Pitch Dingman: Past Winners

2008-09 Winners

Pitch Dingman Competition—First Down Mobile, College Park Pawn, and Diditz.com share a three way tie for the first place in the September 2008 Round; First Down Mobile also takes home the Audience Choice Award

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its monthly Pitch Dingman Competition on Friday, September 26, 2008. The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly opportunity open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses. The format allows competitors five minutes to present a business idea to a panel of experts followed by a few minutes of questions and answers.

Judges awarded $833.33 to Dan O’Keefe, a University of Maryland undergraduate student for his business concept, First Down Mobile. First Down Mobile will be the first cell phone-based stadium concession ordering and delivery service. First Down Mobile enables stadium goers to order concessions to be delivered directly to their seats during the game, avoiding the lines and without missing a play. The system will utilize text messages to relay orders to vendors and student runners will deliver the food to the patron at his or her seat. First Down Mobile also won the $250 Audience Choice Award.

Judges also awarded $833.33 to Sohit Karol, a PhD at the University of Maryland, for his business, Diditz.com. Diditz.com is a social networking website that enables users to consolidate various sources of online media (e.g. pictures, blogs, video, etc.) into a single website organized around a single event. Sohit and his partner have already published an online beta version that is currently being used by 1,000 trial users. He is eager to review the results of the trial and fully launch the website in the near future.

Judges also awarded $833.33 to Charlton Kilgore, Joel Cohen, and Chanda Arya, three undergraduates for their business concept, College Park Pawn. College Park Pawn will buy used and unwanted furniture items from students departing the dorms and other temporary living areas in and around the College Park area and re-sell the furniture to returning and incoming students when they need it in the fall. The three partners are excited that the business will not only fill a need in the market, but will also significantly reduce unnecessary waste going to our nation’s landfills.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly event offering cash prizes to exceptional business ideas from University of Maryland community members. The Dingman Center also offers informal Pitch Dingman Working Sessions to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice during non-Competition weeks on Fridays from 11 am to 1 pm. Working Sessions are held at The Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year. For more information or to register as a participant, please email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu. 

2007 – 2008 Winners

Pitch Dingman Competition - Fairwinds Fish Inn Wins the May 2008 Round; mailboxes@SiteSnap, FutureInvestmentBankers.com, and Terrapin Trailer Share Second Place; Cupid At Your Service Wins Audience Choice Award

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its monthly Pitch Dingman Competition on Friday, May 9, 2008.  The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly opportunity open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses.  The format allows competitors five minutes to present a business idea to a panel of experts followed by a few minutes of questions and answers.

Judges awarded $1000 to Nicholas Dawson, a freshman student for his business concept, Fairwinds Fish Inn.  Fairwinds Fish Inn will be the first fee fishing farm in all of Cecil County and the eighth in all of Maryland.  Fairwinds Fish Inn will be a fun, safe and economical environment for a reward fee fishing experience.  Nicholas is eager to get Fairwinds off the ground and plans to start working on his business concept during the summer break.

Judges awarded $500 to Andrew Duch, a sophomore for his business, mailboxes@SiteSnap. mailboxes@SiteSnap is a partnership between Andrew and Mailboxes Etc. and UPS Store franchises to offer website design services in these stores.  SiteSnap is the easy-to-use software that employees of these stores will use to generate websites instantly for customers.

Judges also awarded $500 to Kunal Mahajan, a graduating senior for his business concept, FutureInvestmentBankers.com.  Kunal is a two-time winner of the Audience Choice Award. Third time is a charm.  Through persistence, Kunal, finally won a second place prize for FutureInvestmentBankers.com.  FutureInvestmentBankers.com will serve as a one-stop shop for investment banking interviews.  The website will encompass everything needed to get into the investment banking industry.

Terrapin Trailer was also awarded $500.  Undergraduate students Wes Steschner and Ross Sacks pitched their business idea to open a cheap, late night food concession trailer targeting college students in the College Park nightlife scene.  Wes and Ross are confident that they can serve the needs of Maryland students by leveraging their knowledge of College Park nightlife and their experiences as students.

The $250 Audience Choice Award went to Mitalee Mulpuru for her business idea, Cupid At Your Service (C.A.Y.S.).  C.A.Y.S. is a service that enables couples to plan special occasions saving time, effort and money.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly event offering cash prizes to exceptional business ideas from University of Maryland community members.  The Dingman Center also offers informal Pitch Dingman Working Sessions to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice during non-Competition weeks on Fridays from 11am to 12pm.  Working Sessions are held at The Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year.  For more information or to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu. 

Pitch Dingman Competition - Remedium Technologies Wins the April 2008 Round, as well as Audience Choice Award

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its monthly Pitch Dingman Competition on Friday, April 25, 2008.  The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly opportunity open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses.  The format allows competitors five minutes to present a business idea to a panel of experts followed by a few minutes of questions and answers.

Judges awarded $2500 to Don Wood, a Full-Time MBA student at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, for his business, Remedium Technologies.  Remedium Technologies is a company dedicated to the development of advanced hemostatic and tissue sealant materials.  Based on their proprietary technology, which implements the powerful natural phenomenon of self-assembly, Remedium Technologies offers a unique solution to effectively stop bleeding for an extremely wide range of injury types.  The $250 Audience Choice Award also went to Don Wood.

Don Wood is the first Full-Time MBA to win the Pitch Dingman Competition.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly event offering cash prizes to exceptional business ideas from University of Maryland community members.  The Dingman Center also offers informal Pitch Dingman Working Sessions to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice during non-Competition weeks on Fridays from 11am to 1pm. Working Sessions are held at The Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year.  For more information or to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu. 

Pitch Dingman Competition - ConnectAd and CreateDebate Wins the March 2008 Round and Share $2,500 Prize; FutureInvestmentBankers.com Wins Audience Choice Award

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its monthly Pitch Dingman Competition on Friday, March 28, 2008. The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly opportunity open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses. The format allows competitors five minutes to present a business idea to a panel of experts followed by a few minutes of questions and answer.

Judges awarded $2000 to Paola Nasser, a Part-Time MBA student at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Bryan Orme, Part Time MBA ‘07 and their business partner, Dan Robey, for their business, CreateDebate.com. CreateDebate.com is a structured debate forum and social debate network based on participation and democracy. Users vote up arguments they agree with and vote down those they disagree with. CreateDebate.com was launched out of a Smith School Entrepreneurship class and is now a fully functional revenue generating site in private beta. The team predicts 7 million monthly pageviews and close to $30,000 per month in online ad revenue by the end of the year..

Judges also awarded $500 to Ben Brown and Dustin Chin, both undergraduates at the University of Maryland, for their business, ConnectAd, an advertising agency specializing in niche media like hand stamps, wristbands, and mobile advertising targeting college markets. They have recently secured two clients and six advertisers in the College Park area.

The $250 Audience Choice Award went to Kunal Mahajan for his business idea, FutureInvestmentBankers.com, a website dedicated to helping undergrads and career switchers prepare for the grueling and competitive interview process required by investment banking firms.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly event offering cash prizes to exceptional business ideas from University of Maryland community members. The Dingman Center also offers informal Pitch Dingman Working Sessions to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice during non-Competition weeks on Fridays from 11am to 12pm. Working Sessions are held at The Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year. For more information or to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu.

Pitch Dingman Working Session - CreateDebate.com Wins the
March 21, 2008 Round of the Pitch Dingman Session
Part-Time MBA and alumni work together to win $500 for five-minute business pitch

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its weekly Pitch Dingman Working Session on Friday, March 21, 2008. Pitch Dingman Session is a weekly opportunity open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses. The format allows for an informal five-minute presentation of a business idea followed by a few minutes of questions and feedback.

Paola Nasser, a Part-Time MBA student at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business , Bryan Orme, a Part Time MBA alumni class of ‘07 and their business partner, Dan Robey, won $500 at the weekly Pitch Dingman session with their business idea, CreateDebate.com. CreateDebate.com is a social networking site based on participation and democracy. Users vote up arguments they agree with and vote down those they disagree with.

CreateDebate was launched out of a Smith School Entrepreneurship class and is now a fully functional revenue generating site in private beta. The team predicts by the end of the year, CreateDebate will have an estimated 7 million monthly pageviews and close to $30,000 per month in online ad revenue.

The Pitch Dingman Working Session is held weekly at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year. Pitch Dingman working sessions are held each Friday from 11am to 12 pm to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice once competitors’ businesses are up and running. For more information about the Pitch Dingman Competition, the Pitch Dingman work sessions, and to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu.

Pitch Dingman Competition - Student Sherpas and FeedTheTurtle.com win the February 2008 Round and split the $2,500 prize. FutureInvestmentBankers.com wins the People’s Choice Award

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its Pitch Dingman competition on February 29, 2008. Pitch Dingman is a monthly contest open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses. The format allows for a five-minute presentation of a business idea followed by three minutes of questions and feedback. The contest judges include a combination of Dingman staff, MBA student scholars, and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.

Corey Laplate and Aaron Frank’s business, Student Sherpas, hope to offer a service of convenience to the University of Maryland Community. They provide students with storage and shipping options that offer door-to-door pickup and delivery. Given that many students don’t have vehicles on campus that are large enough to transport their items home or to a storage facility, they are often left in a bind when it comes time to go home for summer break. Corey and Aaron estimate that 8,500 Maryland students go home for the summer. They will reach out to out-of-state students and students living in campus-housing (since most campus housing arrangements only last from September to June), and are optimistic about their prospects and look forward to servicing the College Park Community.

Jimmy Lyons’ business, FeedTheTurtle.com, is an interactive online menu guide completely ran by students. FeedTheTurtle.com is a database of all the menus, food specials, and bar specials in the College Park area. It enables students, faculty, and residents to view all the menus and make their purchase online, which, if requested, can be delivered directly to their door. It also provides a platform for restaurants to perform point-of-sale advertising directly to their target market- users are hungry consumers in the area looking for a place to eat.

Kunal Mahajan’s business, FutureInvestmentBankers.com, will serve as a one-stop shop for investment banking interviews. The site will encompass everything you need to know to get into the industry and succeed in the interview. Some of the key features of the site will be a Networking 101 Discussion, Investment Banking Overview, Financial Statement Analysis, Discounted Cash Flow and Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Mock Interviews with others on the site, Full Accounts of Superdays, and as well as a Message Board. The site will focus on college students across the world as well as high schools. FutureInvestmentBankers.com serves as the answer to helping people land that coveted investment banking job.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is held monthly at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year. Also during the academic year, working sessions (non-competitive sessions) are held each Friday from 11am to 1 pm to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice once competitors’ businesses are up and running. For more information about the Pitch Dingman Competition, the Pitch Dingman work sessions, and to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu.

Pitch Dingman Competition - Maverick Development, A Slice of Paradise and Refrigerator Raiders win the December 2007 Round

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its December $2,500 Pitch Dingman competition on Friday, December 14, 2007. The judges awarded $1,500 to Ben Solof and Steven Grella for their Web site investment firm, Maverick Development. Kevin Kirk won $500 for his business, A Slice of Paradise, which sells accessories at women-oriented sports event. David Wieseneck and Ben Levine won $500 to produce Refrigerator Raiders, a college-themed cooking show. Audience members awarded an additional $250 “people’s choice” award to Solof and Grella for their business pitch.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly contest open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses. The format allows for a five-minute presentation of a business idea followed by three minutes of questions and feedback. Judges for this month’s competition included J. Alan Hayman of Hayman Consulting Group, Dingman Center Entrepreneur in Residence John LaPides, Dingman Center Managing Director Asher Epstein and Dingman Center Director of Venture Investments Melissa Carrier.

Ben Solof and Steven Grella’s company, Maverick Development, builds professional, user-friendly Web sites in specific niches that help users solve their everyday problems. After launch, Maverick specializes in facilitating aggressive search engine optimization campaigns followed by sales of advertising and products related to each site’s content. Grella is senior economics major.

“The Dingman Center has been an invaluable resource for generating unbiased feedback on everything from small business questions to major strategy dilemmas,” said Solof, a senior finance major at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “The center’s events have also helped us develop our growing network of fellow entrepreneurs which include intellectual property attorneys, affiliate marketers, consultants, and venture capitalists, all of whom have been extremely helpful in building our company.”

Since the summer of 2005, Kevin Kirk has sold accessories at women-oriented sporting events with his business, A Slice of Paradise. To date Kirk has sold three product lines, which include handbags, key chains and belts, at dozens of local and regional sports tournaments. With his Pitch Dingman award, Kirk will test his product line at the country’s largest girls’ lacrosse tournament.

“As a freshman, the Dingman Center welcomed me with wide-open arms,” said Kirk, an accounting/finance major. “The constant encouragement and constructive criticism that I received through the weekly Pitch Dingman program, as well as personal conversations with staff and the head of the center itself, Asher Epstein, have proven to be extremely valuable not only to my business, but also my education here at the University of Maryland.”

Seniors David Wieseneck and Ben Levine will use their Pitch Dingman award to produce Refrigerator Raiders, a cooking show hosted by, and directed to, college students. Segments will feature meals made using readily accessible ingredients that can be prepared with a minimal amount of kitchen equipment. Wieseneck is an accounting major.

“The Pitch Dingman opportunity was great because it made us work hard to refine our concept and, ultimately, gave us confidence in our ideas going forward,” said Levine, a communications major.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is held monthly at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year. Also during the academic year, working sessions (non-competitive sessions) are held each Friday from 11am to 12 pm to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice once competitors’ businesses are up and running. For more information about the Pitch Dingman Competition, the Pitch Dingman work sessions, and to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu.

