This past summer, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of business marked 10 years of its Terp Startup Accelerator program. The intense, eight-week program helps student entrepreneurs hone their business plans and build or pivot their ventures, culminating in a final Demo Day pitch and startup showcase.
A mix of undergraduate and graduate University of Maryland students took part in the summer 2024 bootcamp to work on their 14 different startups. Companies included apps, clothing and accessories makers, an AI tool for software engineers, a custom shoulder-rest maker for violinists, a medical device maker, a board game company, and a virtual farmers market.
The entrepreneurs spent the eight weeks learning about building a business – everything from defining their market, to customer to discovery, to honing a marketing strategy – and putting together a pitch about their venture. Participants got a cash stipend of up to $5,000 and worked with mentors and coaches throughout the process. They took part in workshops and had access to other resources, including the potential to receive startup funding during the academic year as a Terp Startup Fellow.
"Our summer cohort displayed incredible diversity and dedication, tackling a wide array of business challenges with creativity and resilience. The pitches presented on Demo Day were both compelling and reflective of the growth each entrepreneur has achieved,” says Michael Hoffmeyer, managing director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. “I look forward to following their journey as they take their businesses to the next level."
The Dingman Center awarded five Demo Day prizes – ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 – to acknowledge ventures that demonstrated exceptional progress and potential in key areas of business development.
The center draws participants for the accelerator from the other startup programming it offers throughout the academic year, as well as its annual Pitch Dingman Competition. Other student entrepreneurs can apply to participate in the selective program.
By the end of the program, the goal is for students to have made substantial progress on developing their product or service; secured or increased customers or partners; and determined the viability of their business plan, based on market indicators and metrics.
Psychology doctoral candidate Xinyi Zhang, PhD ’25, says she made a lot of progress with the multicultural board game, Sea My Culture. She created the game to help kids talk about multicultural issues with each other and prevent bullying in schools. She signed up for the Dingman program to help her figure out how to market and scale it.
“These eight weeks have been tremendously helpful for me to think through that process,” says Zhang. “I’ve learned the basics and that the key is really about networking. A lot of mentors have helped me refine my pitch. Also just being with the other entrepreneurs has been a great experience.”
At the beginning of the summer, she had a prototype of her game that she had tested with more than 700 kids, educators and parents. But she didn’t have a pitch. “By the end, I had a very polished pitch and was honored to receive the Cohort’s Choice Award on Demo Day,” she says.
Zhang is now working with a professional illustrator for her game and looking into manufacturing options.
Information systems major Oluwanifemi Orekoya ’25 applied to the program to help her turn her hobby of making and selling beaded bags and other accessories into a business with potential to scale up.
Orekoya has been rebranding her business, LoveGlam and Aesthetics, and starting to think about scaling up with the things she learned this summer. “I met a lot of people and gained a lot of things,” she says. She moved her website to Shopify and updated her logo, brand colors and other marketing materials. She’s working getting bulk contracts for the materials she uses to make her products.
Her advice for other entrepreneurs thinking about applying to Dingman’s Terp Startup Accelerator next year: “Go for it.”
“They will help you turn your small idea into something big enough to see a future with. You’ll want to follow that vision and do what it takes to get there. Don’t underestimate yourself or your idea – just go for it, and be open to other people’s inputs and advice.”
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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.