|
SEPTEMBER 2008 |
|
The Latest News
Dingman Center for
Entrepreneurship Open House
Thursday, September 4th ~
12:00-2:00 p.m. ~ 3rd Floor Atrium, Van Munching Hall
Congratulations to
Chia Chang, a 1st-year FT MBA student for winning
Pitch Dingman for a free trip to China! She
will be joining the Dingman Delegation to Beijing
and Tianjin, which is only a
month away. For more information on the
delegation, please click
here.
Congratulations to the 20 semi-finalists of the 2008
China Business Plan Competition
- The semi-finalists are now
one step closer to winning $50,000 in cash and
prizes on October 29th in Beijing. For the
complete list and more information on the
competition, please click
here.
|
|
|
|
Also Inside This
Issue...
|
|
BACK TO TOP |
|
Pitch Dingman News
Pitch
Dingman held its first session of the school year on
Friday, September 5th and saw 8 pitches from
students. The first Pitch Dingman Competition
of the school year will be held on Friday, September
26th at 11:00 a.m. in 1520 Van Munching Hall.
I
*About
Pitch Dingman |
|
BACK TO TOP |
|
Portfolio
Company Updates
Unlike most guys his age, Kevin Kirk has a
penchant for purses. At 16, bored with
watching his younger sister play lacrosse every
weekend, Kirk began selling hand-made hemp jewelry
at his sister's tournaments, turning a $300 profit
on the average weekend. As his business
flourished, Kirk expanded his horizons to popular
tropical-print purses, buying them wholesale on eBay
and marking them up 500 percent. After selling
more than 100 purses in one weekend, he decided to
focus on beefing up his purse lines. During a
family vacation in Hawaii, Kirk found a genuine
Hawaiian-print reversible bag at a rock-bottom
price. He ordered several prints, shipped them
home to Maryland, and immediately sold out of them
at his next event. And all this before he even
entered college.
Now a seasoned business owner interested in
growing his empire, Kirk came to the Smith School
because of the resources offered by the Dingman
Center for Entrepreneurship. Armed with a
$40,000 entrepreneurial scholarship from Monster.com
founder Andrew J. McKelvey, Kirk dove head-first
into his freshman year.
Recognizing his self-starting talents, Kirk's
advisors at the Dingman Center drew his attention to
their signature event: the Cupid's Cup Competition,
sponsored by Kevin Plank '96, founder of Under
Armour and one of Kirk's personal heroes.
Plank, who is passionate about developing and
mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs, funded Cupid's Cup
and serves as one of its judges as a way to showcase
the university's rising entrepreneurs. The
competition awards generous cash prizes to fledgling
businesses based on a seven-minute pitch, rewarding
vision and enthusiasm with resources and
professional expertise. The 2008 Cupid's Cup,
which featured the inaugural BB&T Business
Invitational, was a standing-room-only event - a
high-pressure, high-excitement day for Kirk and his
fellow competitors.
Kirk was the youngest contender to ever throw his
hat in the ring. With the help of Asher
Epstein, managing director of the Dingman Center,
and Dingman Center Director of Venture Investments
and Social Entrepreneurship Melissa Carrier, Kirk
began a marathon of preparation. Constantly
encouraging him to "think bigger," Carrier and
Epstein helped Kirk develop the idea of a chain of
shopping mall kiosks, and even helped negotiate a
trial lease for him at the Westfield mall in
Annapolis, Md. The trial run was a resounding
success, brining in just under $10,000 in 16 days.
Eventually Kirk came up with an ambitious plan to
preset to the judges: a $100 million plan for 336
kiosk locations in the most-trafficked malls in the
country with a supporting Web site.
When zero hour arrived, Kirk was the first to
take the stage in front of the packed auditorium.
He kept the crowd laughing and the judged intrigued.
Pointed questions were given pointed answers during
the few minutes following his presentation.
And how did it all work out? Well, Kirk's
company, A Slice of Paradise, didn't win Cupid's Cup
- that honor went to Anaptyx, an innovative
community Wi-Fi service provider. But he did
come away with the $5,000 People's Choice award for
being the audience favorite. And Plank offered
him a summer internship, which he gladly accepted.
A happy ending - or more accurately, a happy
beginning to an undergraduate entrepreneur's Smith
career.
» Smith Business Magazine ~ Fall 2008 Vol. 9
No. 2
 While we are thrilled with all of the generous
commitments in this first phase of our campaign, one
pledge in particular inspires us. Kevin Kirk '07, a
sophomore at the University of Maryland, made a gift
of $1,000 to the campaign.
During Kevin's senior year at Archbishop Spalding,
he received a $40,000 entrepreneurship scholarship
from the McKelvey Foundation for owning his own
business, A Slice of Paradise. He decided to attend
the University of Maryland, College Park, and major
in business. In his first semester, he was elected
Vice President of Events for the entrepreneurship
club, which entails bringing local entrepreneurs to
the school to learn about their business endeavors.
In addition, he won $500 from the Dingman Center for
Entrepreneurship's weekly "Pitch Dingman" process,
which is simply a way to get obtain start-up funds
for a business idea. However, it was his second
semester that made his year so incredible.
After going to Africa (Tunisia) on a winter study
abroad with the business school, he returned to
school to work on furthering his business. He
submitted a proposal to be apart of the Cupid's Cup
Business Competition, an event hosted by the Dingman
Center and sponsored by Kevin Plank, CEO and Founder
of Under Armour. The proposal was to use the first
place price of $15,000 to start opening kiosks in
various malls. Competing not only as a freshman, he
was also the only undergraduate in the competition.
The other four finalists were evenly split - two
graduate teams and two alumni teams. Although he did
not win first or second place, he did win the
People's Choice Award of $5,000. The best part of
the event was when Kevin Plank asked if Kevin would
intern over the summer at Under Armour. The
internship allowed Kevin the opportunity to build a
relationship with Kevin Plank that will most
definitely prove to be worth more than the $15,000
first place prize he missed out on at Cupid's Cup.
When Kevin came in to drop off his $1,000 check, he
said, "I feel that the past year has been an
unbelievable ride and I still am trying to grasp how
fortunate I have been. As someone who believes in
Karma, I think it's important to give back,
especially when someone has received as much as I
have. This is why I decided to give my donation to
Archbishop Spalding. My years at Spalding were
absolutely incredible and I would seriously consider
giving up my freshman year at Maryland to return to
my Senior year at Spalding. Nothing compares to the
impact Spalding made upon my life and it only felt
natural that Spalding be apart of my first step in
giving back to society."
Congratulations and good luck Kevin! At the rate
Kevin is moving, it won't be long before he is on
top of our donor list!
» Archbishop Spalding High School Transforming
Dreams Newsletter ~ Volume 2 ~ September 10,
2008
Bethesda, MD -
September 8, 2008 -
North Star Games
announced today that it has signed a worldwide
licensing deal with Days of Wonder for North Star
Games’ hit trivia/party game, Wits & Wagers.
Days of Wonder will release the game as Gambit
7 in France and Germany this year and to
British Commonwealth countries in 2009.
“We are elated that
people around the world will finally get to play
Wits & Wagers with questions that are more
pertinent to their local culture,” said Dominic
Crapuchettes, North Star Games’ founder and
co-president. “Days of Wonder saw a great
opportunity in bringing Wits & Wagers to
countries around the world. This is a great deal
for both companies,”
Wits & Wagers’
ingenious design allows non-trivia buffs to have a
chance at winning by allowing them to bet on answers
provided by other players! This simple concept has
garnered 19 awards for Wits & Wagers, the
most of any party game in history.
Days of Wonder saw
the broad appeal of Wits & Wagers and decided
to make it their first game in their new line of
more mainstream, mass-market games. Other companies
before them also realized the great crossover appeal
of the game. Hidden Path Entertainment turned
Wits & Wagers into an Xbox Live Arcade game,
Rebel Entertainment Partners (Judge Judy, Extreme
Home Makeover) obtained the rights to turn Wits &
Wagers into a TV game show, and Oy Marektoy has
already released a Finnish and Norwegian version of
the game.
“It means a lot to
us that a company of Days of Wonder’s caliber would
chose to license Wits & Wagers as their first
mainstream game,” stated Satish Pillalamarri, North
Star Games’ other co-president. “Their endorsement
of our product speaks volumes about the quality and
appeal of Wits & Wagers and hopefully about
where our company is headed in the future.”
