As we approach the application deadline, people from all over the country have been talking about Cupid’s Cup! A special thank you to everyone who has continued to support and promote this amazing opportunity for student entrepreneurs to win a total of $115K in prizes from Kevin Plank, Founder & CEO of Under Armour. Did we mention the semifinals are the the Under Armour headquarters? How does access to Kevin Plank’s professional network sound? The application deadline isn’t until January 6, so keep spreading the word! Everything you need to know is at www.cupidscup.com
Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
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Tag Archives: Cupid’s Cup
Worth Reading 12/6/13
As of today, there is one month left to apply for Cupid’s Cup. We have received  many impressive applications from all over the country, and we are still looking for more. Interested in total of $115K in cash prizes? Want to compete in the nation’s toughest competition? How about exclusive access to Kevin Plank‘s professional network? Don’t hesitate, apply for Cupid’s Cup right now and impress us with your brilliant business!
Now, let’s check out the Worth Reading for this week.
- Many people believe in certain myths about entrepreneurship, but not all of them are true. Get it straight by reading 4 Startup Myths That Should Be Busted Immediately.
- Entrepreneurs are resilient. They may stumble in one place but they always bounce back. Check out the stories of 4 Incredibly Successful Companies That Didn’t Get A Deal On ‘shark Tank’.
- Check out 12 Successful Entrepreneurs Share The Best Advice They Ever Got and steal their secrets!
- It is close to the end of 2013, and it’s time to evaluate the performance of outstanding entrepreneurs in this year. Read the article about Aaron Levie and see why he is named Inc. Magazine’s entrepreneur of the year.
Stay connected with the Dingman Center 
 
Worth Reading 10/25/13
This week we were busy receiving applications for our various programs. For Pitch Dingman Competition, it is still not too late to apply! Register here to win $2,000 seed funding for your business idea by October 27. For Cupid’s Cup,we received impressive applications from Michigan, Massachusetts, and many states in between. Do you have what it take to conquer the toughest business competition and win $75,000? Visit www.cupidscup.com for more detail information and get started!
Now, let’s check out this week’s Worth Reading.
- People know funding plays an important role for startups, but do you know how where these funds go to? Check out this infographic and learn about How Funding Works.
- Successful entrepreneurs share common traits: They are confident, easy to approach, and most importantly, likeable. Read 6 Habits of Remarkably Likeable People and grasp useful tips.
- The art of building credibility is always essential for startups, check out 3 Words That Create Instant Credibility and learn useful concept.
- Long-live brands have explicit brand personalities. They have clear visions and provide values to customers accordingly. Read The 10 Questions Every Brand Should Ask To Ensure It’s Simple Enough and make sure the one you build is on the right track.
- Office hacks are necessary, but often time they are being ignored. Check out the 25 Office Hacks You Need To Know and stop worrying about your office equipment shortage.
Stay connected with the Dingman Center Â
Alla Corey Recaps the 2013 Cupid’s Cup
By Alla Corey, Program Manager at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
Originally posted in the Smith School Part-Time MBA Blog.
While there are plenty of business plan competitions, the Cupid’s Cup Business Competition is the only one of its kind – students must be beyond writing a plan and have an operating business. This raises the bar significantly and makes the competition a lot more interesting.
Judged and sponsored by Kevin Plank’96, founder and CEO or Under Armour, Cupid’s Cup was launched in 2006 and has grown from a small event in Van Munching Hall to a national competition and showcase with 1,000 attendees.
This year the event was held April 5 at UMD’s College Park campus, hosted by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. Six finalist startups from across the nation had six minutes to deliver a business pitch to Plank and a panel of five other judges in front of 1,000 attendees at UMD’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. The audience also heard Plank’s words of inspiration on building a business as he rallied the entrepreneurs in attendance.
The University of Maryland’s Earth Starter, maker of the Nourishmat modular garden kit, 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.
Here is the breakdown of all winners:
$50,000, 1st place: Earth Starter LLC, University of Maryland – maker of products to accelerate and simplify growth and yield for garden
$15,000, 2nd place: CoverPlay LLC, University of Virginia – maker of an ultra-thin Bluetooth speaker for mobile devices called the Mojo
$5,000, 3rd place: Diagnostic anSERS, University of Maryland – maker of ink-jet printed sensors for detecting trace amounts of chemicals, from explosives to narcotics
$2,500, Audience Choice Award, decided by text voting during the event – Earth Starter LLC (sponsored by Sam Medile ’80, a successful entrepreneur and former Terp student athlete)
Medile also sponsored a $5,000 prize for the University of Maryland company who best leveraged all of the university’s resources in launching their company, which went to Diagnostic anSERS. UMD applicants who made it to the semifinal round of Cupid’s Cup were eligible.
The day also included the Business & Innovation Showcase, sponsored by BB&T, highlighting more than 50 campus and regional startups and entrepreneurship organizations in a lively tradeshow format at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.
Cupid’s Cup is named for a Valentine’s Day rose delivery business Plank started as a student at the university. As an athlete, he wasn’t permitted to have an outside job, so he turned to entrepreneurship. Plank worked with the Dingman Center to start a business competition to foster similar student entrepreneurship.
The competition was open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at accredited U.S. colleges and universities who are running companies that have generated at least $5,000 in revenue or have a version 1.0 product with proof of traction. Entrepreneurs from 25 universities in 16 states entered the competition. The finalists received intensive coaching from successful entrepreneurs to prepare for the final competition.
Other Cupid’s Cup finalists were Hole Patch LLC from Case Western Reserve University, a developer of a new method for patching potholes; Moolaguides.com from Florida State University, provider of a service for college students to buy and sell class notes; and Neural Analytics from the University of California Los Angeles, a developer of a portable non-invasive medical device to diagnose traumatic brain injuries on the football field or the battlefield.
Interested in competing in next year’s Cupid’s Cup? Visit www.CupidsCup.com for updates about the application deadline and other details.
Worth Reading 4/12/2013
What a great Cupid’s Cup! One week out and we’re still coming down from our high here at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. Congratulations again to EarthStarter, LLC for taking the 2013 cup, look for their Nourishmat to change the way we all do home gardening soon! Thanks also to all our finalists for bringing their A game to the Cupid’s Cup finals. The judges definitely had their work cut out for them!
Did you miss last week’s Cupid’s Cup festivities? Don’t fret, our local media has you covered, read these great recaps from College Park Patch, The Diamondback, The Washington Post, and InTheCapital.
And on that note, here are some (non-Cupid’s Cup) articles worth reading from the last few weeks!
Entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to better leverage social media technologies to support their businesses, Entrepreneur.com features 3 apps to help you write a marketing plan and 14 steps to generate leads on twitter, and Facebook unveils the next stage of its small business education program.
The Venture Capital industry today is very different than what it was years ago, entrepreneur.com examines the current trends in VC and how a gap is emerging mid-level VC firms.
And finally, We’ve all heard of how hard it is for entrepreneurs to give up ownership of their own companies to investors, but this story takes that to an extreme. Wired gives us the peculiar story of a man who sold his life’s decisions to investors for $1 a share!
See you next time! As always, check out our Facebook or Twitter to stay updated on the latest Dingman Center news.
2013 Cupid’s Cup Business and Innovation Showcase & Competition Recap
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!
Five Reasons to Attend Cupid’s Cup
Cupid’s Cup Business & Innovation Showcase and Final Competition are only five days away! Have you registered to attend yet? This will be the biggest Cupid’s Cup to date with more attendees, more elaborate setup and finalists from across the nation. Still need convincing? Here are five reasons why you should come to the 8th Annual Cupid’s Cup, the University of Maryland Business Competition.
5. Hear from UMD and regional entrepreneurial leaders
Notable guests include Kevin Plank, Founder and CEO of Under Armour, President Wallace Loh, of the University of Maryland, Dean Anand, of the Robert H. Smith School of Business, Dean Lucy Dalglish, of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, Darius Graham, Co-Founder of the DC Innovation Project, and Bud Rosenthal, President of AOL Paid Services!
4. Enjoy Strawberry Startup ice cream on its last day!
The Dairy created Strawberry Startup, a delicious blend of strawberries, chocolate chips, and cream, exclusively for Cupid’s Cup. If you haven’t had the chance to try it yet, the Business and Innovation Showcase will be the last time to enjoy our signature flavor. Don’t miss it!
3. Vote for the 5 Coolest Booths at the Business & Innovation Showcase and help award them each $2000 from BB&T!
Entrepreneurs will be showcasing their startups at the Business & Innovation Showcase, sponsored by BB&T. You are invited to explore the showcase, network with entrepreneurs, play with their inventions and vote for your 5 favorite booths. The 5 companies who receive the most votes will each win $2,000!
2. Network in the AOL Innovation Lounge
Hang out at AOL’s “Innovation Lounge”, a vibrant space for networking with other attendees and local entrepreneurs where you can meet representatives from AOL’s technology team and other media properties, learn about the cool things going on at the new AOL, and maybe even find a job!
1. Watch 6 finalists duke it out for $70K in cash prizes
Six startups from across the nation, including two from the University of Maryland, will compete for the Cupid’s Cup grand prize at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Will UMD be able to keep the cup at home? Come support your fellow Terps as they take on the nation’s best for student-run companies.
