Event summaries: Spring 2006

Video Recap

Dingman Day Lunch – February 17th

Students, faculty, staff, alumni and entrepreneurs gathered in Van Munching Hall to hear first hand from two Dingman Scholars and Portfolio Company founders just what it's like to be in the world of entrepreneurship. Matt Fleischer of Hook & Ladder Brewing Company and Aviral Singh on behalf of Zoey Rawlins of Shop DC, spoke on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur and how the Dingman Center helped them establish their companies in the marketplace.

Matt Fleischer began the presentation by giving an overview of his company. He explained how his business grew out of a hobby he and his brother enjoyed. Matt came to the Dingman Center with a clear vision and plan of execution for Hook & Ladder and the center provided advice, mentoring and financing to help his business become a reality. Matt's unique beer won Hook & Ladder a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2001, and one penny per pint of beer is donated to the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation making Hook & Ladder a charitable company. Matt concluded that being an entrepreneur can be stressful and one must wear many hats to succeed, but in the end he would not want to do anything else for a living.

Aviral Singh, a current Dingman Scholar and partner to Zoey Rawlins of Shop DC spoke on behalf of Shop DC magazine. Aviral explained the magazine's founding at the Dingman Center and its recent success. With the second issue published to date, Shop DC has already almost completely saturated the DC hotel distribution market. Aviral explained that while Shop DC is happy with its current accomplishment, they are constantly trying to tap into new markets and take the magazine to the next level. Aviral concluded the presentation with an internship opportunity open to undergrad and MBA students with an interest in marketing and of course fashion.

Tech Visionary Series "Web 2.0" - February 8th

"Web 2.0" has popped up as one of the hottest buzz terms in venture and entrepreneurial circles during the past year. But what exactly is Web 2.0? And what are its implications for entrepreneurs, investors and the "new" economy? This and more was at the Web 2.0 Tech Visionary Series. Other topics included were which companies, business models and technologies are leading the way in this next generation of Internet business. Adam Lehman, Entrepreneur in Residence moderated the event. Panelists included Ben Bederson, Associate Professor of Computer Science and director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies at the University of Maryland, Robert Hoffer, Managing Director of San Mateo based Newforth Partners, LLC, Luis Derechin, CEO and Co-Founder of JackBe Corporation, and Leslie A. Jump of Jump Walker International Group.

For a complete overview of the event please view the video recap. Also, be sure to read Leslie Jump's blog www.marketerblog.nett

Prospective Scholars Lunch - March 9th

Undergraduate, graduate, and MBA students gathered in Van Munching Hall Thursday March 9th to learn about the Dingman Center and the many employment opportunities available to students interested in entrepreneurship. Director of the Center, Asher Epstein, MBA 2004 and former Dingman Scholar, presented on the Center. Current Dingman Scholars shared their experiences and the rewards of working at the center and being an entrepreneur. The lunch was then concluded with a question and answer session from attendees.

During the Power Point presentation, which is linked below, Asher Epstein informed prospective students what is required to be a Dingman Scholar. He also mentioned Mentor, CAN, Pitch Dingman, and Portfolio Liaisons as other ways to get involved with the Center and to gain first hand experience working with entrepreneurship. All those interested in becoming a member of the Dingman Center Team please see the power point presentation below and the application document.

VCIC Competition – March 2006
Smith Team wins the Entrepreneur's Choice Award at the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC)!

Capital Access Ventures, comprised of Avi Lerner, Susannah Campbell, Karl Olson Anne Engebretsen and Mark Slusser, had earlier won the Smith (internal) round of VCIC held on February 24th, 2006. The internal round was sponsored by the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship, Office of Career Management and venture capital firm Opus 8.

Elaborating on the experience, first year MBA student Anne Engebretsen said, "representing the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the VCIC Regional Round at Georgia Tech in Atlanta was a wonderful experience. We competed against seven other teams for two long days (and nights) and ended up winning the Entrepreneur's Choice Award. The competition proved to be a test of our ability to appropriately and effectively divide up tasks and our ability to perform at a high level on little sleep".

The team felt that getting constructive feedback from VC judges was their most valuable experience at the competition. She also praised the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship for the added value it provides to Smith students, "having worked as Company Analysts with the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship's Capital Access Network definitely worked to the advantage of Capital Access Ventures. We are aware of each others' strengths and weaknesses and could effectively leverage these in a competitive setting like the VCIC. We also knew what to look for in the business plans and what questions to ask the entrepreneurs".