Wits & Wagers is
also moving fast in the local retail world. As a
result of its significant sales in the hobby
channels, Target has carried the game nationwide for
a year and Borders will carry the game nationwide
starting in October. This is very impressive for a
game that has been out less than three years.
*About Portfolio Companies |
|
BACK TO TOP |
|
Social Venture Highlights
We're kicking off the school year with tremendous
interest from the MBA student community with 39
applications for non-profit projects. We'll
have monthly updates on the upcoming projects.
Social Venturing Program Sponsor:
*About Social Venturing |
|
BACK TO TOP |
|
CAN Updates
September has been a very productive month for
CAN. The Private Investor Education Series, an
exclusive seminar for distinguished University of
Maryland alumni and friends, was a huge success with
our current and potential investors. An excellent
line-up of speakers, including Smith School of
Business Dean G. “Anand” Anandalingam,
Core Capital Partners Managing
Director
Pascal Luck, Online Storage Business Unit for
Symantec Corporation VP David Steinberg, and
University System of Maryland Board of Regents
Member Mike Gill among others,
provided many compelling insights on the state of
venture capital industry. Attendees had a chance to
explore new local venture success stories, as well
as meet fellow alumni, leading venture capitalists,
business executives, and local entrepreneurs.
This year CAN Angel Investor
breakfasts are taking place monthly--every second
Wednesday of the month. We are delighted to welcome
four new investors to our group! Three exciting new
start-ups presented at the well-attended September
10th breakfast:
AccuStrata,
Bid4Health, and
mySBX.
We
had a lot of interest in the CAN Liaison position
for 2008-2009 and are pleased to welcome three
students to the team: Ben Lydecker, Sean Baseri, and
Alex Baek.
For Smith School's press release "Expansion of
Capital Access Network Addresses Critical Funding
Gap for DC-Baltimore Region Startups," please click
here. It can
also be found on
Potomac Tech Wire
and
Washington Business Journal.
CAN Program Sponsors:
*About CAN
|
|
BACK TO TOP |
|
Last Month at
Dingman
Doing more than just getting by, the business
school at the University of Maryland is moving up
the charts with a little help from its friends. The
Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and
Maryland Technology Enterprise
Institute, known as MTech, have helped
boost the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith
School of Business to a No. 9 ranking in the
business specialty category for Entrepreneurship in
the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report
magazine. The school had a No. 11 ranking last year,
according to university officials, but has now moved
past the University of California-Berkeley and the
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The
magazine's America's Best Colleges 2009 issue hit
the newsstands Monday and is available online
here.
» Full article on
Gazette.Net.
Maryland’s new trade office in Seoul, South
Korea, will be run and paid for by a private sector
company, a strategy that economic development
officials said could help the state stretch its
tight international promotion dollars.
The Department of Business and Economic Development
announced last week that it would open the office,
which will be run by IDI Corp. of Ellicott City. The
company will not get any money from the state until
it shows that it has generated jobs and revenue over
the course of one to two years. However, IDI will be
able to collect payments from businesses that it
works with for more than 20 hours, as other
state-run trade offices do...
Melissa Carrier, director of venture investments
and social entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith
School of Business at the University of Maryland,
College Park, said the state’s arrangement with IDI
mirrors a trend that she is seeing more and more in
both the nonprofit and startup sectors. “I think
it’s a great model for them to use,” she said of the
IDI deal. More people are looking to see a return on
investment before they dedicate money to a project,
Carrier said. “I think you’re finding that taxpayers
are starting to call for that,” she said.
» Full article on
Maryland Daily Record.
|
|
BACK TO TOP |
|
DCE
Partner Events
MarketReach America
is the exclusive business
development program that connects Israel’s most
promising life science and medical device companies
with strategic partners, investors, and regulatory
authorities in the U.S. market. Opportunity to meet
Israeli entrepreneurs and get an edge on the
exciting new developments in life sciences coming
out of Israel by attending this strategic partnering
and investment conference. Program includes
presentations by Israeli companies, panel
discussions, networking opportunities and reception.
Investors and strategic partners will hear from and
meet with the Israeli participating companies. The
conference will be held at the Johns Hopkins
University campus, Koch Cancer Research Building,
1650 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD, 21231.
Registration is required to attend this conference
which includes lunch and a late afternoon reception
(dietary laws observed). To register and pay, please
click
here.
TiE-DC and
NVTC members are
invited to apply for the opportunity to participate
in our continuing VC Elevator Pitch series. This is
an exclusive event – only 10 entrepreneurs will have
the chance to test their elevator pitches to Venture
Capitalists and established entrepreneurs for frank
feedback on business ideas. THERE WILL BE NO
AUDIENCE FOR THIS EVENT – simply presenters and VC
judges in a small, intimate setting!
Criteria for eligibility to apply:
- Event is geared toward seed or early stage
companies.
- Must be in the technology sector.
- No institutional financing.
- No more than $500k of angel financing.
- No more than $500k in annual revenue.
- TiE Emerging Entrepreneur and Professional members
only.
- Companies and/or members that participated in
previous VC Pitch events may participate again in
this event.
Please email an executive summary of your business
to
sanam@tie-dc.org by
September 12, 2008. We will choose the applicants
and email those who will be attending this event by
September 16, 2008.
Fees:
Members $75 (Only pay when you are confirmed as a
chosen participant)
After being chosen you will receive an email to
register with location and other pertinent
information.
The
Maryland Chamber’s Business
Development Council has assembled a panel
of experts to help you learn to achieve business
growth and avoid pitfalls during tough economic
times. Entitled Building Value In Small Business &
Avoiding Trouble on the Horizon, this panel
discussion will be held on September 17, from 7:30
a.m. to 10 a.m., at the Westin BWI Airport Hotel.
Our
expert panelists will examine the elements of
successful growth, and the warning signs that your
business is in trouble, from a variety of
perspectives. Panelists include:
- John M. Collard, Chairman, Strategic Management
Partners, Inc.
- C. Edward Hartman, Managing Partner, Hartman & Egeli
- Diane Devaney, President, Devaney and Associates
- Tom Heseltine, Partner, Clifton Gunderson
- AnnMarie Schovee, Managing Director Investment
Banking, M&T Bank
Registration is $35 for Maryland Chamber members and
$60 for nonmembers. Register online
here. For more
information, contact Gail Lemke at (410) 269-0642,
(301) 261-2858 or
glemke@mdchamber.org.
MIPS
Research Funding Available
Maryland Industrial
Partnerships (MIPS) provides research
funding--matched by participating companies--for
university-based research projects that help
companies develop new products.
Benefits to Maryland Companies:
- Cost-effective research through university
collaboration
- Access to expert university faculty, students,
state-of-the-art facilities, laboratories and
equipment
- Efficient transfer of technology from university
to companies
- Opportunity to work with students--potential
future hires
Benefits to Maryland Faculty:
- Research leads directly to new product development
- Potential for published papers and improved
university facilities
- Students gain valuable experience working on
commercial technologies
- Rapid proposal evaluations--MIPS notifies award
winners within 60 days of the proposal deadline
Visit our
website or call
301.405.3891 for details. Applications are due by
October 15, 2008!
As entrepreneurs, you personify innovation and seek
it in everything you do. But, did you know that the
A. James Clark School of Engineering and the Robert
H. Smith School of Business are teaming up once
again to offer their joint Certificate in Innovation
Management Program? Starting in October, this
challenging six-part series focuses on innovation
management from multiple perspectives, including
strategies for managing innovation, marketing,
financial analysis, negotiation skills, and leading
the innovative venture.
Attend individual modules or complete six days of
study to earn a combined Certificate in Innovation
Management from both schools. Take advantage of
early registration and group discounts. For more
information, please click
here.
|
|
BACK TO TOP |
|
The Dingman Center for
Entrepreneurship
Founded by Rudy Lamone in 1986, the Dingman Center
was one of the first of its kind in the country and
has emerged as a top-ranked entrepreneurship center.
Thanks to initial funding with a generous grant from
Michael D. Dingman, founder of the Signal Corporation
(now part of Honeywell International), the Dingman Center
continues to grow as a regional and national catalyst
in the field of entrepreneurship. The Center is now
aggressively evolving, and in some areas, is expanding
its services to further its role as a leader in the
student, regional, and academic entrepreneurial communities.
The Dingman Center is currently led by:
Asher Epstein, Managing Director
Melissa Carrier, Director of Venture
Investments and Social Entrepreneurship
Mr. John LaPides, Chairman of the Board and Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Please visit our Web site at
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman.
*Past Newsletters
|
|
|
|
|
