Tag Archives: global entrepreneurship week

2022 Terp Marketplace Holiday Gift Guide

It’s never too early to start holiday shopping! Find the perfect gifts for all the people in your life while supporting an enTERPreneur this week at Terp Marketplace. Join the Dingman Center on Wednesday, November 16th, in Van Munching Hall to shop from unique student-owned businesses and find everything from tech, to dietary-friendly snacks, to the comfiest UMD custom apparel!

Here is a list of the top 10 things we’re excited about buying this semester at Terp Marketplace:

  1. Bacon Candles:
    • Co-Founders: Austin Smith ‘26, Samuel Sowers ‘26, Jon Kasner ‘26
    • Forget artificial scents, these unique, cost-efficient candles are made with real bacon grease—and will have you craving breakfast all day long.
  2. Testudo’s Closet:
    • Co-Founders: Sarah Ferkler ‘23, Marc Cifiello ‘23, John Fetsch ‘24
    • Show off your Maryland pride with thrifted and upcycled University of Maryland apparel. Testudo’s Closet also accepts custom orders, where they will personalize your own clothes!
  3. Wittle Spoonies:
    • Founder: Emily Garcia ‘23
    • Support a Terp and those affected by chronic illnesses this holiday season with Wittle Spoonies handmade and originally designed stickers, notepads, pins, bookmark paintings, and more! 
  4. The Burrows Garden:
    • Co-Founders: Kayla Swisher ‘24, Ava Laubach ‘25
    • Stay fashionable AND sustainable with The Burrows Garden. Find anything from handmade pressed floral earrings to clay charm bookmarks to crochet bags, hats, and more!
  5. Pepper Bees:
    • Co-Founders: Andrew Webb ’25, Maya Gvirtzman ’26, Vanessa Feeley ’25, Blake Komisar-Bury ’26
    • Have a chef in the family? They’ll love experimenting in the kitchen with Pepper Bee’s spiced-infused honey! Find all your favorites like lavender, basil, rosemary, chili flakes, and mint. 
  6. Magneto by OffTrend:
    • Co-Founders: Ali Rajabi ‘24, Eric Gulich ‘23
    • Calling all tech lovers!! Check out OffTrend’s fashionable MagSafe tech products like phone wallets, RFID blockers, Airtag cases, phone cases, and screen protectors. 
  7. Herbin’s Fashion:
    • Founder: Herbert Obeng
    • Elevate your look with Herbin’s Fashion’s customized African clothing and accessories. Shop apparel like T-shirts, bomber jackers, hoodies, sweatshirts, polos, and more. 
  8. Terp-Town Treats:
    • Co-Founders: Abdullah Diao ‘22, Gabrielle Cannady ‘23, Robert Lukubama ‘26
    • Don’t let your dietary restrictions hold you back. Satisfy your sweet tooth with these delicious and dietary-friendly on-the-go cookies and treats. 
  9. Ruff Days:
    • Co-Founders: Jiasheng Lu ‘22, Yong Hun Na ‘23, Adam Larsen ‘23, Brian Escobar ‘22
    • Ruff Days has the most paw-fect gift for your furry friends. Get a Ruff Bandana, with a custom print from your favorite sports teams. Now you and your best friend can match for game-day no matter who you root for!
  10. Prophets2Profits Capital LLC:
    • Co-Founders: Ephraim Shaw ‘24, Beza Solomon ‘24
    • Give the gift of knowledge with Prophets2Profits Capital LLC’s 10-lesson course on financial literacy. By the end of the course, users will be able to understand concepts like  the stock market, options trading, equity investments, technical analysis, chart patterns, and more.
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That’s a Wrap! Looking back at the Fall Semester

It’s hard to believe it’s already December. Final exams are coming to an end and soon students will be off for the winter break. Those who engage with the Dingman Center, know our mission is to build a community that discovers, equips, connects and celebrates entrepreneurship. This semester was no exception. We hit the ground running in August, bringing back our signature programs, such as Pitch Dingman Fridays, the Pitch Dingman Competition during Global Entrepreneurship Week, and Terp Marketplace.