Excited yet? Don’t forget to register for the event here http://cupidscup.eventbrite.com/. Tickets are free, but required for entry. Make sure your reserve your seat before we reach capacity!
To learn more about the event and the finalists, visit our website at http://www.cupidscup.com/
To stay updated on the latest news, follow our twitter at @UMD_Dingman and tweet us using #CupidsCup!
Meet the 2013 Cupid’s Cup Finalists!
Cupid’s Cup is fast approaching! Have you reserved your seat yet? Don’t miss the action on April 5 as six startups from across the nation compete in the final round of Cupid’s Cup, the national business competition held by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. This annual competition is sponsored by Kevin Plank, CEO and founder of Under Armour. Find out more about our amazing finalists below.
Leo Petrossian – Neural Analytics – University of California, Los Angeles
Phil Weiner – EarthStarter LLC – University of Maryland
Thomas Brady – Moolaguides.com – Florida State University
Sean Virgile – Diagnostic anSERS – University of Marryland
Noah Gostout – HolePatch LLC – Case Western University
David Marriott – CoverPlay LLC – University of Virginia
Watch all six teams pitch one last time to Kevin Plank at the Cupid’s Cup finals on Friday, April 5, 2013. You can register now at http://cupidscup.eventbrite.com/
Worth Reading 3/15/2013
Happy Friday everybody! Its spring break next week but the Dingman Center is still hard at work preparing for the upcoming Cupid’s Cup Business & Innovation Showcase and Competition! Have you gotten your tickets yet? If not make sure you register on our eventbrite page NOW so we won’t have to turn you away later because we’ve filled the theater again!
And now for some things worth reading from the week:
In case you’ve been out of touch, South by Southwest is in full swing in Austin, Texas and the interactive segment gave us a lot to talk about regarding cool new technologies and businesses emerging from around the nation. For those of you who missed the festivities, Time gives a good recap of their top 5 highlights from SXSW, and inc.com gives us 8 lessons learned for entrepreneurs everywhere.
Speaking of technologies to change the world, a prominent Silicon Valley investor launched the Sandy Hook Innovation Initiative last week, challenging entrepreneurs to create safer technologies for the firearm industry. What other controversial issues can entrepreneurs solve through by using innovation to bypass all the politics?
Google also made a big splash in the news this week by acquiring DNNresearch, a university incubated startup from the University of Toronto. With a trendsetting company like Google digging into University based startups, could this be the beginning of a new renaissance in tech commercialization?
Finally in UMD news, In the Capital ran a great feature on UMD’s new student-run incubator, Startup Shell. No doubt it’s an exciting time for entrepreneurship at the university and we can’t wait to see what happens next. Which reminds me, don’t forget to reserve your seat for Cupid’s Cup!
Worth Reading 3/8/2013
What a week it’s been? We hope you all stayed safe when Winter Storm Saturn rolled around, we weren’t hit too badly here in College Park. Other than that, we’ve been going full speed ahead in preparation for Cupid’s Cup, which will be here in less than a month! If you haven’t already registered, go to http://cupidscup.eventbrite.com/ and save your seat for the event. Registration is free, but seats are limited, and the venue fills up every year!
With that said, let’s take a look at some interesting reads we’ve found during the last few weeks
It seems like more and more people are taking notice of DC as an entrepreneurial hub. This comes to no surprise to those of us who’ve been here for years, but it’s great that the rest of the world is also starting to catch on. Here’s a great profile from Entrepreneur.com profiling the DC scene, and another article from In the Capital highlighting DC being ranked as one of the top cities for female entrepreneurs!
If you’re like me, coming up with a name for anything takes forever and a day. How do you come up with something that both describes the business and sets you apart from your competition? This article from Young Entrepreneur gives 6 handy tips to keep in mind when coming up with that perfect name.
In awesome new tech news, a lot’s been said about 3d printing recently, but what about 4d printing? A team from MIT revealed their new innovation on 3d printing at the TED Conference last week. A 3d printed object that changes shape and assembles itself after printing! Check out this article from Tested.com to see it in action!
Finally in Dingman Center family news, Managing director Elana Fine was featured in an article last week regarding the oncoming impacts of crowdfunding with equity. Crowdfunding was also the topic of the latest Innovation Fridays podcast, featuring Elana, Ed Barrientos, and Jason Shrensky. And saving the best for last, Jackson Gellar, son of EIR Harry Gellar, was featured in his school newspaper for a company that he started, proving that it’s never too early to start being an entrepreneur!
Until next time, and don’t’ forget to BUY YOUR CUPID’S CUP TICKETS!
Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship 