News Articles - 2008

Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship Connects Smith School with Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders in China

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is taking a strong lead in building connections between the Smith School and entrepreneurs, government and business leaders in China with the launch of the 2008 China Business Plan Competition and Dingman Delegation to China.

“The competition, now in its fourth year, has a great reputation in China,” said Asher Esptein, managing director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. “This event strongly supports our global positioning as a leader in educating students through entrepreneurship research and practice.”

Full story

Tricks to Chasing Funding in a Tight Economy

July 17, 2008 - There are several sources of funding, each with their own pros and cons. One such source is the angel investor - wealthy individuals who wish to invest in startups. According to the Angel Capital Association, there are 289 angel groups across the country. Marianne Hudson, the association's executive director, said her organization's 165 member groups invested an average of $1.96 million per group in 2007.

One large angel investor group locally is the Capital Access Network at the University of Maryland's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. And the good news is that its members like to invest close to home.

HometownAnnapolis.com, Full Story

Bethesda Board-Game Maker Enters Cyberspace

May 6, 2008 - Like most board games, the trivia title Wits & Wagers was designed to be played by a group of friends sitting around a coffee table. This week, a new version of the game will let Xbox-owning players challenge one another around the world.

Bethesda's North Star Games is set to make its debut on Microsoft's video game console, with a version of the company's flagship trivia title available as a $10 download from Microsoft's online service for the Xbox.

Dominic Crapuchettes, North Star's founder, said he's not sure what sort of revenue the new release could mean for his company. The online release is part of the company's ongoing efforts to make Wits & Wagers a household name.

The Washington Post, Full Story

Gaming the System

April 10, 2008 - Goozex sounds like something you might look for in the medicine cabinet when you're sick. Actually, four ambitious U of Maryland grads made the name up to stand for "Goods Exchanged." It's a company they created in 2006 to cut out the middleman in a $1 billion used video game market. In less than two years, the startup's traded over 100,000 games, been rated the #1 video game trading site by Electronic Gaming Monthly, and become the largest video game trading platform on the Internet.

Bisnow on Business, Full Story

Jacob Tyler Creative Group Partners with College Magazine

March 30, 2008 - Les Kollegian, founder of Jacob Tyler Creative Group in San Diego, has partnered with entrepreneur and publisher Amanda Nachman to become Creative Director for the Washington D.C. based College Magazine. Unlike many campus related magazines of the past, College Magazine is not the brainchild of a marketing firm or a group of investors looking to tap into a market: College Magazine is a labor of love created, written, edited, and directed by students, for students.

Nachman, a University Of Maryland graduate, first conceptualized the magazine while taking a course in entrepreneurship in the Spring of 2007. In that same semester, she pitched the idea to the University of Maryland's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship group who decided to invest in the project.

Jacob Tyler Creative Group, Full Story

Eldersburg Party Firm Moves to Protect its Ideas

March 25, 2008 - For a small party favors entrepreneur in Eldersburg, other companies’ imitation of her products has not always been the sincerest form of flattery — but it has kept the competitive juices flowing.

“Our biggest problem is we’ve had other people copy us and we’ve had to copyright or trademark our favor names and original designs,” said Julie Rosenthal, co-owner of The MintBox. “It’s frustrating.”

Rosenthal started her business in 2001 after she and her husband, Lenny, a graphic designer, made personalized tins filled with mint candies for their son’s bar mitzvah party. The “BarMintzvahs” became such a hit with family and friends, she said, that they and their close friend Denise Mayne decided to start their own business.

“When I started doing this, there wasn’t anything like it — nobody was doing the small quantities we do,” Rosenthal said of their business, which fills orders from 24 pieces to thousands.

The Daily Record, Full Story

Fueling the Future, One Student at a Time

January 24, 2008 - If the geeks shall inherit the earth, Dan Goodman is someone you'll want on your team. Not just because of his extensive credentials reflecting his science, technology and business acumen, but because he is on a quest to make the world a better place.

Goodman, who at the age of 10 founded a pinball repair firm, is a serial entrepreneur. He notes with something between a laugh and a sigh that today, after 30 years of experience as a self-starter, he carries nine sets of business cards reflecting his current projects.

WashingtonPost.com, Full Story

Getting Web Visitors to do a Double Take

January 15, 2008 - It’s called visual merchandising. In a physical store, you construct tables in a way that makes people walk into or bump into a fixture that makes them look at – or even touch – your product.

But how do you do that online? How do people really see your Web site?

Seeing your own Web site with fresh eyes can be a big challenge when you’re staring at the same pages day after day. Eye-tracker technology can help.

The Wall Street Journal, Full Story