Have an Idea? Pitch Dingman!

October 2009 Pitch Dingman Competitions
October was an exciting month featuring two Pitch Dingman competitions. The first one was on the 23^rd of October as a part of the University of Maryland Start-up Boot Camp and the second was on the 30^th of October for the monthly Pitch Dingman Competition.

UM Start-up Boot Camp Competition, 23^rd Oct’2009:
Three teams pitched their ideas, however the team comprised of Pavan Turaga and Nitesh Shroff took the audiences by surprise not only by winning the entire prize amount of $2500 but also by winning the Audience Choice Award of $250. Their idea named “Video Precis” offers video splitting. The idea was to provide a quick overview of the content in a video search on YouTube. This will improve the user experience to a great extent by helping them in deciding quickly whether or not to watch the video. On the server side, this will reduce the bandwidth cost significantly (estimated to be US $1million/day in Mar'08). Similar applications hold for surveillance videos which go unwatched. The solution to this requirement was provided by the Video Precis team, which has the capability to generate the diverse aspects/events in the video. It captures the essence of the video by identifying key and diverse aspects of the video without tying to a specific domain.

The Pitch Dingman also organized a 1-minute elevator pitch contest on the spot for audience members. Eight people took the courage to come on the stage and present their idea in a short, concise form. It was a tough call as everyone presented very well but finally Ben Slavin was able to grab the $100 award. This 1-minute elevator contest proved to be a great success.

Pitch Dingman Competition, 30^th Oct’2009:
After awarding $2500 to a team at the Boot Camp, Pitch Dingman decided not to sit back. It returned on the last Friday of the month with its best weapon to stimulate the entrepreneurial minds within the Smith’s student community by organizing yet another $2500 Pitch Competition. The competition was as usual very fierce and many teams competed for the top prize. After a long deliberation by the judges, the award was split among 2 teams as follows:

Suyan Hu and Nicholas Rapagnani for the concept of www.mlstatements.com winning $1500.
The MainLine Automation provides services to the print and mail industry (mail houses).  Most mail houses are small and slow to adopt new technologies. These companies lack the capital and resources that their larger competitors have.  Mlstatement’s services enable these smaller companies to take advantage of the new technologies so they can participate in high profit digital services. It gives print houses the ability to make digital copies of the documents they print.  ML Statements takes a copy of the documents and places it on the website which allows the documents to be viewed online by their customers. It should make life easier for doctors and patients as well.

Stephen Steinberg for the business called Raw Athletics, a natural laundry detergent specifically for sports jerseys and athletic apparel.  There is no such thing on the market at this time.  They already have a network of happy customers using Vapor Fresh who are equipment managers for various organizations and they are planning to sell directly to their customers. Stephen not only won $1000 for this business idea but he also won the Audience Choice Award of $250.

Entrepreneurs in Residence Spotlight

You are in your 9^th year as an EIR for the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.  What brought you to the University Maryland and what has kept you interested in working with the Dingman Center?
A friend of mine was doing something like this at his former business school out in California and he suggested to me that I might do the same as a way to stay involved and give back and being involved with a local business school would be a great idea.  At the same time, I happened to have met Rudy Lamone who founded the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.  We had a conversation and he said “I’ve got just the spot for you!” The next thing I knew, I was an EIR at the Dingman Center.

What is your current role and what are the projects you are working on now?
I chair the board of advisors for the Dingman Center.  That involves strategic planning and development for the center. I am also an Entrepreneur in Residence and I work on several projects.  One of the biggest ones, of course, is Pitch Dingman, where everything starts with students coming in and telling us about their business ideas.  We try to help them get them launched and further down the road. I also work with the program we have in China quite a bit. I’ll be heading over there in a month to teach some classes. Of course we have the big trip in January where will be taking 25 students to Beijing for a week.

Is there one particular experience over the last 9 years that stands out in your mind as a favorite?
There are so many.  Watching students launch their businesses and watching their businesses become successful - it’s a great thing to witness and to know that you were able to provide some kind of help to them.  There have been a number of great businesses to come out of the Center since we’ve started so it’s hard to pin one.  Also exposing students to the wonders of China and being along with them on those trips has been a great thing as well. 

What value does being an EIR and/or the Dingman Center bring to your life or your career?
For so long, I had my own business and I knew what I was doing in the business world.  I really came to give back and for the satisfaction of giving back.  Just watching students grow and learn and launch businesses has been a great thing to see.  Now that I’ve sold my business and am in the consulting world, Dingman provides a lot of contacts and a lot of connection to the community and to very smart people in the business world that can help anybody.

Have you always been an entrepreneur?  Can you recall your first entrepreneurial experience?
Yes, I’ve always been an entrepreneur. I started cutting the neighbors lawns when I was probably 11 or 12. It wasn’t something I had to get a ride to. We actually had a riding tractor so I could take that there. But we were always involved in some venture. Oddly enough we did not have a lemonade stand but my sisters and I did have a rock stand.  We collected a bunch of rocks off the beaches in Maine and brought them back and sold them for surprisingly high dollar value.  We were always doing along those ways.  My family just seemed to have that bent.  I’ve actually never worked for anybody else. I’ve always worked for myself.

Are your children following in your footsteps?
Not yet.  I have a freshman and a junior in college.  They haven’t shown the desire to go off and start their own businesses yet.  But it’s early. You never know. I am at least a 3^rd generation entrepreneur, maybe 4^th. My grandfather and my father were both entrepreneurs and I followed in their footsteps. 

Serving as President and CEO of Snow Valley, Inc. for over 29 years, what has been the most difficult decision or challenging moment you have overcome?
Without a doubt, selling the business after running it for 29 years was the hardest decision.  Any entrepreneur business owner that is successful develops more than just an intellectual attachment to their business.  There has to be passion and it’s got to be in your heart.  Even after 29 years, the idea of not doing what I’ve been doing was very frightening.  It’s been six months now and I am still trying to figure out exactly what it means to have sold the business. 

What has been the most rewarding experience from owning your own business?
There is really two pieces.  One is I was very fortunate that I got involved in the Trade Association for the industry very early on which allowed me to play a large role in the development of the industry.  To be on the leading edge of an industry as it grew was fascinating and something I really cherish.  The other part is definitely the people that I go to work with.  I had quite a number of people who had been with me a very long time. To spend that time building something together is a great experience.   

Being an entrepreneur requires a great deal of discipline, self-motivation, and confidence.  Is there any one experience in your past you can identify that helped develop these competencies for you?
I was not a great student in college. But, the day I started running the business it did not seem like I needed any effort to be there 12 hours a day. Somehow it clicked.  I think for entrepreneurs it just clicks.  You either like working or you don’t. If you don’t like working, being an entrepreneur is the wrong thing to do.  Or if it’s a business you don’t like.  You don’t want to be an entrepreneur in a business you don’t like.  That came naturally.  The other ability you need as an entrepreneur to get to the next level is the ability to delegate.  That takes more time and is learned.  It comes from practice and necessity.  I can remember three to four years into the business when I realized I had to learn to delegate. 
 

Board of Advisors Interview

How long have you been on the Board of Advisors for the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship?
I am in my 2^nd year on the Board of Advisors (of a 3-year Board stint).

What is your current role on the board?
In general, the Board is comprised of Dingman staff, Entrepreneurs in Residence, and general Board members. I would fit into the generalist category. We recently formed committees – I am the proud chairman of the China Delegation Committee.

You completed your MBA with Smith.  What brought you back to the University of Maryland and why did you choose to work with the Dingman Center?
Working with the Dingman center was an easy decision for me. I truly believe in what the center stands for and I have a personal relationship with folks like Rudy Lamone, John LaPides, Mark Levine and Rich Harris – all of whom I have the highest respect for. I truly get as much out of the experience as I put in.

What objectives do you hope the Board of Advisors will accomplish this year?
My simple goal for our Board is to “institutionalize” our key programs and deliver a depth and breadth of experience to the student that extends far beyond the classroom. 

What value does being a board member bring to your life or your career?   
I have 30 and 40 something’s that I work with every day and 10 year-olds that I parent and coach. Being on the Dingman Board brings me closer to the lives and aspirations of 20-somethings…and what a talented group this is. Following my first year on the Board of Advisors, I became motivated to sign up for Facebook…inspiration courtesy of Dingman students!

What assistance did Smith offer to students focused on entrepreneurship while you were a student here? What kind of entrepreneurial activities, programs, or projects did you engage in while pursuing your MBA at Smith?
I believe Smith / Dingman has long been on the leading edge of both entrepreneurial curriculum and creating entrepreneurial “laboratories”. In addition to our classroom work, we had the opportunity to create a business plan (realize this is pre-tech bubble) which focused on the creation of a Fund of Funds. Our plan was very well received and we actually spent a fair amount of time thinking about exploring this full-time post graduation.    

What is your favorite memory from your MBA program?
Meeting fellow Maryland MBA, Debra Vanderhoven Bowen, now my wife of 12 years, mother of my three children and business partner. Talk about a memory that lasts a lifetime!

Have you always been an entrepreneur? Can you recall your first experience with entrepreneurship?
My first shot at entrepreneurship was as an 11-year old catching, steaming and selling crabs with a friend near Annapolis. The venture probably lasted about 4 weeks until we went out to pull the traps one day during a storm and we realized it was hard work and maybe even a bit dangerous!  I will always remember the people that were nice enough to buy our crabs – they had this look of astonishment to see how young we were and somehow it felt like they wanted us to succeed. One lesson I learned is that small towns truly pull for local entrepreneurs and want them to be successful.

