Dingman Center Celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business “discovers, equips, connects and celebrates entrepreneurs” through events and opportunities such as Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), which took place the week of Nov. 17, 2014.

“We have had an event every day this week,” Danielle Bennings, events and marketing coordinator for the Dingman Center, said. “We’ve been working with different campus partners, academic offices and student groups to really celebrate the innovators and entrepreneurs at the University of Maryland.”

GEW began with Global Experience by Design, a workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Dingman partnered with the Entrepreneurship Connector club and the Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship to host a design thinking challenge. Students from a variety of majors and backgrounds joined forces at the workshop, where they were tasked with developing a program that would make studying abroad feasible for any student.

Jordan Greenwald, a UMD senior and president of the Entrepreneurship Connector club, explained, “This event is important because not everyone is business savvy. Not everybody knows the starting blocks for building a company or venture. This five-step process extrapolates that business mentality to anyone. If you’re an English major, you could come to an event like this and walk away knowing how to start a business.”

Terp Marketplace, another GEW event, took place on Thursday, Nov. 20. Student entrepreneurs showcased their business ventures and sold their products in the Smith School’s atrium.

Smith senior Fei Mancho proudly displayed handmade items from her clothing line, Fancy Muffin. Using recycled clothing and materials, Fei tie-dyes and decorates jeans, sweatshirts and other articles of clothing.

“I definitely want my business to grow,” she said. “I see myself supplying other big stores that have re-worked and vintage clothing lines, such as Urban Outfitters.”

Also promoting his business at Terp Marketplace was former Cupid’s Cup winner Eric VanWagner ’11, who co-owns MyFridgeRental.com with his twin brother Adam VanWagner ’11. The company provides dorm-sized refrigerators with free service to students in the D.C. and Baltimore area.

VanWagner’s is working to secure MyFridgeRental.com as the university’s official source for fridge rentals. He explained, “We’ve been working with the Sustainability Committee of Maryland because one of the benefits of our products is that they’re all energy efficient, and we want the university to realize tha.”

Global Entrepreneurship Week culminated with the Pitch Dingman Competition.

The competition opened with inspiring addresses by Elana Fine, Dingman’s managing director, Rudolph Lamone, Dingman’s founder, and Jay Sunny Bajaj, a Smith alumnus who founded Bethesda-based mobile technology business DMI.

Bajaj’s uplifting and humorous speech encouraged students to pursue their dreams: “Keep that passion going. Keep fighting hard to be the best at what you do because success in life isn’t determined by money. It’s determined by respect and knowing that you laid it all out on the field and you were the best at what you did. So always keep fighting to be the best.”

The Pitch Dingman Competition gave five student entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business ideas before a panel of Dingman judges in an effort to receive funding. This year’s competition featured the following student entrepreneurs:

1. Bethany Monaghan, Bethany’s Organics: health-conscious versions of on-the-go snacks, such as crustless peanut butter and jelly, dubbed “crustless creations.”
2. Sam Feldman, Yolk’d: single-serving portions of protein powder drinks in disposable bottles. He calls it “protein powder with integrity.”
3. Omar Goheer, K. Sultana: women’s headscarves that function well in hot weather and promote women’s entrepreneurship through a social enterprise business model.
4. Cody Branchaw, Kanga Trash & Energy Systems: trash bags designed to hang on the back of stadium seats to eliminate unpleasant waste at sporting events.
5. Shawn Greenspan, Sono-Assist Monitor: a tool that can help health professionals monitor the signs of cardiac arrest more efficiently.

After each entrepreneur pitched their ideas and answered questions from the judges, Dingman Center staff presented the winners with checks.

Sono-Assist Monitor won the first place prize of $2,000. Kanga Trash & Energy Systems placed second, winning $1,000. K. Sultana was awarded $250 as the third place winner. Sono-Assist Monitor also was awarded the audience choice award of $500.

Christina Germano, intern, Office of Marketing Communications