Every two weeks, the Dingman Center distributes The Pitch, which highlights important happenings in our community. In case you missed it, here’s a look at what’s up in entrepreneurship:
Dingman Center Offers Lean Startup Program Exclusively for UMD Alumni
The Dingman Center has created a unique program to help UMD alumni entrepreneurs jumpstart their startup ideas. Dingman Jumpstart will help alumni de-risk their ideas using the principles of the highly effective Lean Launchpad methodology. The eight-week program kicks off with a boot camp weekend (Jan. 9-11) featuring interactive workshops, lectures and intense customer discovery. The program continues with two additional workshops in February and March. In the end, alumni should be equipped to make a “go or no-go” decision on their idea.
Campus partners include the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, DC-ICorps and Mtech. The full schedule, program materials and registration information is available online.
Don’t miss the opportunity to jumpstart your business idea. Register by December 12.
Reminder! Smith MBAs, Apply for the Dingman Center’s SmithX Courses by Oct. 31
Halloween marks the deadline for Smith MBA students, full-time and part-time, to apply for Dingman Center’s Smith Experience courses: AdVENTURE Challenge: China and Venture Practicum.
What is AdVENTURE Challenge: China?
Think Amazing Race meets venture creation. The eight-day experience will take students from Shanghai to Beijing. Along the way, students will earn points as we visit Chinese startups, multinational corporations, venture capital firms and cultural sites like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. The challenge will culminate with a final competition at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. Students compete for cash prizes alongside peers from Smith, Guanghua and other Chinese business schools, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
See this youtube video for highlights from the 2014 AdVENTURE Challenge: China
Interested in working at a startup?
The Venture Practicum Course is a two-credit Smith Experience course for full-timeMBA students. The course consists of semester-long consulting engagements with some of the areas’ most interesting startups. The participating startups will be sourced through the Dingman Center Angels investor network and other regional partners. The course will expose students to the opportunities and challenges of starting and growing a new venture.
If you are interested in gaining a global experience or curious about what it’s like to work at a startup, these SmithX courses may be for you. Be sure to apply by Oct. 31!
Cupid’s Cup Applications Open Nov 1st
Kevin Plank ’96, founder and CEO of Under Armour, is looking for the nation’s most passionate student entrepreneurs. Do you have what it takes?
For the tenth year he’ll partner with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business to host, Cupid’s Cup, the nation’s toughest business competition. There’s more than $100K on the line, and how does access to Kevin Plank’s professional network sound? Here, you’ll learn more about Plank’s story and commitment to entrepreneurship as well as competition eligibility, this year’s game plan and past winners. Don’t miss the chance to pitch your business to Plank and other top judges. Applications are open from November 1, 2014 – January 5, 2015.
Curious what happens to participants after Cupid’s Cup? Check out Cupid’s Cup 2014 Winner, Disease Diagnostic Group, who was recently a finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt Europe.
Pitch. Network. Learn. Be Inspired at TEDCO’s Entrepreneurship Expo on Nov 12th
TEDCO’s Entrepreneur Expo
, which will be held at the Marriott in Linthicum, MD, brings together all of Maryland’s entrepreneurial resources into one place, at one time. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend several practical breakout sessions, such as how to launch an effective channel sales strategy, tips on pitching to investors, and how to create a successful crowdfunding campaign. And, don’t miss a chance to present to the Dingman Center Angels during their fast-pitch session at 10:45 a.m.
Click here for more information and to register.
To receive more information about the goings on around the Dingman Center and in the local entrepreneurship community, be sure to sign up for The Pitch. See the full latest edition HERE.