Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship

Mar 26 2015

Five Startups Named to Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship Summer Incubator

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship has announced five students who have been selected for its summer incubator, Terp Startup. Terp Startup is the third and final stage of Fearless Founders, an experiential program that provides student teams the strategy, frameworks and tools necessary to develop their business ideas using lean startup methodology. The program demystifies the venture creation process by breaking it up into three stages: Idea Shell, Hatch and Terp Startup.

While Terp Startup has been a stage of Fearless Founders for several years, it has been revamped to focus on students who want to spend the summer working on customer acquisition, receiving feedback from mentors and attending workshops. More than 15 students applied to the program and the competition was tough.

“Three years ago we set our sights on strengthening our pipeline of talented student entrepreneurs,” said Elana Fine, managing director at the Dingman Center. “The Terp Startup applicants and selected participants exemplify the students, companies and community we aimed to attract.”
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Tagged accelerator, Fearless Founders, Terp Startup

Mar 25 2015

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Events

Mark Your Calendar: Spring is Full of Entrepreneurship Events for Terps

It’s officially spring, and with that comes many exciting entrepreneurship events for the Terp community. Here are some highlights you won’t want to miss!

April 8 & June 11: Dingman Center Angels Pitch Sessions

The final two investor pitch sessions will be held for the Dingman Center Angels. Members will gather to hear pitches from promising regional startups. Click here for more information.

April 10 & 17: Pitch Dingman hops on the TerpRide bus.

In celebration of UMD’s 3rd Annual 30 Days of Entrepreneurship, the Dingman Center EIRs will be on the TerpRide bus on these two dates to provide startup feedback to Terps. The bus will be parked outside the Stamp Student Union. Terps can pitch their business ideas on the bus from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

April 22: 10th Anniversary Cupid’s Cup Competition

Join Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and an all-star panel of judges as six student entrepreneur finalists compete for more than $115K in cash prizes in one of the world’s toughest business competitions. RSVP today, space is limited and the event will sell out!

3:30-5:30 p.m. Startup Showcase
6 p.m. Final Competition
Register at www.cupidscup.umd.edu

May 6: Inaugural Rudy Awards presented by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship

Guests will be invited to join the Center for its inaugural awards celebration where honors will be given to a Student Entrepreneur of the Year; Mentor of the Year; Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year; a Faculty Award and more. Invitations will be distributed in the upcoming weeks.

May 7-9: Smith Entrepreneurship Research Conference

The Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Management and Organization Department will host the 11th Annual Smith Entrepreneurship Research Conference (SERC) in Van Munching Hall. The conference is a gathering of PhD students and professors who perform research on the topic of entrepreneurship. It’s an opportunity for researchers across the world to exchange ideas about their work. Click here for more information.

May 21: UMD Commencement Ceremony

The Dingman Center will see many Fearless Founders, MBAs and other student entrepreneurs walk across the graduation stage. For details, please visit ww.rhsmith.umd.edu/commencement/.

May 23-31: AdVENTURE Challenge: China

The Dingman Center will travel to China for the 9th Annual China Business Model Competition. This year’s delegation includes MBA students from the Smith School and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Check out more details here.

Be sure to visit the Dingman Center’s website for information on additional events and student resources.

Tagged 30DaysofEntrepreneurship, AdVENTURE Challenge, Cupid's Cup, Dingman Center Angels, events, graduation, pitch dingman, Rudy Awards, Smith Entrepreneurship Research Conference, TerpRide

Mar 12 2015

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EnTERPreneurs, Fearless Founders, Startup Success, student entrepreneur

Part-time MBA Launches Grey Matter, A Terp Startup that Protects First Responders

Imagine a technology that could protect first responders and law enforcement agents from dangerous chemicals.

Not only would the technology protect agents from such chemicals, it would actually block the chemicals from clothing, turn them into water and cause the toxic chemicals to evaporate before even having a chance to touch agents’ skin. That is what the technology behind DC-area startup, Grey Matter, claims to deliver.

The venture, co-founded by part-time Smith MBA student Tommy Luginbill, recently secured $75,000 in federal grant funding to bring this potentially lifesaving, self-decontaminating clothing technology to agents in the field.

How did Grey Matter get its start?

Tommy Luginbill, Grey Matter

Tommy Luginbill is no stranger to entrepreneurship. A part-time MBA student, Tommy comes from a line of entrepreneurs and even helped to start a family-run solar contracting business before business school. Given his strong interest in startups, Tommy started hanging out at the Dingman Center (one of the resources that drew him to UMD) and even pitched an idea to an EIR for an energy software venture.

Dr. Brandy Johnson, Ph.D.

As Terps are known to do, Tommy worked tirelessly and fearlessly dove into the courses available around the Smith School, including the Fearless Founders program. He learned of a new pilot program at the time on campus called iCorps, which matched business students with lab innovations to identify viable commercialization paths. It was here that Tommy met inventor Dr. Brandy Johnson, a Ph.D. working in the Naval Research Lab.

Dr. Johnson was developing smart anti-decontaminating materials made from chitosan, a biopolymer made by treating recycled crab shells. Tommy knew about the lean startup methodology, how to create a business plan, and how to conduct customer discover and identify markets.

And Grey Matter was born.

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Tagged Accelerate DC, business idea, entrepreneurship, iCorps, lean methodology, MBA, MVP, part-time mba, Smith School of Business, Student Entrepreneur, tech transfer, TEDCO, Terps

Mar 10 2015

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Community, Events, Pitch Dingman

Announcing the Spring 2015 Pitch Dingman Competition Winners

Last week’s snow storm couldn’t keep the Smith community from celebrating student entrepreneurship at the spring 2015 Pitch Dingman Competition. Held twice annually, the competition gives student entrepreneurs the opportunity to apply and compete for $3,500 in startup funding.

Five finalists were selected to pitch their businesses to a packed auditorium and all-star judges panel on Wednesday, March 4 at Van Munching Hall. The judging panel included Asher Epstein, COO of Access Health Group; Harry Geller, Entrepreneur in Residence at Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship; Liz Sara, CEO of Best Marketing LLC; Mark Walsh, Founder & CEO of Genius Rocket; and Tien Wong, CEO of Opus8, Inc. (pictured below with Elana Fine, Managing Director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship).

Elana Fine, Asher Epstein, Mark Walsh, Harry Geller, Liz Sara and Tien Wong.

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Tagged 417 App Studios, business competition, entrepreneurship, funding, pitch dingman, Pitch Dingman Competition, Puzzable, Savorfying, Smith School of Business, Student Entrepreneur, Victus

Feb 24 2015

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Uncategorized

CUPID’S CUP COMPETITION NAMES TWELVE SEMI-FINALISTS TO COMPETE AT UNDER ARMOUR GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS

College Park, MD – February 24, 2015 – Twelve startups have been selected from nearly 200 worldwide entries to advance to the semifinal round in the Tenth Annual Cupid’s Cup Business Competition, presented by Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The entrepreneurs will present on March 10 at Under Armour’s global headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. The top five startups will compete for $115,000 in total prizes at the final round to be held April 22 at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Semifinalists will travel from across the country and Canada to spend the day pitching their businesses and interviewing with the investors, entrepreneurship experts, and Under Armour executives who will serve as judges. Plank and the judges will narrow the applicant pool to five finalists who will compete for a transformative prize package including $115,000 in total cash prizes ($75,000 for the grand-prize winner), coaching from a team of successful entrepreneurs, and the prestigious Cupid’s Cup.

The twelve semifinalists represent 11 universities and a broad range of industries. They are:

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Tagged business competition, competition, Cupid's Cup, kevin plank, Under Armour

Feb 23 2015

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Events

Finalists Announced for Spring Pitch Dingman Competition: RSVP Today

On March 4th, five Terp start-ups will compete for $3,500 in funding at the semi-annual Pitch Dingman Competition, which will be held from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in Tyser Auditorium, Van Munching Hall. The finalists will each have 6 minutes to pitch their business before the UMD community.

An all-star panel of judges will select the most promising companies to walk away with the cash prizes. The audience will also have the chance to text-to-vote for their favorite company and award them the $500 Audience Choice Award. Make sure you register to attend and bring a friend to cast your votes at the competition!

Meet the finalists:

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Tagged 417 App Studio, Auris Innovations, EIR, entrepreneurship, events, pitch dingman, Pitch Dingman Competition, Puzzable, Savorfying, Student Entrepreneur, Tabster, Victus

Feb 18 2015

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Events

Entrepreneurship Meets Impact at UMD’s Social Enterprise Symposium: RSVP Today!