The southeast regional round was held at Georgia Tech, Atlanta from March 2-4, 2006. Each group was handed a fund profile and two copies of each of the five business plans on Thursday evening. The teams were supposed to eliminate a few of the companies based on this information, and to form questions for the 30-minute Q&A sessions with the entrepreneurs the next morning. All teams had until Saturday morning to make their investment decisions and present to the judges. The judges based their decision on the teams' Executive Summary, Term Sheet, and a six-minute presentation followed by a nine-minute question and answer session. Please use this link to view more details on the competition: http://www.vcic.unc.edu/

Capital Access Ventures wins 1st Place at the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC- Smith round)!

Capital Access Ventures, comprised of Mark Slusser, Anne Engebretsen, Avi Lerner, Karl Olson and Steven Schifferle, a last minute substitution for Susannah Campbell, won the Smith (internal) round of VCIC held on February 24th, 2006. AAA, comprised of Yasuo Mutsuura, Andy Cheung, Akinola Dusunmu, Yue Tian and Karnjaporn Kittiampanont, won 2nd place, while International Ventures, comprised of Omarr Tobias, Arindam Basu, Joshua Kroo, Abinash Tiwari and Seyed Mohammad Mohaghegh Ahmadabadi, took 3rd place. The internal round was sponsored by the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship, Office of Career Management and venture capital firm Opus 8.

Each team was handed a fund profile and two unique business plans on Thursday evening. The teams were supposed to eliminate a few of the companies based on this information, and to form questions for the 30-minute Q&A sessions with the entrepreneurs on Friday morning. All teams had until the afternoon to make their investment decisions and present to the judges. The judges based their decision on the teams' Executive Summary, Term Sheet, and a four-minute presentation followed by an eight minute Q&A session.

Seven teams competed in this one day competition. First year MBA student Arindam Basu said that the VCIC internal round at Smith was a great learning experience. Students felt that this competition offered them a great opportunity to learn about the Venture Capital industry and apply concepts picked up from the first year core curriculum. Michael Barr: President, Netrino; Rusty Griffith: Principal, Walker Ventures, and Joseph R. Kessler: Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Next-Stage Development Group judged the competition. The judges really enjoyed the experience and mentioned that such events enhance the MBA experience while engaging the alumni community.

The southeast regional round was held at Georgia Tech, Atlanta from March 2-4, 2006. Please use this link to view more details on the competition: http://www.vcic.unc.edu/

20th Anniversary Gala - April 5th

The Dingman Center's 20th anniversary brought together a wide range of individuals whose lives have been impacted by the Center during the past two decades. Past Dingman Center Scholars, Board members, Entrepreneurs in Residence and local entrepreneurs and investors all showed up to celebrate the accomplishments of the center in fostering entrepreneurship in the local and regional economy. The highlight of the event was a keynote speech delivered by Michael Dingman which encouraged entrepreneurs to continue building and creating opportunities and to determine ways to thrive in a changing world. He especially focused on the rising dominance of China and the hunger of the Chinese to build successful companies. He also cautioned US government regulators to not create regulations that stifle growth and add significant transaction costs to the economic market system.

Rudy Lamone and Charlie Heller were both recognized for their significant contributions to the growth and development of the Dingman Center over the past two decades. Howard Frank spoke about the importance of entrepreneurship in driving the global economy and how, coupled with technology and globalization, it represents one of the key trends of our time and a key component of a Smith School education. It was a wonderful event that represented many of the strengths of the Smith School and celebrated Michael Dingman for his tremendous generosity and vision to aid in the growth of the nationally recognized Dingman Center.

View the Program portion of the event.

Dingman Day Lunch - Featuring Honest Tea - April 21st

Honest Tea spoke to a room full of interested students about its explosive success and growth in the organic drink market. They also introduced the company's latest product, Tangerine Green Tea. At ten calories per bottle, Tangerine Green is the lowest calorie drink Honest Tea has rolled out to the market. Honest Tea's one man marketing team spoke on the marketing struggles and successes they encountered with Tangerine Green.

Tangerine Green was set to be called Honest Tea Zero, signifying the zero calorie per serving aspect of the drink, when at the last minute a recalculation of the tea's ingredients showed a calorie count of greater than 0! Honest Tea lived up to its brand name and immediately removed the name from the bottle and now promotes it's newest drink Tangerine Green at 10 calories per bottle.

After a taste test of Tangerine Green and a lively question and answer session the lunch concluded with many new organic tea drinkers!

Tech Visionary Series - Alternative Energy - April 27th

Rising energy prices, increasing world wide demand and national security concerns are driving investment dollars toward the alternative energy sector like never before. Experts in solar energy, biofuels, hydrogen generation, and fuel cell technology will discuss the current landscape and future horizons in this exciting area. Learn how renewable energy trends are affecting views on energy use management, transportation and construction, and how these views are creating new investment opportunities. This panel will help you develop an effective strategy to evaluate alternative energy ventures.

The slides of our 4 panelists are linked below:

Smith Undergraduate Awards Banquet -- May 4th

The 6th Annual Smith Undergraduate Awards Banquet, held on May 4, honored outstanding students, faculty, alumni and corporate partners. The Smith Leadership and Excellence Awards were presented to business leaders and organizations that have made significant and positive impact to their industries and the community in the mid-Atlantic region. Hugh Panero, CEO of XM Satellite Radio, was the guest speaker at the event and was recognized at the awards banquet by Asher Epstein, Director of the Dingman Center, and Dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business, Howard Frank.

[ VIEW PHOTOS ]

Cupid's Cup Business Competition -- May 19th
North Star Games Wins Cupid's Cup
Under Armour's Kevin Plank awards board-game maker $10K; talks about entrepreneurship

Written by Carrie Taschner, Office of Marketing Communications

On May 19, 2006 the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship hosted the first Cupid's Cup business competition for student-run startups at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Under Armour Chief Executive Kevin Plank, a 1996 Smith graduate, put up the $10,000 prize and helped pick the winner of this year's competition -- North Star Games.

The board game company, founded by 2004 MBA graduates Dominic Crapuchettes and Satish Pillalamarri, incubated in the Dingman Center and has grown to sell thousands of copies of award-winning original games "Cluzzle" and "Wits and Wagers." The duo hopes to have the next blockbuster board game. The $10,000 prize will help the company add a card game called "Secret Signs" to its product line.

"This event has given us a significant amount of exposure and will help pique professional investors' interest in our company," Crapuchettes said.

The final round of the competition included five finalist teams, narrowed from a field of 20 applicants. Each team had eight minutes to present their business plans before five judges and a sizable crowd in Van Munching Hall's Frank Auditorium.

Other finalists in the closely decided competition were Crooked Monkey, a t-shirt company targeting high-school and college students; Geocentric, a software company that engineers interactive Web maps for destination marketing organizations; Hook & Ladder Brewing Company, a microbrewery that produces wheat and brown ales; and Dayna Designs, a designer jewelry company cashing in on the collegiate mid-price jewelry market.

Eligible contestants had to be enrolled students or recent alumni of the university and operating companies that had generated at least $5,000 and no more than $500,000 in revenue prior to entry.

The Cupid's Cup competition grew out of a lunch conversation between Plank and Dingman Center Director Asher Epstein. The competition's name refers to one of Plank's early ventures as a student at the Smith School -- a rose delivery business he called Cupid's Valentine. In school, Plank's entrepreneurial spirit inspired the Pitch Dingman program for students to get feedback from successful entrepreneurs and center staff on their business plans.

"Kevin's entrepreneurial success offers a great example for every company in the competition and countless other would-be entrepreneurs," Epstein said. "With passion and drive like his, one of the finalists could have the next Under Armour."

After the business plan presentations, Plank spoke about entrepreneurship and his business endeavors, then presented an over-sized $10,000 check and trophy cup to North Star Games.

Plank encouraged the entrepreneurs to set big goals and go after them full force. He founded his athletic apparel company Under Armour in his grandmother's basement while still a Smith student and has grown it into a successful publicly traded company.

Crapuchettes called Plank's story awe-inspiring and could draw parallels to his own young company. "While the foundation of both companies derives from superior product development, the success of each company rests firmly upon an ability to create a strong brand based around those products," he said.

Plank, a former Terps football player, compared running a business to being on a sports team where every player is on the field at the same time, all going after a win. "It's about passion; it's about energy; it's about drive," he said. He said he keeps four rules for building his company and encouraged the entrepreneurs to do the same:

1. Build a great product
2. Tell a great story - communicate the message of the company
3. Service business - attract and retain customers through good service
4. Build a great team - find people with complementary skills

Plank recounted a recent business meeting in China where he pitched Under Armour to one of the leading footwear manufacturers. The owner admired Plank's drive as an entrepreneur and agreed to the business deal. Plank said his passion for his products, his vision for the company and the people he has working with him are the essential components of an entrepreneur.

He encouraged Cupid's Cup finalists to determine their passions, create a vision for their companies and assemble great people to build their startups into highly successful businesses.

"You've got to keep your business going, whatever it takes," Plank said.

To view a video of the competition as well as Kevin Plank's inspiring speech click here.