Last week, Kevin Plank and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship announced the finalists of the 10th Anniversary Cupid’s Cup business competition. The finalists come from top schools across the country including Cornell, Duke, Drexel, Stetson, Virginia Tech, and our own University of Maryland.
After successfully moving through several rounds, these entrepreneurs have proven they have what it takes to compete in the finals on April 22nd at the University of Maryland.
We wanted to learn a little more about the talented founders behind the startups in the final round so we asked them a few questions, like what are they up to when they’re not working on their startsups? And, what was their reaction to being named a Cupid’s Cup finalist by Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank? They had some interesting responses!
Founder: Jason Gates
Compology places sensors on dumpsters to track dumpster volume and reroute waste pickup to skip empty dumpsters. Compology improves hauler margins by 50% by reducing fuel costs and vehicle maintenance from inefficient routing and increasing crew utilization. The team believes “smart trash” can significantly reduce costs in the $68B waste industry. Jason is a 2011 graduate of the University of Maryland.
Disease Diagnostic Group (DDG) has produced a rapid, accurate and inexpensive handheld device that can diagnose Malaria within one minute with one drop of blood, similar to a diabetes test. Existing alternatives include blood drops that must be tested in a lab and have slower turnaround and pregnancy-test like strips that are unreliable due to unstable storage conditions. John is a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Encore Alert monitors social media for mid-market brands and identifies the most important influencers and trending conversations. Brands are struggling to react to the large volume of social media data and rarely take action. Encore Alert automatically sends simple alerts to notify a brand of a high priority conversation (influential post, trending topic, PR risk) and provides recommendations to take action (retweet, write blog post, or respond). James is a 2013 graduate of Georgetown University.
Kohana is developing a quiet, compact and discrete breast pump. Current breast pumps use loud, vacuum technology that force women to pump in isolation, often making it impossible for working mothers to keep up with demands of pumping and work. Kohana’s wearable compression technology simulates hand-expression instead of high-powered suction, allowing women to pump anytime and anywhere. Susan is a 2013 graduate of The Johns Hopkins University.
Founder: Chase Kaczmarek
Wheel Shields are a longboarding accessory that improve safety, block mud and enable skaters to perform more advanced tricks.These metal hubcaps create a physical barrier between the wheel and the board, preventing the accidental braking that often throws skaters from their boards. Chase is a current undergraduate student at the University of Maryland.
