Sometimes, more is just better.
This year, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is doubling down on its popular Pitch Dingman Competition, increasing both the prize money available and the ways in which to win it.
Last year’s Pitch Dingman Competition was originally scheduled for March 2020, which we now all remember well as the precipice of change to life as we knew it. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dingman Center team swiftly shifted the competition to a then unfamiliar virtual format.
Water-Saving Automatic Flushing System Wins Pitch Dingman Competition’s Top Prize
For Charles Grody '20, it was a toilet flush (or two...or three) that led to a lightbulb moment.
Each year, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship hosts the Pitch Dingman Competition — the University of Maryland’s business competition. Hundreds of students, faculty, alumni and VIPs will gather to watch top student entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to an expert panel of judges to compete for a total of $30,000 in seed funding.
On November 22, 2019 in Van Munching Hall’s Tyser Auditorium, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at Maryland Smith hosted the semifinal round of Pitch Dingman Competition, featuring 10 undergraduate, graduate and PhD student-run businesses across University of Maryland, College Park. Each team who advanced to the semifinals was vetted through a quarterfinals round by a judges panel of alumni entrepreneurs and participated in mandatory workshops and advising sessions.
Aurora Tights, makers of performance apparel for dancers and ice skaters of all skin tones, won the $15,000 grand prize at yesterday’s Pitch Dingman Competition, the University of Maryland’s business competition. Hosted by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, the competition awarded $30,000 in seed funding to top student entrepreneurs in a “Shark Tank”-style pitch session. The competition is chaired by UMD Distinguished Alumnus Robert G. Hisaoka ’79, whose generous donation created more opportunities for student entrepreneurs to receive funding, guidance and mentorship.
Student founders of five University of Maryland startups are gearing up to compete in the final round of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship’s top business competition, the Pitch Dingman Competition. The Dingman Center at the Robert H. Smith School of Business hosts the annual event, to be held this year on March 7, 2019, in the Grand Ballroom of Maryland’s Stamp Student Union. More than 500 students, faculty, alumni and VIPs are expected to attend to watch top student entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to an expert panel of judges to compete for a total of $30,000 in seed funding.
On November 15, 2018, 250 attendees filled Frank Auditorium in Van Munching Hall to watch the Pitch Dingman competition semifinals, chaired by Robert G. Hisaoka ’79. The event features undergraduate, graduate and PhD student founders of 10 exemplary startups across the University of Maryland, College Park. Each team who advanced to the semifinals was vetted through a quarterfinals round by a judges panel of alumni entrepreneurs. Through Hisaoka’s generous donation, each semifinalist is named a Hisaoka Entrepreneur, providing them access to funding and mentorship regardless of the results of the competition.
Symbiont Health, maker of innovative technology to detect falls for seniors and nursing home patients, took home the $15,000 grand prize at yesterday’s Pitch Dingman Competition, the University of Maryland’s business competition chaired by businessman and philanthropist Robert G. Hisaoka. The competition awarded nearly $30,000 in seed funding to top student entrepreneurs in a “Shark Tank”-style pitch session, hosted by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business presents the Pitch Dingman Competition Finals on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, in the Grand Ballroom at Stamp Student Union.