You began your professional career as an officer in the Navy. What role did entrepreneurship play for you during that time?  How did you bring entrepreneurial thought or practices into a traditionally conservative workplace?
Those who knew me before the Navy said I would never last and, in the end, they were right. Much of everyday life in the Navy is run by Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), and I have never been one for following rules!
However, I had the good fortune of working with Captains and Admirals who encouraged me to think about the most efficient ways to accomplish tasks – both big and small – all while staying within the guidelines. I have very positive memories of my time on active duty and what the military excels at teaching is leadership. In my early 20’s, I had jobs leading 60-person divisions with multi-million dollar budgets – that experience is tough to replicate in private industry.

As President of Bowen Advisors, what has been the most difficult decision or challenging moment you have overcome?  The most rewarding?
From my perspective as a business owner, the most challenging decisions revolve around people – who to hire and how to manage and motivate. Although it is a cliché, most business successes and failures are attributable to the strength of your team.  The most rewarding moments I have are helping our clients achieve their strategic objectives. My primary motivation is playing a small role in helping build great companies.

What is your best piece of advice for aspiring young entrepreneurs?
I often tell young entrepreneurs – “every day is a new day” and the general reaction I receive is “huh?”  The joy of being an entrepreneur is every day business confronts you with a new set of challenges. It is a rare day when I know what the challenges will be when I begin the day. To make matters worse, I often don’t know the answers. 
As an MBA student, I had a Dingman professor who told me, “They haven’t created a problem yet that I can’t figure out.” At the time, I thought that statement incredibly arrogant.  Since then, my experience is that the one common trait I find amongst all successful entrepreneurs is a fundamental belief that they will figure it out.
 

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Baum has been with the Robert H. Smith School of Business for the University of Maryland for the last ten years.  Prior to Smith, he ran several of his own businesses while teaching statistics to a night program in community college.  Upon arriving, Dr. Baum planned to continue teaching statistics but has taught Entrepreneurship since day one.  He would like to introduce a Business Idea Review class to the curriculum in the future.  Having taught a similar class during the dot com era, he believes the method of how to formally examine and review an idea is a vital skill. 

Dr. Baum is a born entrepreneur.  His earliest companies include installing audio systems in the residences of the local affluent community while in high school and working with a colleague who launched and sold a successful freezer truck company.  While observing the purchase of his colleague’s company, he was able to learn through observation the methods of small business valuation.   

Currently, Dr. Baum is working on Health Care reform through his position as chairman of the board of Highmark Inc.  He is also researching entrepreneurial behavior, in hopes of answering questions such as: what makes a good entrepreneur?   In addition to his role as the Director of Entrepreneurship Research with the Dingman Center, he will also be joining the Board of Advisors.  In his current role, Dr. Baum works on a luncheon series for PhD students and faculty, featuring a research competition, created to help ground academic research in practice. 

Dr. Baum has passed on his entrepreneurial spirit to his daughter and son.  His daughter runs her own market research company currently focused on the fast food industry.  His son works independently as a hotel appraiser. 

One of Dr. Baum’s most rewarding experiences at Smith includes a former entrepreneurship citation program which mixed engineering and business undergraduates for 3 semesters.  He enjoyed developing relationships with the students while watching them grow and develop their skills and ideas through this program.  He hopes the citation program will be reinstated in the future.  One of his greatest challenges is teaching the MBA core class Busi691, integrative business plan competition. It is difficult because not every student is interested in ventures and it can be challenging to keep them engaged throughout the semester. 

When asked about the future of Entrepreneurship, Dr. Baum provided some interesting insights.  He defines Entrepreneurship as a set of behaviors and identifies the biggest shift happening in new ventures as the change in the nature of the business.  The nature of the business has shifted from manufacturing to service and there is now an increase in the number of technology-focused companies.  Entrepreneurship is also seeing a flourishing of small niche producers that complete high end work for custom clients.

For aspiring young entrepreneurs, Dr. Baum has this advice to offer: “If you have an idea, and you are really passionate about it, just start.  You can get help here (at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship) as well as a lot of other places, such as the Kauffman foundation.  Get skeptics to pass judgment on your ideas. And if you don’t have an idea, buy somebody else’s business.  There are businesses out there for sale!  Have confidence and ask lots of questions.”
 

Technion's 85th Anniversary

The MIT Club of Washington and the University of Maryland's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship present a celebration of Technion's 85th Anniversary at the Embassy of Israel

If interested, please email Asher Epstein at aepstein@rhsmith.umd.edu.
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