Pitch Dingman Competition - Vapor Fresh, Magnetic Cipher Locks and TerpShots win the November 2007 Round

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its first $2,500 Pitch Dingman competition on Friday, November 30, 2007. A panel of alumni guest judges awarded $1,000 each to Stephen Steinberg for his all natural odor killing spray business and Henry Zhou for his magnet-based home lock system. Sam Balto’s student photography business focused on capturing fan photos at university sporting events won $500 in Friday’s competition and $250 earlier in the semester for class work on the business. Audience members awarded an additional $250 “people’s choice” award to Stephen Steinberg for his business pitch.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is a monthly contest open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses. The format allows for a five-minute presentation of a business idea followed by three minutes of questions and feedback. Judges for this month’s competition included University of Maryland alumni Chad M. Gillenwater, CEO of SPL Integrated Solutions, Mitchell E. Gorochow, a managing director with RSM McGladrey, Inc., and Brian Taff, a Dingman Center board member.

Stephen Steinberg’s product, Vapor Fresh, is an all-natural sanitizing and deodorizing spray for sports equipment. Steinberg will use the Competition proceeds and people’s choice award to test market demand for Vapor Fresh. Beginning first quarter 2008, Steinberg will place his product at select stores. Steinberg is an undeclared sophomore.

Henry Zhou’s product, magnetic cipher locks, will introduce a new type of lock to home security systems. The lock includes a magnet that only opens with a corresponding magnetic key that cannot be duplicated. Zhou is a senior majoring in cell biology and molecular genetics.

Sam Balto’s business, TerpShots, is a student photography company that captures photos of fans during University of Maryland sporting events. TerpShots marketed its work at two games this fall and will use the award to expand and further develop the business. Balto is a senior communications major.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is held monthly at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year. Also during the academic year, working sessions (non-competitive sessions) are held each Friday from 11am to 12 pm to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice once competitors’ businesses are up and running. For more information about the Pitch Dingman Competition, the Pitch Dingman work sessions, and to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu.

Pitch Dingman Competition - Peer Advantage Tutors wins the October 2007 Round

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held the October round of its Pitch Dingman Competition on Friday, October 26, 2007. Pitch Dingman is a monthly contest open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses. The format allows for a five-minute presentation of a business idea followed by three minutes of questions and feedback. The contest judges include a combination of Dingman staff, MBA student scholars, and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.

Ben Kubic, a sophomore at the University of Maryland, won the October 2007 Pitch Dingman Competition with his business idea, Peer Advantage Tutors. Kubic describes his business as an affordable, high-quality “Prince Georges County based peer-to-peer tutoring company that uses high school and college students to tutor their peers in almost any subject taught in local high schools.” Peer Advantage Tutors offers in-home one-on-one tutoring, SAT prep classes, and college applications advising. In order to ensure high-quality tutoring, Kubic requires peer tutors to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better. In addition to the same GPA requirement, SAT tutors must also achieve a least a 2000 on the SAT exam. With over six years of experience as a peer tutor, Kubic believes Peer Advantage Tutors meets the unique tutoring needs of struggling students. With its newest offering, an affordable specially-designed SAT Preparatory course, Kubic expects Peer Advantage Tutors to help Prince Georges County students meet their educational goals and achieve academic success.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is held monthly at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year. Also during the academic year, working sessions (non-competitive sessions) are held each Friday from 11am to 12 pm to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice once competitors’ businesses are up and running. For more information about the Pitch Dingman Competition, the Pitch Dingman work sessions, and to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu.

Pitch Dingman Competition - Wonder Woman Sports and FI Ventures win the September 2007 Round

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business held its first Pitch Dingman competition of Fall 2007 on Friday, September 28, 2007. Pitch Dingman is a monthly contest open to all members of the University of Maryland community – including students, faculty and staff – that is designed to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new businesses. The format allows for a five-minute presentation of a business idea followed by three minutes of questions and feedback. The contest judges include a combination of Dingman staff, MBA student scholars, and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.

Laura Bennett’s business idea, Wonder Woman Sports, aims to provide “fashionable, comfortable, functional and affordable attire for the active woman who works out as just one part of a healthy lifestyle and who wants one fun outfit to wear throughout her busy day.” Clothing articles will feature bold patterns in trim and feminine silhouettes. Bennett will use the proceeds to manufacture and develop prototypes. Bennett is an MBA candidate in the full-time program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Rita Polikov’s business, FI Ventures, seeks to provide consumers with a fun, unique, innovative energy drink unlike any product currently on the market. Polikov’s patent-pending concept and business idea have been under development for some time and she looks forward to using her winnings on promotional efforts and test-marketing. Polikov is a third-year student at the University of Maryland School of Law.

The Pitch Dingman Competition is held monthly at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business during the academic calendar year. Also during the academic year, working sessions (non-competitive sessions) are held each Friday from 11am to 12 pm to assist entrepreneurs in preparing their pitches and to offer feedback and advice once competitors’ businesses are up and running. For more information about the Pitch Dingman Competition, the Pitch Dingman work sessions, and to register as a participant, email PitchDingman@rhsmith.umd.edu.

2006-2007 Winners

2005 – 2006 Winners