Entrepreneurial Spirit / April 21, 2015

Capital One Awards MVP Grants to Fearless Founders Idea Shell Cohort

Nine student companies from the Spring 2015 Idea Shell Cohort have each been awarded $500 grants from Capital One. Idea Shell is the first stage of Fearless Founders, an experiential program that provides student teams the strategy, frameworks and tools necessary to develop their business ideas using lean startup methodology. In Idea Shell, students who have an initial business idea are equipped with the tools needed to decide if the idea is worth pursuing. While taking the not-for-credit course, students interact with potential customers, while they identify and build a minimum viable product (MVP).

The Dingman Center’s partnership with Capital One provides MVP grants that allow the program’s most dedicated entrepreneurs to use what they have learned in the class to build upon their minimum viable products. In order to be considered for the competitive grants, students had to meet all class requirements, effectively present how the business evolved throughout the semester and show a compelling use of the funds. Congratulations to the following students who each won $500 grants from Capital One:

Michael Addis - DigiMind

Josh Deese – Beatster

Dylan Kapoor & Danny Schofield - Shower Shack

Justin Keckler & Chris Euerle - Trip Track

Fei Mancho - Fancy Muffin

Brittany McCoy - Dynasty by Brittany

Aaron Pludwinski & Derien Scott - Kanvasroom

Faraz Qamar - Book Recommendation Engine

Andrew Zweifach Erie – SyllabusDaily

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About the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
The Dingman Center is one of the nation’s pre-eminent institutions where the research, education and practice of entrepreneurship are pursued vigorously. We develop and execute curricular and non-curricular programs that uniquely leverage Smith School thought leadership, experiential learning and our network of practitioners to provide maximum resources to startup businesses. Every initiative is designed to support the Center’s mission to build a community, operating from the Smith School that discovers, equips, connects and celebrates entrepreneurs. In 2014, the Dingman Center received the prestigious NASDAQ Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship.

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About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

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