Terp Startups Demo Products and Services

Date: Thursday, July 30, 2015, 2 p.m.
Location: 2333 Van Munching Hall
Attend the showcase to meet the Terp Startups, learn more about the companies and offer customer feedback. Light snacks will be provided.

Ever wonder how a blend of coffee, tea and chocolate might taste? Or how you’d look in a street-art inspired hat? Try for yourself at the Terp Startup Demo Day, the culmination of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship’s summer incubator program. Seven startups will offer hands-on demonstrations of their products and services on Thursday, July 30 at 2 p.m. in room 2333 in Van Munching Hall. 

The student entrepreneurs each received $5,000 in funding from the Dingman Center, allowing them to forgo a traditional internship and spend the summer focused on growing their businesses. They have been cranking away since June 9 in space provided by the Dingman Center at the Smith School’s Van Munching Hall. 

The startups are the inaugural crop in Terp Startup, the third and final stage of Dingman’s revamped Fearless Founder accelerator, an experiential program that provides students the strategy, frameworks and tools to develop their business ideas using lean startup methodology. The program demystifies the process of creating a business by breaking it into three stages: Idea Shell (testing and tweaking a business idea), Hatch (launching), and Terp Startup (growing a business). 

Terp Startup entrepreneurs spent the eight-week program working on customer acquisition, receiving feedback from mentors and attending workshops. The goal is to have the entrepreneurs walk away having made substantial strides in perfecting their product or service and building their customers and partners. 

The following startups participated in the 2015 Terp Startup program:

Startup: Bethany’s Organics
Founder: Bethany Monaghan `16
Bethany’s Organics is on a mission to make healthy food more convenient, honest, delicious & environmentally friendly. The company uses only the highest quality ingredients, never sacrificing taste. All of our products are non-GMO, organic and vegan friendly! Its first product, Crustless Creations, is a healthy spin on your childhood favorite. Crustless Creations are crustless sandwiches filled with the perfect ratio of nut/seed butters & delicious fruit spread served on whole wheat bread. Bethany has completed the Idea Shell and Hatch Stages of Fearless Founders and competed in the fall 2014 Pitch Dingman Competition.

Startup: Demere
Co-Founders: David Engle `15; Tony Liang `17; and Seean Kim `17
Demere.co is a virtual clothing platform that allows users to upload photos of their garments and within 20 seconds – based on age, gender, weather, and personal style – Demere can predict the best outfit for the user to wear in addition to notifying them of what to purchase online to add to their current wardrobe, as well as while they are shopping in physical stores. Currently, the platform is in a private beta.

Startup: Javazen
Co-Founders: Eric Golman `15, Ryan Schueler `14, Aaron Wallach `14
Javazen promotes health in the coffee industry through the creation and distribution of functional beverages. The startup aims to lead new trends in the beverage industry which can make the world a better place. Javazen products are always organic, always nutritious, and always delicious. The startup began selling their tasty product in the Dingman Center’s Terp Startup Marketplace, and are now selling in dozens of grocery stores and organic markets.

Startup: K. Sultana
Founder: Omar Goheer '16
K. Sultana was founded to relieve the discomfort from hot temperatures experienced by Muslim women who wear the head scarf, called the hijab. K. Sultana’s sales team involves a collaboration with women in Muslimat Al-Nisaa, a homeless shelter based in the Baltimore area focused on serving homeless Muslim women. These women form their initial person-to-person sales force and receive a $7.50 sales commission for each scarf sold.

Startup: Meta Cartel
Founder: Jordan Greenwald `15
Meta Cartel is a progressive streetwear brand that makes limited edition hats. Founded after an inspirational trip to Spain, the brand began designing hats as a medium of expression, and with a purpose of creating a parallel to themes found in street culture. Since then, Meta Cartel has also expanded into custom hip-hop inspired art, and has maintained a strong presence in the emerging arts scene. Last year, Jordan helped re-launch the undergraduate entrepreneurship club called E-Connector. He was also selected to represent the student body at the 2014 Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization Conference.

Startup: Starchild Studios
Founder: Ayana Zaire Cotton `15
Starchild Studios is a co-working concept for DC creatives. The startup’s ultimate goal is to showcase, connect, and empower DC’s creative community. Starchild Studios is currently showcasing local artists through their media outlet, Distrikt Magazine. It will connect creatives through a collaborative studio space opening in 2016. Ayana hopes to empower the creative community through workshops on entrepreneurial insight for artists. Ayana has completed the Idea Shell and Hatch Stage of Fearless Founders, receiving seed funds after completing both of these stages.

Startup: VentureStorm
Co-Founders: Tyler Denk ’16, Taylor Johnson ’16, Tommy Johnson ‘16, Akash Magoon ’18 and Ephraim Rothschild ’17

VentureStorm is an online platform that connects aspiring student entrepreneurs with talented student developers locally on their campus to advance their business from idea to launch. The VentureStorm team is currently building a unique collaborative workspace on their platform to enhance the communication and development process. The team aims to expand their services to more universities by Fall ’15.