pitch Dingman (now Innovation Fridays) session of his freshman year. Only on campus for a short time, the 17-year-old self-starter was excited to pitch his first business idea. Daniel developed the idea for Greek Recruits, a social networking site that facilitated Fraternity Rush on campus. His original Greek Recruits co-founder was Scott Block, another student entrepreneur who is now working on the startup, VentureBoard. The pair later went on to become two of the co-founders of the Startup Shell, UMD’s first ever student-run incubator. After spending many one-on-one advising hours with Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Harry Geller, Noskin persisted and was selected to compete in the Pitch Dingman Competition in the Fall of 2011. Although he did not win, Noskin competed again in February 2013. 
His track record of participation in the entrepreneurial community at UMD doesn’t end with the Pitch Dingman Competition. Daniel also participated in the Startup Showcase at Cupid’s Cup in 2011, 2013 and 2014. 
Since pitching Greek Recruits as a freshman, Daniel has moved on to a new venture called Parallel (formerly Parallel Tracks). Parallel is a social networking website 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. 
Through pursuing Parallel wholeheartedly, Daniel became one of the star students in the Fearless Founders Hatch cohort. After months of customer interviews and research, he realized there was not enough traction. Daniel is now developing a completely new app designed around a more minimalist approach; listening with athletes in real time. Just before graduating, he was awarded $2,500 grant from Capital One to continue working on Parallel. A true entrepreneur, it is no surprise that Daniel Noskin was offered a position at successful startup, Dropbox, in Autin, TX. Even with the new job, Daniel will continue to work on Parallel. To the other student entrepreneurs following in his footsteps, Daniel says “adventure always. After all, no one wishes they slept more in college.” To stay updated on this Terp alumnus, follow him on Twitter @dnosk
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