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.

Reselling sneakers is big business for Maryland Smith marketing student Gautam Malik, ’22. Since January, the 20-year-old entrepreneur has brought in half a million dollars in sneaker sales, according to a recent article in Business Insider. He’s running his own resale business and an exclusive sneaker advisory group that charges members $45 a month for admission. "I was meant to sell something," Malik tells Business Insider.

It’s not every Maryland Smith alum who can blow away the judges of America’s Got Talent, earning a spot in the live shows. That’s a very tough crowd. But for mentalist Max Major, ’05, leaving people speechless is just another day at the office.

When their lack of credit prevented them from living off-campus, University of Maryland students David Potter and Abb Kapoor made it their mission to prevent other young students from sharing the same fate. Fast forward just a few years later, Potter and Kapoor launched Curu, a website and mobile application that assesses users’ spending habits and offers step-by-step guidance to help them optimize their credit score.

With DingmanTV, Student Entrepreneurs Follow in the Steps of Billy Mays, Shamwow Guy Cut off from customers, unable to access production facilities or seek out goods and materials for their budding businesses because of the pandemic lockdown, some Terp undergraduate entrepreneurs are turning to that ultimate time-killer: infomercials.

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce that it has accepted 12 University of Maryland student and young alumni startups into its Terp Startup summer accelerator program. Launched in 2015 with just six startups in its first cohort, Terp Startup has grown to accommodate increased demand from student founders. The startups selected represent a range of sectors including drone delivery, esports, snack bars, physician wellness, fashion and beauty.

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. “We’ve all experienced using a public restroom when all of a sudden the toilet flushes automatically without us being finished yet,” Grody said. “I wondered how much water went to waste because of it.”

In the most recent Hisaoka Speaker Series, Robert G. Hisaoka, ’79 Maryland alum, interviewed three fellow Terps who have successfully founded their own businesses.

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.

Student Startups Offer Goods and Services, Hone Entrepreneurial Skills at Terp Marketplace If the college campus is the embodiment of democracy’s marketplace of ideas, Terp Marketplace might be the smaller-scale equivalent for University of Maryland entrepreneurialism.