Eight Startups Accepted to Dingman Center’s Terp Startup Program

Last year, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship launched the third and final phase of its Fearless Founders startup accelerator program, Terp Startup. Happening every summer, this incubator phase is designed to give students a means to focus exclusively on growing their startup. During the course of the program, the center provides students with a $3,500 stipend and access to mentors who will help them grow their business. The student startups they accept must have either completed the Fearless Founders Hatch phase, or otherwise prove that their business model is cemented and their startup is ripe for growth.

Among the six startups accepted into last year’s program was Javazen, who went on to win this year’s Cupid’s Cup. With a Terp Startup alum making headlines, the competition for this year’s program was fierce. Out of 20 applications, the Dingman Center selected eight new startups for this summer’s Terp Startup program:

CardBuddy – Sam Feldman
CardBuddy features stick-on phone wallets made of high-quality leather, presenting an upscale alternative to the common cheap plastic options.

CourseHunter – Aaron Bloch and Benjamin Khakshoor
CourseHunter aims to revolutionize the registration experience for undergraduate students through a web application that allows users to receive instant open seat notifications sent straight to their devices.

Curu – David Potter, Abb Kapoor and Giorgi Managadze
Curu is a web and mobile app that provides inexperienced credit card holders with centralized tools and knowledge to simplify credit management.

East Habesha – Saron Asfaw
East Habesha is an online cultural store dedicated to providing the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area with East African clothing, spices and accessories.

Nonich – Damar Bess, Henry Blanco and Rodrick Campbell
Nonich is a contemporary menswear clothing brand that blends aesthetics from Japanese street wear, Americana clothing and Western European outerwear, while incorporating details from the designers’ personal life experiences and influences.

POSH – Nathalyn Nunoo, William Kwao, Elania Tait, and Saron Bizuayehu
POSH is a beauty consulting firm that provides a fun and reliable hands-free resource to clients seeking make up services for any occasion.

TapTime TV – Dustin Ecton
TapTime TV is a fully customizable entertainment channel placed in local bars and restaurants that lifts the weight of internal marketing for restaurants while providing an external advertising outlet for local businesses.

Vendoo – Thomas Rivas-Siles
Vendoo is a mobile application dedicated to streamlining the selling process for the online seller. Similar to Hootsuite, the app allows sellers to easily post on different marketplaces while also managing their items and messages all from one place.

For more information about the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, visit: www.rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman.