Tag Archives: startups

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.

Screen Shot 2013-09-05 at 11.30.21 AM

Stay connected with the Dingman Center FB-f-Logo__blue_1024 twitter-bird-white-on-blue

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Worth Reading 8/23/13

Today we close out a week of Dingman Jumpstart. We’ve hosted some talented entrepreneurs with creative ideas. Check out this post on some of the entrepreneurs who have shared their stories with our students this week. We also continued our summer redecoration project. Stop by to see if you made the History of Dingman wall.

Office

Now, check out what we think is worth reading this week.

Stay connected with the Dingman Center FB-f-Logo__blue_1024 twitter-bird-white-on-blue

Tagged , , , ,

Worth Reading 7/12/13

This week at the Dingman Center we got some great news about one of our portfolio companies, CirrusWorks, who recently received funding from CIT GAP Funds. We’re also excited to host a group of Chinese MBAs from Peking University next week! We will be introducing them to entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland and in the Washington D.C. region. Now, let’s end the week with some news worth reading.

Our first topic has been buzzing all over the news headlines this week. As part of the JOBS Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released the ban that prevented hedge funds and private firms from advertising investment opportunities; originally established to protect small investors. Now, firms can advertise publicly via email, billboards or even Facebook, making it easier for startups to raise capital. Check out coverage of this popular topic from The Washington Post and Forbes.

Typically, people only think of their accountants during tax season, but if given the right amount of financial data, accountants can be extremely valuable to a startup. Forbes tells us How Entrepreneurs Should Use Their Accountants.

Startups sometimes overcompensate when pitching to investors. According to a nationwide survey of investors representing all sectors, the worst thing you can do is be a liar, a rambler, or a drama queen. The Huffington Post tell us the Top 8 Things That Make Investors Cringe.

The Seattle Times is addressing the question; can a multi-billion dollar company with 98,000 employees act like a startup? See how Startup culture is stirring at Microsoft.

Some people say the most successful entrepreneurs are brown-nosing over achievers. Others say they lack self-control and make impulsive risky decisions. No matter what your involvement is in the startup world, it’s easy to fall for some of these stereotypes. Here are Six Whopping Lies Told About Entrepreneurs … Sometimes By Entrepreneurs Themselves.

The Washington Post released its annual list of summer reading recommendations from experts at the Smith School of Business. Check out what Elana Fine, Ken White, Brent Goldfarb and more in Summer reads for business leaders.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Worth Reading 9/21/12

Worth Reading is a new feature for the Dingman Center blog where we curate interesting articles from the past week highlighting current events in the local start-up community or interesting features that may be helpful to entrepreneurs.   If you find an article you find especially interesting and would like to share with the rest of the Dingman Center community, please email a link to marvin.yueh@rhsmith.umd.edu.

So here goes:

Ever wonder how you can make LinkedIn work for you as an entrepreneur?  Ted Prodromou shows you how in this except of his new book.

Were you at last year’s Cupid’s Cup?  If not then you probably also missed the kick-off of Startup Maryland, a grassroots initiative to create a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in the state of Maryland.  Well, this week they kicked off their “Pitch Across Maryland” Tour, taking pitches in a customized bus.  Check out coverage from the Washington Post as well as South Maryland News (here and here)!

See you next week!

Tagged , , , ,