The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has launched a startup podcast called Bootstrapped. The podcast features founders, investors and serial entrepreneurs from the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia startup scene. While the podcast covers many aspects of startup life, the heart of the show focuses on funding from both the founder and investor perspectives, thus the name, Bootstrapped.

Michael D. Dingman, benefactor and namesake of the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, was on campus May 5, 2016, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the center and honor and recognize the school’s vibrant community of entrepreneurs.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Economist and former World Bank official Antoine van Agtmael coined the term “emerging markets” 35 years ago, but now says the trend behind the concept is shifting.

On May 5, 2016, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is set to host the second annual “Rudy Awards.” Named for Dingman’s founder and former Smith School Dean Rudolph “Rudy” Lamone, this annual banquet was created to honor the vibrant network of student and alumni entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and many others who contribute to the center’s continued success. 

Last year, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship launched the third and final phase of its Fearless Founders startup accelerator program, Terp Startup. Happening every summer, this incubator phase is designed to give students a means to focus exclusively on growing their startup. During the course of the program, the center provides students with a $3,500 stipend and access to mentors who will help them grow their business.

A coffee startup that emerged through the University of Maryland (UMD) has captured the 2016 Cupid’s Cup Competition. Javazen, which blends coffee with teas and superfoods for “a healthier caffeine boost,” topped five other entries in the 11th annual competition, established by Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank -- in collaboration with his alma mater and founding "university partner," UMD.

The Do Good Challenge is an eight-week challenge created by University of Maryland students to encourage each other to create ventures that have a positive social impact, with $20,000 in prize money on the line to fund the best ideas.

On Thursday, April 7, Cupid’s Cup Entrepreneurship Competition will return to The Clarice for its eleventh year of show-stopping startup exhibition. Six companies have been announced as finalists, selected from hundreds of applications representing nearly 100 universities and colleges. On Feb. 19, Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank ’96, who chairs the competition, hosted the semi-final round at Under Armour’s global headquarters in Baltimore, Md.

“The Social Enterprise Symposium has become the University of Maryland’s premiere event on social enterprise and social entrepreneurship, and we are dedicated to exploring the connection between economic prosperity and lasting social and environmental change,” said Christine Beckman, director of the Center for Social Value Creation at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, as she welcomed attendees to the Eighth Annual Social Enterprise Symposium (SES). The event was held at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union in College Park, Md., on March 4, 2016.

A “superfood coffee blend” developed and sold by University of Maryland graduates is one of six finalists vying for more than $100,000 in total prizes in the 2016 Cupid's Cup Entrepreneurship Competition. Javazen, the name of the startup and product, has been selected from hundreds of applications representing nearly 100 universities and colleges.