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Summer 2009 |
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The Latest News
The Dingman Center for
Entrepreneurship is excited to announce Craig Dye
has joined the center as director of venture investments.
In his new position, Dye
will be leading the continued growth of the Dingman
Center’s Capital Access Network, a successful angel
investment group focused on funding early-stage
deals up to $1.5 million. He will lead the
network’s growth and support the Dingman Center’s
continued efforts to fuel economic development and
job creation throughout state and region.
“Craig will help us continue the center’s role in
supporting economic development and innovation
throughout Maryland,” said Asher Epstein, managing
director of the Dingman Center. “His
investment and entrepreneurial experience brings a
valued set of skills to lead the Capital Access
Network’s growth.”
The Capital Access Network – in
partnership with regional tech councils, incubators
and state-funded institutions – is one of the
Mid-Atlantic’s largest angel investment networks
linking entrepreneurs with potential investors.
Dye’s management role also will support efforts to
expand the Dingman Center’s regional presence and
outreach across the university’s campus.Dye brings more than 20 years
of investing experience, information technology
expertise and operational management to the Dingman
Center. Previously, Dye served as an advisor to the
Affinity Lab, an incubator for corporate and social
entrepreneurs that has helped launch and sustain
numerous successful companies and nonprofits in the
mid-Atlantic region.
Prior to joining Affinity Lab, Craig was the chief
operating officer of Articulated Impact, a software
development and Web strategy company that provides
solutions to
the challenges of top-tier companies, hedge funds
and nonprofits. Before that, Dye was the
founder and CEO of Wheelhouse Networks, delivering
enterprise-class computing and telecommunication
platforms as a managed service to corporations and
professional services firms.
He began his career with
Informatics General (since acquired by CA Inc.), one
of the first technology services companies in the
nation, and subsequently served as the chief
information officer for Hogan & Hartson, supporting
its growth into a $1 billion legal services leader
and more than doubling in size during his tenure.
Dye serves on the board of directors of a number of
companies and advises startups and nonprofits in the
metropolitan area. He received his bachelor of arts
in political science from the State University of
New York at Buffalo.
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Also Inside This
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Cupid's Cup Report
Congratulations to Amanda Nachman, Publisher and
Founder,
College Media Group, for winning the first
prize at the 2009 Cupid's Cup Business Competition
sponsored by Kevin Plank, CEO and Chairman of Under Armour!
Amanda also won Audience Choice Award, sponsored by
Sam Medile '80.
Congratulations to
Student Sherpas for taking home
the second prize!
To read more about the 4th Annual Cupid's Cup
Business Competition, please follow this
link.
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Student Sherpa's Aaron
Frank and Corey Laplante receive
the 2nd
place prize from Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour |
VIPs: Dean Anand,
Kevin Plank,
UMD President Mote,
Donta Wilson of BB&T Bank,
Asher Epstein |
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VIP Guests and Judges |
Sam Medile'80 and Asher
Epstein present
People's Choice Award to Amanda Nachman |
To see more photos from Cupid's Cup (and to leave
your comments), please visit our Facebook group. |
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Summer 2009 Programs
The Summer months are finally
here! The Dingman Center doesn't slow down during
this time and offers great activities for those who
would like to spend a part of their vacation
building international bridges and/or reviving the
US economy.
Join a diverse group of Smith
MBA students and Asher Epstein, Managing Director of
the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, to explore
Israel--a robust and fast-growing economy in the
Middle East. Spend 10 days experiencing business and
culture on this fascinating journey with the Robert
H. Smith School of Business.
For more information, please
contact Asher Epstein at
aepstein@rhsmith.umd.edu
 The Dingman Center's
inaugural start-up bootcamp
was a great success in January 2009. We decided to
continue the program this Summer and give it an
official name: Dingman Jumpstart.
A lot of today's great companies were
started during a financial downturn. Why waste a perfectly good
recession? Come try your hand at launching your
own business in just 2 weeks? (And get ready for
Cupid's
Cup
2010?)
The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
will be holding a two-week Dingman Jumpstart (previously
known as start-up bootcamp) August 17-28, right before Fall
classes begin. Bring your own great ideas to work on
or we can provide you with one and help you
transform the idea
into a real business. It's a
great way to spend a part of your
summer break!
The Dingman Jumpstart program is FREE!
All current UMD students are eligible to
apply (including those graduating in May 2009).
Space is limited to 30 participants. Please let Alla
Corey know if you are interested in participating:
acorey@rhsmith.umd.edu
Questions? Email Alla at
acorey@rhsmith.umd.edu
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A Unique Course Offering:
Focus on China
The Dingman Center has
partnered with Beida University and the Guanghua
School of Management to provide a unique classroom
experience for full-time 2nd-year students.
