"Teaching entrepreneurship gives students the confidence to pitch their ideas, the tools to bring those ideas to market and the inspiration to start over and do it again,” says Elana Fine, managing director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
This sentiment drives the mission of the center, where a dedicated team works to “discover, equip and celebrate entrepreneurs.”
Every Friday, the Dingman Center ]opens its doors to student entrepreneurs determined to launch and develop their business =platforms during an informal pitch session, Pitch Dingman.
Of the many budding entrepreneurs to visit Dingman, just five of the most outstanding are selected for a final round of pitches: the twice-annual Pitch Dingman Competition. On Wednesday, March 4, a crowded Tyser Auditorium was abuzz with anticipation over this semester’s finalists:
417 App Studios
Ghedalia Gold-Pastor
A mobile application, Puzzable, for social gaming that allows users to send pictures and messages in the form of a jigsaw puzzle
Auris Innovators
David Kriesberg and Ethan Reggia
Affordable, comfortable, versatile headphone attachments that can easily be worn during physical activity
Savorfy
Erika Binsley
Delicious, yet nutritious, on-the-go meal bars that include 17 grams of protein each
Tabster
Adi Ayyakad, Nick Bentley, Kanay Patel and Sanil Shah
A mobile restaurant application allowing customers to check-in and pre-order food while waiting for a table
Victus
Brandon Azzi, Elakian Kanakaraj, Avinash Satishm, Karan Singh and Evan Qi
A mobile restaurant application allowing users to request food delivery from people already eating at those locations
In addition to the impressive finalists, this semester’s competition also featured what the Dingman Center called an “all-star” panel of judges:
- Asher Epstein, COO of Access Health Group and former Dingman Center managing director
- Harry Geller, Dingman Entrepreneur in Residence
- Liz Sara, CEO of Best Marketing LLC
- Mark Walsh, founder and CEO of GenuisRocket
- Tien Wong, CEO of Opus8 Inc.
Each of the competitors were given three minutes to pitch their business ideas, followed by two minutes to answer the judges’ questions. Then, the judges convened to choose two winners while the audience texted in their votes.
After significant deliberation, the judges awarded 417 App Studios the first place prize of $2,000 and Savorfy the second place prize of $1,000. Victus won the audience choice award of $500.
Christina Germano, intern, Office of Marketing Communications
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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.