Finalists Named for University of Maryland Cupid’s Cup Business Competition Five Businesses to Face Off in April 1 Final Event

College Park, Md. – February 14, 2011 – The University of Maryland’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced the five finalists for this year’s Cupid’s Cup business competition. The sixth annual competition will be held April 1 at the university’s Adele H. Stamp Student Union and is sponsored and judged by alumnus Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of sports apparel maker Under Armour.

Each year Plank, a 1996 Smith School graduate, judges, speaks at and donates the prize money for the Cupid’s Cup event, where the finalists will compete for $25,000 in cash funding. The competition is named for one of Plank’s own early entrepreneurial ventures, a Valentine’s Day rose sale business called Cupid’s Valentine, which earned him more than $20,000 during his four years at the University of Maryland and helped provide the genesis for Under Armour.

The 2011 Cupid’s Cup finalists:

• 1 Cut Above – Combines a for-profit barbershop, with a non-profit, social cause that invests in the local community
• 207 Lobster – Wholesale distributor of fresh Maine lobster to restaurants and wholesalers in Washington-Baltimore region, Philadelphia and New Jersey
• High Life Entertainment – Event marketing and promotional firm based in Washington, D.C. geared to the college set
• MyFridgeRental – Provides full-service dorm-sized refrigerator rentals to on-campus students
• REDEX – Consultant firm with relationships to help clients reduce their companies’ operating expenses on everything from telecommunications bills to health care costs to office supplies

The five finalists will pitch their businesses to Plank and a panel of judges. Applicants must be University System of Maryland current students or recent alumni operating young companies (no older than five years) that have generated at least $5,000 in revenue or won funding through a University of Maryland-sponsored business competition.

Cupid’s Cup has grown every year and highlights the Dingman Center’s 25-year commitment to provide University of Maryland students with practical experiences and opportunities to pitch their business ideas, obtain feedback from experienced entrepreneurs-in-residence and access funding.

The free, public competition final event kicks off with the BB&T Business Invitational, a showcase of University of Maryland and Washington-Baltimore region start-ups, economic development organizations, and campus entrepreneurship organizations. More information and event registration is available at www.cupidscup.com. 

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 Capital Access Network (CAN), 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 and provides MBA and undergraduate students at the Smith School with practical experiences and opportunities to pitch their business ideas, obtain feedback from experienced entrepreneurs-in-residence and access funding.