The Social Enterprise Symposium (SES) is one of the largest annual events on the University of Maryland’s campus that focuses on interactive learning and entrepreneurial thinking with a social impact mindset. Created and hosted by the Center for Social Value Creation (CSVC), the February 27 event will bring together students, faculty and business leaders from across the region to explore positive social, environmental and economic change through a variety of lenses.

“SES is important to the UMD community because it welcomes faculty and staff from all disciplines to explore how business (and business principles) can help advance economic, social, and environmental well being,” said Kim Glinka, Associate Director at the Center for Social Value Creation. “This year in particular we’ve partnered with academic allies to explore these topics through specific academic lenses. Partners in the School of Public Policy, Arts and Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will each lead workshops and breakout sessions.”

This year, UMD and the CSVC are thrilled to welcome Shira Shafir, Director of Social Impact at TOMS Shoes as the keynote speaker. (BTW, word on the street is that discount coupons for TOMS products will be handed out before Shira Shafir’s morning presentation! You won’t want to miss it!)

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Tagged #SES15, CSVC, Do Good Challenge, Green, Impact, Innovation, Investing, Networking, Shira Shafir, Social Enterprise Symposium, social entrepreneurship, Stamp Student Union, TOMS Shoes

Feb 11 2015

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Cupid's Cup, Terp Toolkit, Tips & Advice

Thinking about applying to a business competition? Five tips from Elana Fine

For b-schools, incubators and other organizations that support startups, business competitions are very hot right now. For entrepreneurs, they can be great opportunities to flex your entrepreneurial muscles and gain traction for your startup or business idea.

However, with a seemingly endless list of competitions to choose from and limited time, how do you decide which competitions to enter?

Here are five things to consider from Dingman Center Managing Director, Elana Fine:

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Tagged advice, business competition, Cupid's Cup, elana fine, entrepreneurship, funding, kevin plank, startup

Jan 29 2015

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Fearless Founders

Announcing the Spring 2015 Hatch Cohort

Each semester, students from across campus apply to the Dingman Center’s Fearless Founders program. The by-application-only courses consist of three stages: Idea Shell, Hatch and Terp Startup. True the name of each stage, the Fearless Founders program guides student ventures from idea to launch.

fearless founders stamp

This spring, 24 students were selected to participate in Hatch program, where they will build and test their business ideas using the Lean Launchpad methodology. Once the course has been completed, the Hatch cohort will be eligible for up to $1500 in seed funding.

What kinds of ventures can we expect from this year’s cohort? Here are “elevator pitches” from two students:

“My company, VR Madras, is developing high quality men’s shirts to ‘re-invent’ the classic button-down to provide an affordable and unique casual shirt for men by contrasting sleeve pattern colors and designs.” – Vishwant Tatagari, VR Madras

“CrabShell cases provides high quality, customized laser engraved, affordable phone cases to clubs, greek life, and organizations in the UMD community. Our product lets people represent their organization in a unique and intriguing way.” – Adam Vinner, CrabShell

Below is a complete list of the spring Hatch cohort and their ventures. For more information on the Fearless Founders program and how to apply, please click here.

Nicholas Aversano MakeSomething.Cool		Bethany Monaghan Bethany’s Organics
Cody Branchaw Kanga Trash		Bryce Peterson CrabShell
Omar Goheer K. Sultana		Sanil Shah Tabster
Jordan Greenwald Meta Cartel		William Botz Brand It Marketing
Jerome Kelman Venture Storm		Tommy Johnson Venture Storm
Mike Mandl Virtu		Ghedalia Gold-Pastor
Ephraim Rothschild Venture Storm		Damar Bess Dipp’d
Brandon Schwab SocialEye		Emily Peet Spread the Love
Vishwant Tatagari V.R. Madras		Alex Jain Symulate
Adam Vinner Crab Shell		Sade Cosby Sadenise Clothing Boutique
Anthony Valle Spigley		Kevin Fomengia College Campus Concierge
Ayana Cotton Star Child Studio		Taylor Johnson Venture Storm

Tagged Fearless Founders, Hatch, Student Entrepreneur