BUSI 758 will be offered as a
joint class between students at Beida and Students
at Smith. Interested students must apply to the
Dingman Center. Accepted students will be enrolled
in BUSI 758 in the B term in the fall of 2009 from
October 22d through December 10th. The entire class
will then travel to China from January 9th - 17th,
2010 to participate alongside their Chinese
classmates in the Dingman Center Annual China
Business Plan Competition.
The 2 credit class will be
taught by Dingman Center Entrepreneurs in Residence,
Director Asher Epstein, and Professor Bob Baum.
Please contact Alla Corey at
the Dingman center at
acorey@rhsmith.umd.edu by June 15th if you are
interested in participating in this unique
experience. Additional details will follow.
Please note: There will be
some additional fees for the trip costs of
approximately
$3,500 per student inclusive of airfare. No
additional fees for the course credit are required.
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Pitch Dingman and other
Student Competitions
- The May competition
brought together very talented teams. The
judges decided to split the winnings between two
top teams. Kevin Kirk, CEO and Founder of Blue
Chesapeake won top prize: $1,500 in seed funding.
Blue Chesapeake is a unique company that focuses
on bringing its product line to mass consumer
groups. Carrying an array of women's
accessories, Blue Chesapeake travels to over 30
women's sporting events each year - from
lacrosse tournaments to cheerleading
competitions. Most recently, Blue Chesapeake has
entered the mall kiosk business. With a launch
of two new product lines, the company is prepped
for success. Blue Chesapeake also won the Audience
Choice Award.
Website:
www.BlueChesapeake.com
ZOYA Couture ($1,000 Award):
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ZOYA Couture custom designs high end event
stationary and marketing collateral. The company works
with the finest quality Italian papers and sources
the printing, cutting, and assembly work to a
partner firm in India. ZOYA has already generated
$5,000 in revenue and is on track to have a
productive summer ahead! Some of their current projects
include: invitations for a charity gala on the
Presidential Yacht, marketing collateral for the award
winning team of Regeti's Photography, and
branding for Blumpari, a Dingman-incubated
company that works with micro-finance supported
women in Thailand.
*About
Pitch Dingman
One of the core classes in the MBA
Program, BUSI 691, culminated in Innovation
Competition. 38 Teams participated in the
competition and 10 teams made it to the final
presentation round. Judges included Asher Epstein,
Laura Neumann, and Glen Hellman. Busy Bees team
members Shera Rosloff, Maya Litvak and Elizabeth
Morgan O'Donnell won the first prize for their
business plan for a child care service conveniently
located by the Columbia Mall. Congratulations!
 MUSE, the MBA's Smith
Entrepreneurship Club, and the Dingman Center for
Entrepreneurship held the "Compcierge Challenge" at
the end of April.
The Compcierge Challenge was a
two-part event series featuring a networking event
with
Tom Fong, founder and CEO of Compcierge
USA,
on April 21 and a business competition on May 1 that
put students’ entrepreneurial skills to the test.
The students learned about Compcierge USA’s
business strategy, technology, and how the company was
started. Participants were challenged to create new
uses for the Compcierge technology and present
their ideas to Tom Fong. Nicholas Rapagnani and Danielle Safran came up with the best
idea and received $1,000 in prize money.
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Entrepreneurship
Research at Smith
GO ahead and write that
50-page business plan about
your fledgling venture if it
helps you to focus. Just do
not bother showing it to
venture capitalists, because
it will do nothing to
improve your chances of
getting financing.
That is
the surprising conclusion of
a new study by researchers
at the
University of Maryland’s
business school.
Researchers found that
venture capitalists, who
screen hundreds or thousands
of solicitations each year,
pay little or no heed to the
content of business plans.
Instead, the study said,
because they make decisions
“under conditions of high
uncertainty,” venture
capitalists rely on instinct
and their expertise in
ferreting out information by
other means to evaluate the
prospects of a business.
That means, the study
said, that they pay little
attention to the
documentation from
entrepreneurs about their
academic credentials, work
or start-up experience,
previous success in raising
equity capital, ability to
form a top-notch management
team or even how much money
they want.
“In general, business
plans don’t matter,” said
Brent Goldfarb, an associate
professor of management and
entrepreneurship at the
Robert H. Smith School of
Business, who wrote the
study with David A, Kirsch,
also an associate professor
at the school, and Azi Gera,
a doctoral student. “Nobody
is going to read them.”
To read the entire New
York Times article, please
follow this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/business/smallbusiness/14hunt.html?8dpc
Your help will be deeply appreciated.
Henry P. Sims, Jr.