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Event Recap: Pitch Dingman Competition

Last week, the Dingman Center celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week. The capstone of the week-long celebration was the Pitch Dingman Competition, where five student entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to a panel of judges for $3,500 in prizes. With upwards of 300 attendees, the competition was a huge success with participation from Fearless Founders, Dingman Center Board of Advisors, faculty, staff and students from across campus.

Before the competition started, student entrepreneurs displayed the products and services to test the market at Terp Marketplace. Nearly 20 vendors participated selling products ranging vegan nail polish to sugar cane juice.

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Event Recap: The Silk Road Rediscovered with Professor Anil Gupta

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Professor Anil Gupta, Dingman Chair in Strategy & Entrepreneurship

Global Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of just that: innovators who give life to new ventures that drive economic and social value creation everyday around the world.  Who better to talk with Smith School students about the importance of international entrepreneurship than than global innovation expert, Professor Anil Gupta, the Michael Dingman Chair in Strategy and Globalization at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

On Wednesday, Nov.19, Prof. Gupta led a lunchtime discussion with Smith graduate students and faculty around his latest book, “The Silk Road Rediscovered,” which examines the business and cultural relationships between the emerging countries, India and China.

Though these countries have been around for thousands of years, India and China are more entrepreneurial than ever. As Prof. Gupta shared, these economic super-giants are growing faster than ever, and are poised to surpass the GDP of the developed countries such as the U.S., Japan and Germany in the next 10-20 years.

“Professor Gupta gave very interesting insights into India and China,” said Seth Faulb, a 2015 MBA candidate and president of Smith’s Entrepreneurship Club. “The most interesting thing from the discussion, I thought, was how in the last 2,000 years the global economy was dominated by these two countries and, given conservative estimates, it is very likely to return that way in only 10 years. It sounds to me like the more developed world needs another huge event like the industrial revolution to keep the competitive advantage they have held for the last 100 or so years.”

As future business leaders, a solid understanding of the economic growth and business opportunities in China and India is paramount. At Smith, we are privileged to have such worldly, expert professors, like Prof. Gupta, who can share not only the business implications but also the cultural nuances that will help us work more effectively with diverse teams.

“No matter what career path we are pursuing, at some point it will be very beneficial to have an understanding of the Chinese and Indian economies and the unique characteristics that define each,” said attendee and 2015 MBA candidate, Patrick Gillece. “There are few people who are as knowledgeable and as effective in communicating those issues as Dr. Gupta, so I really appreciated the opportunity to hear from such a renowned expert in the field.”

Anil K. Gupta is the Michael Dingman Chair in Global Strategy & Entrepreneurship at the Smith School of Business, at the University of Maryland at College Park. He is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on strategy, entrepreneurship and globalization. Thinkers50 has named him as one of the world’s 50 most influential management thinkers and has been named by The Economist as one of the world’s “superstars” in a cover story on “Innovation in Emerging Economies.” Click here for more information about Dr. Gupta and his latest book, “The Silk Road Rediscovered.”

IMG_5316The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and the Office of Global Initiatives lead a program that brings Smith MBA students to China each year. This year, students will travel from Shanghai to Beijing where they will participate in the 9th Annual China Business Model Competition. Click here to register or learn more about the program.

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Announcing the Pitch Dingman Competition Finalists

As the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship gears up for Global Entrepreneurship Week, the countdown is on for its signature event, the Pitch Dingman Competition. On November 20, five student entrepreneurs will pitch their businesses to a panel of judges to compete for $3,500 in cash prizes.

This year, we received the most applications in the competition’s history. The pool of applicants was narrowed to ten, who then each gave a six-minute pitch to the Dingman Center team. From there, five companies were selected to compete at the Pitch Dingman Competition.

Meet our five finalists.

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Dingman Center Celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week 2014

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Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. For one week every November, organizations around the world participate in Global Entrepreneurship Week with events and programs that celebrate entrepreneurship. After a successful GEW 2013, the Dingman Center is back at it, November 17-21, for a week-long celebration of entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland. Here’s what he have planned for this year.

