Zombie Run Organizer Wins 7^th Annual Cupid’s Cup Business Competition
An adventure race that has zombies chasing participants to the finish line might not be everyone’s idea of a good time. But the business certainly has legs -- race organizers Reed Street Productions took home $17,500 as the top winner at the seventh annual Cupid’s Cup business competition.
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Cupid’s Cup is a unique collegiate competition for student and alumni entrepreneurs who went beyond writing a business plan and currently own and operate their own businesses. Five finalists will pitch their businesses to Kevin Plank and a panel of judges for a chance at $25,000 in prize money. The audience will select the $2,500 People’s Choice Prize. Cupid’s Cup began in 2006, thanks to the generous support of one of UMD’s most successful entrepreneurs, Kevin Plank ’96, founder and CEO of Under Armour.

Origin of the Cup

The competition got its name from one of Plank’s early entrepreneurial ventures, a Valentine’s Day rose sale business called Cupid’s Valentine he started while an undergraduate at the University of Maryland. That small business earned him more than $20,000 during his four years at the university and helped fund his ultimate entrepreneurial venture, Baltimore-based athletic apparel company Under Armour.

Plank has been a longtime supporter of the Smith School and the Dingman Center, donating $75,000 in fall 2007 to help create an endowment fund that the center uses to invest in viable startup businesses.