Tag Archives: Student Entrepreneur

Oct 28 2020
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Fearless Founders

Announcing E-Fund Winners of Fall 2020

Through generous gifts from Carly Fiorina and Kevin Plank, the Dingman Center provides ad-hoc seed funding for University of Maryland startups, called the E-Fund. These nondilutive grants range from $250-$1000. Funding typically goes towards equipment purchases, website hosting, rapid prototyping, incorporation fees or any other costs that you see a barrier to getting an idea to market.

Check out this semester’s E-Fund recipients!

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Vitalize, LLC

Founders: Sanketh Andhavarapu ’23, Veeraj Shah ’21

Vitalize is a mobile app for physicians with activities to alleviate stress and reduce burnout. Their E-Fund award of $1000 will be put towards developing crucial software and app functionality.

Morning Light, LLC

Founder: Harrison Burke ’20

Morning Light fosters competitive Esports teams to make the jump to full-time professional sponsorships. As Morning Light’s web presence is a high priority for this esports organizer, their $1000 E-Fund award will go to website development.

Blimp Logistics, LLC

Founder: Camilo Melnyk ’21

Blimp Logistics provides a fast and robust drone delivery network for any business. To support Blimp’s efforts to complete a full and functional prototype, this $1000 E-Fund will be used for a GPS System, Raspberry support hardware, data plan, and website development.

SweetsbyCaroline, LLC

Founder: Caroline Ta ’21

SweetsbyCaroline is a baking business that specializes in custom gluten-free french macarons, as well as cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts that are perfect for engagements, weddings, parties, and other events. Looking to increase her production while reducing costs and time, Caroline will be investing her $1000 E-Fund into a new, larger convection oven that will triple her delicious output.

Edullo

Founders: Eric Patel ’21 and Esha Vangara

Edullo is a platform created by students for students. They connect scholars to freelancers to do their part of level the playing field in education. Their $500 E-Fund will go towards supporting and maintaining their data-heavy website platform, and developing an app for even easier access.

Across The Board

Founders: Rick Philbin, MBA Candidate ’21

Across the Board is a game rental service for events. They are solving the problem for anyone hosting a wedding / birthday party / tailgate who wants to have exciting games for their event but does not want to own them long-term. Their $312 E-Fund award will be applied to a year-long Squarespace subscription.

Campus Gigs

Founders: Nataraj Shivaprasad ’24 and Sri Kanipakala ’24

Currently, the gig economy is estimated to account for 40% of the U.S workforce. With the rise of remote work, this number is slated to grow, making it imperative for college students to be prepared for the unique challenges and skills required for the gig economy. We are looking to solve this problem by developing a platform specifically for students to provide gig services to local businesses. Businesses also benefit from this, untapping the potential of a flexible, cheaper, and in many cases, skilled workforce. Campus Gigs’ $150 E-Fund Award will support their app development.

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Dec 05 2019
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Pitch Dingman, Terps

Pitch Dingman Finalist AlgenAir Accepted into ASU Innovation Open

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Pitch Dingman Competition finalist startup AlgenAir has been invited to participate in the semifinal round of the Arizona State University Innovation Open on January 31, 2020, which only invites the best collegiate-led tech startups to compete and showcase for a chance to vie for $300K in grant funding, including two $100K cash prizes. They will be one of twenty-eight startups to compete, having advanced from a preliminary round that included over 100 student entrepreneurs from around the country. The Dingman Center has provided the co-founder’s of AlgenAir, Dan Fucich, PhD ’20, a marine estuary and environmental science PhD candidate, and Kelsey Abernathy, an environmental and molecular biology PhD candidate at UMB, with an E-Fund Award to cover expenses to compete. The Dingman Center reached out to Dan Fucich about AlgenAir’s flagship product, the “aerium”, an algae-powered air purifier; their experiences with Pitch Dingman Competition; and their hopes for the ASU Innovation Open.

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Nov 20 2017
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Fearless Founders, Pitch Dingman, student entrepreneur, Terps

Pitch Dingman Competition Semifinals Recap

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This past Thursday, we hosted our annual Pitch Dingman Competition Semifinals in the Frank Auditorium of Van Munching Hall. With the recent news that University of Maryland had risen to #8 in the country in undergraduate entrepreneurship education, it was no surprise to see the room filled with attendees enthusiastically cheering for this extraordinary group of student founders.

Chaired by generous donor and UMD alumnus Robert G. Hisaoka, this year’s Pitch Dingman Competition Semifinals was preceded by an announcement for the new Hisaoka Entrepreneurs program. As part of the program, each semifinalist team will receive mentoring, coaching and additional funding to accelerate their venture toward success.

With only 4 minutes to present and 2 minutes for Q&A from judges, the 10 semifinalists all pitched their businesses admirably, but in the end, the judges chose these six exemplary startups to advance to the Finals:

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Apr 26 2017
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Community, Events, Fearless Founders, Speaker Series, student entrepreneur, Terp Marketplace

A Day of Entrepreneurship with the Dingman Center

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by: Megan McPherson

This year for 30 Days of Entrepreneurship, the Dingman Center decided we would roll a month’s worth of activity into a single day: Thursday, April 20. The result was our Day of Entrepreneurship, which featured the return of a popular Dingman Center event, Terp Marketplace, and later a rousing speech by entrepreneurship guru Jeff Hoffman.

