Thirteen student-run companies in the Spring 2015 Hatch Cohort of the Fearless Founders program have been awarded a total of $11,000 in funding to continue working on their businesses this summer.
The funds include one MVP (minimum viable product) grant from Capital One, four $1,000 summer scholarships from the Dingman Center; a $1,000 prize for best overall pitch; and seven $500 grants from Venture Well. During the spring semester, students continued customer development while iterating on their unique problem/solution fit. The three-credit course culminated in investor-ready pitches to the Dingman Center staff, advisors and a representative from Capital One in order to determine the funding recipients.
Congratulations to the following student entrepreneurs who earned funding for their businesses:
$2,500 Capital One MVP Grant
Venture Storm – Tommy Johnson, Taylor Johnson and Ephraim Rothschild
$1,000 Dingman Summer Scholarship
V.R. Madras - Vish Tatagari
Nonich - Damar Bess
Tabster - Sanil Shah
DMV Followers - Anthony Valle
$1,000 Best Overall Pitch
Crab Shell Cases - Bryce Peterson and Adam Vinner
$500 Venture Well Grant for technology, prototyping, web site development
K. Sultana - Omar Goheer
Travrse - Mike Mandl
Meta Cartel - Jordan Greenwald
Bethany's Organics - Bethany Monaghan
Starchild Studios - Ayanna Cotton
417 App Studios - Ghedalia Gold-Pastor
Kanga Trash & Energy Systems - Cody Branchaw
The three-credit Hatch course will be offered again in the Spring 2016 semester. Students interested in taking Hatch must first complete the Idea Shell stage this fall. To receive more information about joining the Fall 2015 Cohort of Idea Shell, enter your information HERE.
* * *
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.
Media Contact
Greg Muraski
Media Relations Manager
301-405-5283
301-892-0973 Mobile
gmuraski@umd.edu
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.