Monday, November 17

Smith IS Global
All Day, Grand Atrium, Van Munching Hall

Nov. 17-21 is also International Education Week. Wear your “Ask Me About My Global Connections” sticker and share your study abroad experience, research, language, family story, etc. from around the world. Check the Smith kiosk for daily events or stop by Smith’s Office of Global Initiatives for a schedule.

Tuesday, November 18

Global Experience By Design
6-8:30 p.m., 6137 McKeldin Library

Where do entrepreneurial and innovative ideas come from?  Using Design Thinking is a great place to start!  Come to this hands-on workshop ready to work with a team on the pre-seeded design challenge Global Experience by Design in order to learn about design thinking. Leave ready to apply this process to a problem you are passionate about solving. This event is co-sponsored by the Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurship Connector Club.

To participate, RSVP at globalbydesign.eventbrite.com 

Wednesday, November 19

Silk Road Rediscovered With Prof. Anil Gupta Silk Road Rediscovered - Anil Gupta - page 5
Noon-1 p.m., 2505 Van Munching Hall

Join the Smith School’s MBA Entrepreneurship Club and Professor Anil Gupta for an intimate conversation about his latest book, The Silk Road Rediscovered, the first book ever to provide a roadmap to understanding corporate linkages between China and India. Over lunch, Professor Gupta will discuss the growing challenges and opportunities to doing business in China and India. Attendees will also learn how leading innovative companies are pioneering the path between these emerging economic giants, followed by a Q&A.

RSVP at ter.ps/EClubNov19

Thursday, November 20

Terp Marketplace
3:30-5:30 p.m., Grand Atrium, Van Munching Hall

Shop the latest products and services from your fellow Terps while helping student entrepreneurs test the market.

Pitch Dingman Competition
6-7:30 p.m., Frank Auditorium, Van Munching Hall

Five student entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges for $3,500 in prizes. As the signature event of the week-long celebration, all attendees will receive a free gift sponsored by Route One Apparel
Register at ter.ps/Nov20

Pitch Dingman Competition Judges Panel:

  • John Gambaccini, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
  • Ashish Gambhir, founder, newBrandAnalytics
  • David Quattrone, Chief Technology Officer, Cvent
  • Kathryn Stewart, Managing Director, Cranbrook Capital

Friday, November 21

Innovation Fridays: Pitch Dingman
11 a.m.-1 p.m., 2518 Van Munching Hall

Have an idea for a business? Entrepreneurs in Residence are available to hear and offer feedback on new business ideas. No appointment needed; just come ready to talk about your business idea and receive actionable next steps.

MBA Venture Capital Investment Competition: Final Round @Smith
1:30-5:00 p.m., Frank Auditorium, Van Munching Hall

Watch MBA teams negotiate term sheets with local startups in this annual mock venture capital competition. Negotiations will take place from 1:30- 4:30 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony and reception at 5:00 p.m. The winning team will represent UMD at the regional finals, to be held at Georgetown University on January 30, 2015.

For more about the competition, visit vcic.org.

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Global Entrepreneurship Week Roundup

Global Entrepreneurship Week at the Dingman Center was a huge success! With at least one event every day of the week, we contributed to a global movement of more than 112,000 events with 25 million participants worldwide.

  • Monday: We kicked off the week with movie night as we screened the documentary “Extreme by Design.”  The screening lead to an interesting discussion on using design thinking to create businesses that solve global problems. The same day, the Dingman Center Angels saw three-minute pitches at the Fast Pitch session during TEDCO’s Entrepreneur Expo.
  • Tuesday: Elana Fine participated in a panel on technology commercialization during Bioscience Day. In the evening, we hosted an Entrepreneurship Connector that brought together students from across campus who are interested in sharing their ideas and passions.
  • Wednesday: Terp Marketplace was buzzing with more than 20 student vendors testing the market and selling their products.
  • Thursday:  It was standing room only at the Pitch Dingman Competition which drew more than 260 attendees. Timothy Chi, Founder & CEO of WeddingWire delivered an inspiring keynote and lead the judges in choosing the winners. Harrison Baum took home top prize winning $2,000 for SellMyOldTech.com. Sam Feldman took home $1,500 winning both 2nd place and the Audience Choice award.
  • Friday: We wrapped up the week with a record number of students at Innovation Fridays and six DC startups presenting at Dingman Center Angels Review Day.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Global Entrepreneurship Week! For more photos, go to the Dingman Center Facebook page.

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Celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week With the Dingman Center

During the week of November 18–22, the Dingman Center will participate as a partner in Global Entrepreneurship Week – the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. The week will be full of exciting events with participants from across our community. Take a look at what we’ve got planned and become part of something truly remarkable.

Monday, November 18
Fast Pitch at TEDCO Entrepreneur Expo
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., BWI Marriott
At this session during TEDCO’s Entrepreneur Expo, companies will test how well they can communicate their business in a three-minute fast pitch to a panel of Dingman Center Angel Investors.

Extreme by Design Movie Screening
5:30–7 p.m., Frank Auditorium, Van Munching Hall
Watch this documentary following three Stanford University students as they design and build products to meet the basic needs of the world’s poor. The Center for Social Value Creation, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and the Office of Global Initiatives will host a discussion following the film. Register to attend at ter.ps/screening

Tuesday, November 19
Networking Panel at Bioscience Research & Technology Review Day
11-12 p.m., Jimenez Room, Stamp Student Union
Managing Director of the Dingman Center, Elana Fine, will facilitate a networking panel during Bioscience Research & Technology Review Day presented by the University of Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. The event aims to join executives and professionals with scientists to promote the potential for academic-industry-government collaboration. Read more about Bioscience Day.

Entrepreneurship Connector
5:30–7 p.m., 2511 Van Munching Hall
Hosted by the Dingman Center and Mtech, students will network with others interested in all things innovation and entrepreneurship. Learn about opportunities across campus, exchange ideas and meet your next co-founder. Attendees will also discuss ideas for a new campus-wide entrepreneurship club that is in development. Dinner will provided. If you’re on Facebook, let us know you’re coming.

Wednesday, November 20
Terp Marketplace
11 a.m.–2 p.m., Grand Atrium, Van Munching Hall
Student entrepreneurs will test the market by selling their products and services to potential customers. Join us for an afternoon of fun and shopping in Van Munching Hall.

EIR Advising Sessions
5:30–8 p.m., Smith School DC Campus, Ronald Reagan Building
Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Harry Geller, will be available by appointment to provide feedback and next steps for your business idea. These sessions are great for any part-time MBA students that can’t get to Van Munching Hall for Innovation Fridays. If you are interested, sign up for an appointment.

Thursday, November 21
Pitch Dingman Competition
6:30–8:30 p.m., Tyser Auditorium, Van Munching Hall
The signature event of Global Entrepreneurship Week will be the biggest Pitch Dingman Competition to date! Five student entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas to an all-star panel of judges led by CEO of WeddingWire and keynote speaker Tim Chi. Check out the five finalists here. Attendees will have chance to vote for their favorite company to award them the $500 Audience Choice prize! Arrive early to receive a t-shirt, snack pack and other giveaways. Register to attend at ter.ps/Nov21

Friday, November 22
Dingman Center Angels Review Day
10 a.m.–1 p.m., 1518 Van Munching Hall
Hear presentations by local startups seeking funding from angel investors. Learn the lingo, hear comments regarding startup strategy, learn about entrepreneurial financing options, and get presentation tips from the investor feedback. RSVP to attend HERE.

Innovation Fridays
11 a.m.–1 p.m., 2518 Van Munching Hall
Meet with an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for an informal session to receive valuable feedback on your business idea. No suits or business plans required. All you need is an idea.

Friday, November 22 – Sunday, November 24
College Park Sustainability Jam
2333 Van Munching Hall

Join the Center for Social Value Creation for  the 2nd annual College Park Sustainability Jam (CPSJ) – a weekend long engagement aimed at creating new, real-world ideas to promote and advance sustainability. The purpose of the Jam is to learn about design thinking, build new ideas, explore our understanding of sustainability, meet cool people, work hard, and HAVE FUN! The end result is a set of “workable prototypes” that will be uploaded to an international shared database. Activities will run roughly 5-8 p.m. on Friday; 10 a.m-6 p.m. on Saturday; and 10 a.m-3 p.m. on Sunday. Register at http://ter.ps/3yp  

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Worth Reading 9/6/13

As UMD undergrads started the new semester this week, the Dingman Center saw many old and new students coming to visit. During the summer, we worked diligently to make quite a few changes, one of which is Innovation Fridays, formerly known as Pitch Dingman. The experience is the same, only the name has changed. Students can pitch their ideas and receive feedback from experienced Entrepreneurs in Residence. We are excited to kick off Innovation Fridays today and expect to see more students this year! Now, enjoy this edition of worth reading.

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EnTERPreneur Academy Profile – Comrade Brewing Company

To celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Dingman Center is featuring a series of blog posts about our EnTERPreneur Acadmey, a program to help guide student ventures from idea to launch. The Academy provides members with a variety of resources including startup fundamentals workshops, advising, office space, selling opportunities and seed funding. The Academy’s three stages Idea Shell, Hatch and Terp Startup provide students with specific resources and requirements that suit the level of progress for their ventures.

Today’s featured startup is Comrade Brewing Company, the dream company of EnTERPreneur Academy member, David Lin. David is a Full Time MBA student at the University of Maryland who can frequently be found in the halls of the Dingman Center volunteering with programs and absorbing everything he can about entrepreneurship. David’s company, Comrade Brewing, was an honorable mention at the 2012 China Business Plan Competition and also an audience choice award winner at Pitch Dingman.  Read the Q&A to find out more about David and his business, Comrade Brewing Company!

Q: Please describe your business.

A: Comrade Brewing Company will be a Denver, CO based business that will brew and serve hand crafted beer, free of corn syrup and chemically modified hop extract. Customers will be able to visit and drink beer by the glass on the brewery premises.  The brewery will follow a tasting room model, where no food and only beer is served.  I’m planning to head back to Denver after finishing up my MBA this semester and I hope to open sometime in 2013.

Q: How did you get the idea for your business?

A: Ever since I started brewing professionally in 2005, I have known that I eventually wanted to work in the craft beer industry full time.  I saw the success of other breweries and thought to myself, hat a great way to make a living, doing what I love and what I would normally be doing anyways. After two years of brainstorming, the name of Comrade Brewing came to me one day while I was on vacation.  In the brewing industry, there is a lot of camaraderie between small breweries who often help each other out. I want to showcase this “brotherhood” as well as provide the foundation for some funny “tongue in cheek” beer names.  The idea for a tasting room model was something that always intrigued me as I visited breweries across the country.
Q: What phase is your venture in and what are your next steps?

A: We’re on our way to becoming operational.  I have already taken on a talented brewmaster as a partner, contracted my raw materials, talked with equipment manufacturers, met with cities, and looked at zoning.  I also have nearly all the funding I need as well as the domains, social media handles, and incorporation needed to start my business.  My next step is to sign a lease on a building, place the down payment on the brewhouse, apply for federal and state licensing and permits, and begin construction.

Q: As a student start up, what are some of the challenges that you face?

A: This is a brick-and-mortar business, and because my business is located in Denver, being 1,500 miles away makes it difficult for me to do things like overseeing construction.  There’s only so much I can do electronically or via paper.  While I’m enjoying my time as a student here at Smith, I am eager to head back to Denver once I graduate to oversee the remaining steps to opening the brewery.

Q: How did the Dingman Center contribute to the development of your startup?

A: The Entrepreneurs in Residence have been an incredible resource. Some of them have had relevant experience on starting a food service company and have advised me on the common pitfalls of the industry. Being part of the Dingman Center’s active entrepreneurial community has also given me the opportunity to listen to a variety of business ideas and taught me how to look at them from a more critical business standpoint giving me a framework that I would use while running the brewery.

Q: What about being a part of the EnTERPreneur Academy excites you the most?

A: Meeting all the other students who are as passionate and driven as I am. There are so many people out there that say that they have a passion for something, but in reality I believe they just like the idea of that something.  My fellow Academy members are people with the initiative to actually pursue their passions.  The networking with these passionate people, as well as sharing feedback on our ideas, has been incredibly helpful and rewarding.

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