Past Events - Fall 2006

Event summaries -- Fall 2006

1. Dingman Canter Travels to China for the China Business Plan Competition -- September 9 - 14
2. Dingman Center Open House -- September 22
3. Dr. Charles O. Heller Honorary Roast -- September 26
4. Women's Entrepreneurship Event and Networking Reception -- September 28
5. Dingman Day Field Trip to the Taxi Industry -- October 18
6. Dingman Day Lunch featuring Hands On Toys -- October 27
7. Dingman Day Lunch featuring Freewebs.com -- December 1

Video Recaps

Dingman Day Lunch Featuring Freewebs.com

What to Expect from the Robert H. Smith School of Business

Entrepreneurship in a Flat World

Women's Entrepreneurship Event and Networking Reception

Cupid's Cup Business Competition

20th Anniversary Event

Tech Visionary Series - Alternative Energy

Tech Visionary Series - Web 2.0

Biopharma Conference - information for those interested in Biotech Investing

Key Note Presentation by Carly Fiorina

Dingman Doing Business Seminar

MBA Venture Capital Seminar

Michael Dingman - 1997 Speech

Phil Samper Lecture - Mr. Samper speaking about his personal experience

Dingman Center Travels to China for the China Business Plan Competition - September 9 - 14

The Dingman Center delegation  met with China Business Plan Competition sponsor, DLA Piper Rudnick. At DLA the Center was introduced to Mark Williams and Rocky Lee both head of the private equity and venture capital segment at DLA. These gentlemen discussed the venture capital environment in China. They informed the delegation that DLA had closed, in that week alone, 10 venture capital deals—an un- precedented number for the firm. Rocky Lee projected venture capital investment in China to double in the coming year.

The Dingman Center also got the privilege to visit ZhongGuanCun Industrial Park, one of the largest business incubators in China. The delegation met with many Chinese entrepreneurs, including a internet protocol television company and architecture firm, to learn about their companies and see their incubation space.

Chris Ryan, CEO of ING Investment Management Asia Pacific, met with the delegation and spoke on ING's business growth in China. Mr. Ryan reported that ING has grown at a rate of 25% per annum for the past seven years and that the Chinese saving rate is at 50%, up from 35% just last year. Ryan informed the delegation that health care services are a large part of investment and that China has an enormous consumer market.

The trip concluded with the 2nd Annual China Business Plan Competition in which teams with the best presentation and business idea were awarded a total of $50,000. The Dingman Center looks forward to next year's competition and the opportunity to meet with more successful entrepreneurs.

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Dingman Center Open House - September 22

The Dingman Center hosted its first open house of the year September 22, 2006, welcoming those interested to learn more about the center and the resources it has to offer. Students, staff, Dingman Scholars and members of the Maryland Undergraduate Society of Entrepreneurs mingled over refreshments and discussed business ideas as well as upcoming events at the center.

Shania Lin, a junior marketing and logistics major, attended the open house because she plans to start her own small business. “I think the Dingman Center is a great resource for students and I'm looking to get more involved in it this semester,” Lin said. Entrepreneurs in residence were also on hand to help further introduce students to the center and assist with development of business ideas as well as Asher Epstein, Managing Director, who addressed the crowd and emphasized that, at the Dingman Center, “students get access to a great amount of knowledge with a group of people who want to share it.”

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Dr. Charles O. Heller Honorary Roast - September 26

From left to right: Founder, Rudy Lamone, Charles Heller, and Asher Epsteing

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship celebrated the contributions of long time friend, mentor and former director Dr. Charles O. Heller on September 26, 2006 with a roast in his honor. Friends and family gathered for refreshments, memories, and fun. Friends, employees, and former students all took the podium to roast Charlie for his many accomplishments and endearing qualities.

Professor emeritus, founder of the Dingman Center, and former dean, Rudy Lamone, reflected, “I may have planted the seeds for the Dingman Center, but Charlie Heller made the flowers bloom. Charlie brought to the Center an extraordinary form of leadership and mission. His vision and passion have had a contagious quality for all of us who have worked with Charlie these past 20 years.” The Smith School wishes Charlie all the best in his future endeavors.

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Women's Entrepreneurship Event and Networking Reception - September 28

By Lisa Rassenti BA 2007

On September 28, 2006, the Smith School's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship welcomed some of the region's most successful female entrepreneurs as well as aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners to the Women's Entrepreneurship Event, co-sponsored by the Smith Association of Women MBAs. Speakers included business owners Amy Nichols, Gina Schaefer Penny Pompei and author Julie Lenzer Kirk — all who discussed the do's and don'ts of starting your own business.

From left to right: Gina Schaefer, Julie Lenzer Kirk, Amy Nichols, Penny Pompei and Melissa Carrier

Keynote speaker Julie Lenzer Kirk, entrepreneur and author of “Secrets of a Mompreneur: What Raising Children Teaches You About Running a Business,” due out fall 2007, spoke about how a “yes” from clients, advisors and others isn't always a good thing. She compared these yeses to bobbleheads and warned that nodding heads aren't helpful and every entrepreneur should surround themselves with people who “tell you what you need to hear,” even if it's not what you want to hear.

Amy Nichols, founder of Happy Tails Dog Spa™, recommended effective growth strategies and advised that, simply, “to grow, you have to start.” She also discussed the benefits of franchising and how it's helped her company grow from one location to an expected 100 by 2008.

Gina Schaefer, a member of the Ace Hardware Cooperative, owns three Ace Hardware stores in Washington, D.C., and has become an expert on how to use other people's money to finance a business and help it grow. She advised that “you have to have money to make money. Most people may be able to start a business, but that doesn't mean they can start a cash flow.” Schaefer advised that women need not be afraid of the financial aspect of a business. “Even if you have to go to seven different banks, do it. You never know what's going to happen,” she said.

Penny Pompei, a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, has founded three very different companies and advised the audience that “becoming an entrepreneur is a terminal decision.” She emphasized the need for an exit plan when starting a business because it ensures goal committal and optimism, even in a downward business cycle. Her main point, however, was that “in order to be a successful entrepreneur, especially as a woman, you have to have passion.”

The speakers were followed by an audience Q&A and networking reception where questions ranged from how to pick a second-in-command to suggestions for helpful books.

Click here to watch the event!

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Dingman Day Field Trip to the Taxi Industry - October 18

On October 18^th, a select group of Smith School students joined Managing Director Asher Epstein on an educational field trip to the leading taxi cab company in the Washington, D.C. area, District Cab Company. There students met with President of the company, Jerry Schaeffer, and got to see an entrepreneur at work.

President and Owner, Jerry Schaeffer, informed students that his father drove taxis for a living all his life. He and his brothers took their knowledge and experience and built an entire industry around the taxi cab business. Today,

Mr. Schaeffer owns several hundred taxi cabs that he rents or sells to drivers, a body shop where drivers take their cars for repairs and an insurance company that insures all the taxis in the area. The business has continued to grow for over 35 years.

Students learned a great deal about the taxi service market and are now working on evaluating opportunities for chauffeured car services in and around campus.

For more information about the next Dingman Day Field Trip or to suggest possible excursions contact Andrea Galati.

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Dingman Day Lunch featuring Hands On Toys - October 27

At the Dingman Day Lunch on October 27, Andy Farrar, CEO and founder of HandsOnToys, Inc. spoke about entrepreneurship and his experiences in the toy market. He shared his company's history, their struggle and what it took to get his company to the next level. His passion and spirit for playfulness captivated the crowd.

In 1993, Farrar teamed up with Arthur Gansor and Rustam T. Booz and developed the idea of a toy company that would bring innovative and imaginative products to the toy market. Gansor, a kinetic sculptor, came up with the idea for a toy he called Toobers & Zots — a construction toy set which would include long foam tubes with wires inside and foam shapes that connect to the tubes so children could build their own structures. With the help of Farrar and Booz, the idea came to life. The team soon realized they had designed a toy like no other on the market and quit their jobs to focus on the product and budding company.

Farrar and his partners got $50,000 from family and friends which was mainly spent on marketing materials for Toobers & Zots. They also took their idea on the road. After attending a New York gift show, Farrar and his partners realized the best way to get people interested would be to send out samples. In doing so, they acquired big-time investor Randy Burton, former CEO of Parker Brothers and, subsequently, $2 million in investments. Later, the team took Toobers & Zots to the New York City Toy Fair and gave away a piece of the toy to everyone who approached their booth. That year, they left the fair with an order for 50,000 units, spent their raised capital to make a proper factory, and won the Toy of the Year award. But things went downhill quickly.

Customers began to realize that the wires inside the foam tubes didn't stay put and production began to slow. After only 18 months on the market, sales were up $10 million, but in 1997 they plummeted to $2 million. Farrar and his partners were forced to cut back any where they could. To help alleviate some of their problems, the team invented a new pet toy — Wiggly Giggly. It helped to make HandsOnToys, Inc. profitable again, but in 2000, when one dog ate the toy and died, Farrar and his team were forced to pull it from the market.

Their next invention was Floam, a craft instead of a toy, something the team believed could profit with TV advertising. With the help of Nickelodeon they sold 1.5 million in one month and realized that partnering with larger companies was the key to success. They have now been in the toy business for 12 years and, as of Sept. 30, 2006, are almost completely debt free even though they are “always looking for ways to finance.”

HandsOnToys, Inc. has only five employees and, according to Farrar, is structured so that if sales happen to drop again they can still remain profitable. They have a passion for innovation, design, marketing and a strong entrepreneurship spirit. “We're about building brands. We try to introduce a new brand each year,” Farrar said.

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Dingman Day Lunch featuring Freewebs.com - December 1

According to Freewebs CEO and UMD Alumni Haroon Mokhtarzada, “as an entrepreneur, you control your own destiny,” and, for Mokhtarzada, it appears to be shaping in to a very successful one.

At the Dingman Day Lunch on December 1, Mokhtarzada spoke about the entrepreneurial spirit and his experience building and fostering Freewebs, the Internet company he started with his brothers back in 2001. During his senior year here at Maryland, Mokhtarzada and his brothers predicted that, considering the rise in personal e-mail address, self-created Web sites surely weren't far behind and they set out to create a site building service easy enough for their mother to use.

At the time, dot coms everywhere were crashing and the brothers Mokhtarzada were able to get cheap equipment and space online but, because advertisers were skeptical of investing in the slowing market, Mokhtarzada and his brothers had to charge users a small premium for the service. The company grew slowly while Mokhtarzada attended law school, but upon getting his degree and turning down a job at a prestigious D.C. firm, he decided to devote his energy and attention to Freewebs.

As advertisers began returning to the Internet market in 2005 and demand started to rise, the brothers decided to concentrate on raising money. They scoured the area for venture capitalists interested in their company and, in August 2006, ultimately partnered with Novak Biddle Venture Partners and Columbia Capital—an $11 million deal!

“Having investors has put more pace into the company because suddenly there are more people looking for  big changes and a big return on their investment,” Haroon said. He describes the pace as “rapid expansion”—a shift that has transformed the company from having about nine employees, $2,000 and only a few hundred members to having 35 employees, an advertising office in New York City, two high-profile investors and over 12 million members.

Despite their rising success, Freewebs remains focused on their original mission: to provide people with an easy way to create their own high-quality Web site…for free. “We are just trying to help people market whatever they want, whether it's marketing pictures to their family or marketing themselves for a job,” Haroon says. However focused an optimistic he may be, Harron remains humble. “I wouldn't say that we are an incredible success, but I hope we can become an incredible success.”

Click Here to watch the event!

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