Professor, Management & Organization
R. H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
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Portfolio
Company Updates
FINALISTS SELECTED FOR
THE 2009 INDEPENDENT HANDBAG DESIGNER AWARDS™
--Handbag Designer 101
Honors Handbag and Shoe Excellence at the Third
Annual "Handbag Awards"--
NEW YORK, NY, May 6, 2008 – Handbag
Designer 101, the handbag designer resource,
announces today the long awaited results of the
finalists for the Independent Handbag Designer
Awards ™ Now with Shoes. Over 600 applications
were received from around the world ranging with
diverse backgrounds from North Dakota to Mongolia to
Finland. The Independent Handbag Designer Awards is
the only design competition of its kind in the world
for handbag designers to receive credibility and
recognition to stand out in today’s competitive
accessory market. The winners will be announced on
June 17th at the IHDA event at the New York
Historical Society. The live Finalist Announcement
can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jINHPgdQVdU
"These 35 designers whether they are
established or emerging, share a common passion,
commitment and creativity to make a unique handbag
while being role-models for entrepreneurship and
small business," says Emily Blumenthal, founder of
Handbag Designer 101 and the Independent Handbag
Designer Awards. "Each designer is well deserved in
their recognition for in each category of Best
Student-Made Handbag, Best Handmade Handbag,
Most-Socially Responsible Handbag, Best Green
Handbag, Best Use of Swarovski Crystallized (™)
Elements, Best Show in Overall Style and Design and
Best Handbag in Overall Style and Design."
To see the finalists, whose bags and
shoes all must be made under their own label,
representing a wide range of styles and designs, in
each category and vote for your favorite, please
visit
http://www.hbd101.com/finalists_2009
*About Portfolio Companies |
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Capital
Access Network Updates
The Dingman Center’s Capital Access
Network (CAN) is screening regional early-stage
companies and coaching entrepreneurs in an effort to
successfully connect them with the angel investor
community. The CAN Program, sponsored by Morrison &
Foerster, Silicon Valley Bank, and Deloitte, brought the
following great start-up companies to the April and
May
Investor Breakfasts:
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BioMarker Strategies is a
tissue-based cancer diagnostics company
developing novel biomarker-based tests for
cancer patients using their proprietary SnapPath
live cell testing system. The SnapPath system, a
pathology-based medical device that processes
clinical biopsies on a real time basis at the
point of care, will serve as a testing platform
for numerous live cell-based tests being
developed or co-developed by the company. -
Clean Currents
provides a one-stop, vertically integrated group
of environmental services to better understand,
control and save on energy consumption in the
most environmentally and cost effective manners.
As a green energy solutions firm, Clean Currents
offers renewable electricity procurement
options, solar and wind installations and both LEED and energy efficiency consulting services. -
PrestoSports hosts college sports
scores, stories, videos, and live stats on both
web sites and mobile phones with 35 million page
views per month. The company’s platform saves
colleges time by instantly sharing sports
information. Fans can follow their team
anywhere, anytime, and colleges save time and
are able to reach a wider audience. The
customers are charged using a licensing and
hosting fee model. Typical contract is signed
for 3 years with equal annual payments of around
$5k.
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I3 Oncology offers oncologists a
novel approach to dramatically improve the
clinical outcome of chemotherapy for treatment
of refractory cancer patients. The company’s
diagnostic test provides oncologists with an
objective rationale for chemotherapy selection
based on the molecular profile of a patient’s
tumor. By determining the active oncogene
pathways in the patient’s tumor, oncologists can
determine which anti-cancer drug(s) will be the
most effective for chemotherapy. -
Loyal Patients: High-margin, recurring revenue ASP drives profits & healthy
patient behaviors with guaranteed
travel/entertainment savings and scales to other
niches. Dentists reward patients with
travel/entertainment savings for healthy
behaviors that drive practice profits. Automatic
thank-you rewards build dentist’s brand and
enhance patient relationships; behavioral
rewards drive more frequent care and increased
patient spending. Dentists pay monthly fees for
full-service program (free to patients). Scales
and replicates in other markets beyond
dentistry.
The next CAN Breakfast will be held on Wednesday,
June 10, 2009.
Professor Henry Sims is asking CAN
members to help him identify participants for a Smith Entrepreneurship
research project. Please
click here
to read more.
CAN Program Sponsors:
 
*About CAN
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MBAfinder.net
MBAfinder.net assists you in
finding high quality and talented individuals to
assist with your short-term business project.
Through this system you can find, contact and
recruit talented students for short- to medium-term
projects.
MBAfinder.net offers unlimited access to both MBA
(graduate) and undergraduate business students at
the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University
of Maryland. You can post your projects and find
assistance for the following areas:
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Presentation Development
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Financial Modeling
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Budget Analysis
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Proposal Development
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Cost Benefit Analysis
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Feasibility Studies
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Market Research
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Industry Research
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Customer Relationship
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Competitive Analysis
The projects usually proposed through
MBAfinder.net are
short- to medium-term in duration, ranging from a
few hours to around 20 hours in total. Compensation
can be per-hour or per-project, depending on your
preferences.
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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
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
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