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May 14 2015
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Terp Toolkit

Terp Toolkit: Legal and Intellectual Property Tips for Entrepreneurs

There is no entrepreneur in the world who won’t need legal guidance at some point in their entrepreneurial journey.

For simple legal matters such as incorporation or basic start-up paperwork, services such as LegalZoom, LawDepot or RocketLawyer are a good place to start.

9400252-contract-for-business-law-on-terms-of-agreementHowever, for more complicated matters like establishing a Privacy Policy, Terms of Use Agreement, or other documents tailored to your business, it may be worth consulting an attorney. If you are running short of funds, you can utilize RocketLawyer’s “Ask a Lawyer” feature.  You can get the answers to simple questions for free and find lawyers near you that charge reasonable prices for their services. Continue reading →

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May 06 2015
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Terp Toolkit

Terp Toolkit: Financing Your Startup

Financing is a hurdle faced by nearly every entrepreneur and can the need for funding can occur at various stages of a company’s life cycle. It’s important to know what options are available, as well as the risks that come with each.

indexSome common methods of financing include:

  •  Friends & Family – Many early stage companies raise a “friends & family” round, relying on the networks of the startup’s founders for seed capital.
  • Crowdfunding – If you are selling a product or service that you think would appeal directly to consumers and you need capital to fund your business, consider crowdfunding as an option. Sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo , and  Gofundme allow you to post your “project” for viewing by thousands of potential funders in exchange for a percentage share of your money raised.images
  • Contests & Grants – A great way to get funds for your start-up without giving up equity is to apply to contests and grants. In this article Forbes offers some tips for those seeking grants.  A tip: follow entrepreneurship organizations and centers, accelerators, and VC firms / angel groups on social media for posts about local contests.
  • Small Business Loans – This option is most effective if you have been in business for a while and are generating some cash flow.  For those who meet these requirements, the Small Business Administration offers different types of loans to help you grow your business. angel2
  • Angel Investors – For early stage companies with an ability to scale quickly and high growth potential, there is the option of raising a round from angel investors. There are many angel investors, both individuals and groups, who invest ~$25B each year in early stage companies. Most angel deals are done with companies who have either successful beta testing or initial revenues. Deals range from straight equity to convertible notes.
  • Venture Capital Firms – For later stage start-ups with a proven track record of success who are seeking to reach the next level, raising venture capital funds can be the right next step. The total Venture Capital market is ~$45B, invested in a variety of industries and stages.  You can check out the VC100 for a look at the top 100 venture capital firms in the U.S. Researching the right firms for your company stage and industry is essential when raising VC funds.  Looking at the funding history for similar companies to yours on CrunchBase or AngelList  can be a good place to start your research.

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Apr 29 2015
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Terp Toolkit

Terp Toolkit: Accounting for Your Startup

When launching a business, often there are a variety of start-up costs to track. Being organized on the front-end with your startup’s finances will pay off in the long-run.

accounting_webThere are several tools at a variety of price points that will help you keep your financial records. Here are some startup-friendly resources: Continue reading →

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Apr 24 2015
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Cupid's Cup

Five Terp Startups Win $2,000 at the Cupid’s Cup Startup Showcase

The 10th Annual Cupid’s Cup Business Competition and Startup Showcase drew a sold-out crowd on April 22nd at the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performance Arts Center.
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Before the finalists took the stage, more than a dozen Terp startups exhibited their ventures in the Startup Showcase where Cupid’s Cup attendees had a chance to check out some UMD’s most innovative companies. The Showcase was filled with live demos, customer interviews and even taste tests. Attendees had the chance to text-to-vote for the five coolest startups, who each won $2,000 from BB&T.
Congratulations to the following winners:
  • Vincent Bellitti, CareerPeer – CareerPeer is a career path selection and management tool for undergraduate students interested in a career in business.
  • Sanil Shah, Tabster – Tabster is a mobile application that allows customers to arrive at high-volume restaurants, check-in and pre-order their food while waiting.
  • Omar Goheer, K. Sultana – K. Sultana produces breathable scarves and creates entrepreneurship and skills development opportunities for women.
  • Zachary Matz, 417 App Studios LLC – Their social-gaming mobile application, Puzzable, allows users to send their photos to friends and family in the form of a jigsaw puzzle.
  • Tommy Johnson, VentureStorm – VentureStorm is an online platform that connects student entrepreneurs to student developers.

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Apr 20 2015
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Cupid's Cup

Top 10 Reasons to Attend the 10th Annual Cupid’s Cup

The wait is almost over… the 10th Annual Cupid’s Cup business competition and Startup Showcase will be held this Wednesday, April 22 at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. The Smith School of Business will host the competition in partnership with competition Chairman Kevin Plank ’96, founder & CEO of Under Armour.

There’s more than $115K in prizes on the line, and the finalists have been selected from some of the top student entrepreneurs in the world.

10001385_10152299454746897_640720858_nAs if you needed more incentive to be there, check out these 10 reasons to make sure you attend this signature #30DaysUMD event:
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Apr 15 2015
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Terp Toolkit

Terp Toolkit: Marketing Your Startup

Startup marketing can involve a variety of different activities, from the creation of promotional materials to Search Engine Optimization. Given limited time and resources, particularly among student entrepreneurs, it can be overwhelming to think about where to start.

Your marketing focus will depend upon the nature of your business and your target customer. For a fairly comprehensive list of marketing tools and resources, for everything from Advertising to Analytics, check out The Essential List of Start-up Marketing Resources.

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