Investor Network at University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business Renamed Dingman Center Angels

College Park, Md. – September 8, 2011 – The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has renamed the Capital Access Network, its prominent angel investor network, to the Dingman Center Angels.  The group is one of the most active in the Washington-Baltimore region and continues to fuel startups, in the past year alone increasing membership by more than 30 percent and investing in six seed stage companies.

Dingman Center Angels is a group of accredited investors – both individuals and institutional investors – who have experience managing or building successful companies and are interested in helping to grow regional startups.

“Supporting startups is critical to growing our economy,” said Elana Fine, director of venture investments at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. “Dingman Center Angels not only connects entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas with investors, but also offers advice and a network that early stage companies really need to grow and thrive.”

The group meets monthly at the university’s College Park campus to hear pitches from startups seeking funding from $150,000 to $1 million. Dingman Center staff closely mentor entrepreneurs to help fine-tune their business models leading up to their pitches to investors. The Dingman Center also offers entrepreneurs follow-on support and consulting services. Many of the startups come to the center from regional tech councils, incubators and state-funded institutions.

About the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
The Dingman Center has been a hub of campus and regional entrepreneurial activity for 25 years. Among the Dingman Center’s resources are its Dingman Center Angels, a pipeline that connects startups from regional tech councils, incubators and state-funded institutions with a network of more than 40 active, accredited angel investors and venture capitalists for early-stage capital. The center also helps lead the University of Maryland’s Technology Transfer programs, manages global entrepreneurship programs in China and Israel, and provides MBA and undergraduate students at the university with practical experiences and opportunities to pitch their business ideas, obtain feedback from experienced entrepreneurs-in-residence and access funding. More information is available at www.rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman.