STUDENT CLUBS AND SNOW VALLEY
HELP HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORTS

On September 7 and 8 Smith undergraduate students Ori Zohar and Josh Norris used  rented  popcorn and cotton candy machines to sell these unusual snacks in Van Munching Hall to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina relief.  While the equipment was scheduled for use in the Dingman Center Open House on September 8, Norris and Zohar got it a day early to raise funds and to promote the new MUSE club, Maryland Undergraduate Student Entrepreneurs.  With the tragic hurricane fresh on their minds, they asked for donations in exchange for a box of freshly-popped popcorn and spindle of cotton candy.  Within a few hours they had raised close to $250 for hurricane relief efforts.

The first-year students in the Smith MBA Association also collected donations for two weeks, with a hefty goal of $2,007.  The money collected by the MUSE Club was added to the funds collected by the MBAA, enabling the MBA Association to reach their goal within a few weeks.

With one of the greatest and most critical needs of the hurricane victims being clean and safe drinking water, Snow Valley, Inc., under the leadership of CEO John LaPides, stepped up to the plate.  Many area religious organizations collected contributions from their members, and then turned to companies like Snow Valley to assist in providing badly-needed basic supplies to Gulf Coast residents.  Snow Valley, in turn, sold tens of thousands of bottles of water to these area charitable groups "at cost", and then delivered hundreds of pallets of bottled water to tractor trailer sites, where it was transported to victims in Louisiana, Mississippi and other gulf coast states who had been without clean and safe drinking water. 

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2005 - 2006 SNOW VALLEY SCHOLAR NAMED

Through the generosity of Dingman Center Entrepreneur-in-Residence John LaPides, CEO and President of Snow Valley Water, Inc., the Dingman Center has been able to add a 10th Dingman Scholar position this year, along with naming the scholarship to fund the position.  First year Dingman Scholar Joshua Kroo has been named the Snow Valley Scholar for 2005 - 2006. 

Josh Kroo spent the last three years starting and running his company Access Passport. Access Passport is a marketing company based in Montreal that specializes in reaching the student market. He has also spent many summers as the Program Coordinator at Camp Sprout Lake in Upstate New York. Josh received his BA in Computer Science in 2003. Concentrating in Entrepreneurship at Smith, Josh hopes to combine his computer savvy with both his old and new-found entrepreneurial skills to pursue his dream of running his own company. While not running his company, Josh can be found on the hockey rink, squash court or attending as many live music shows as possible.

Snow Valley, Inc. is a regional bottled water company based in Maryland.  In the last three weeks Snow Valley, under LaPides' direction, has worked closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide bottled water to the residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and now Texas, who have been victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita during September.  Snow Valley currently holds the bottled water contract at Maryland and distributes bottled water to more than two hundred offices across campus. 

John LaPides has spent over 20 years at the helm of Snow Valley, Inc., a regional bottled water company based in Maryland. He has been president and CEO since 1988. During that time LaPides has guided the company through twenty straight years of record sales. He has spent 14 years as a director of the International Bottled Water Association, chaired 7 different committees, served as chairman of the International Council (IBWA's international governing body) and as President and Chairman of the association in 1997. He is also president of Quality Bottlers Cooperative, the bottled water industry's largest cooperative buying group, and president of American YardPros, LLC, a Maryland based landscape contractor. For the past four years he has been the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.  He has also served on numerous boards and advisory committees.

LaPides lives in Annapolis with his two children, Jay and Elizabeth. Born in 1959, LaPides was an economics major at Washington College and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization. He is an avid boater, golfer, musician and holds his private airplane pilots license.  In his spare time LaPides is a member of the Blue Fish Band, a 5-member ensemble playing a variety of great music in bars and restaurants in the Annapolis area. 

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FIRST SMITH CHINA BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION IS A BIG SUCCESS
Chinese Entrepreneurs Win US$45K

Three emerging entrepreneurs just moved a step closer to being business titans of tomorrow. Winners of the Robert H. Smith School of Business China Business Plan Competition, a three-part contest in which entrepreneurs presented their business ideas to compete for a total of US$45,000 in prizes, were announced on Friday, September 23, in a final round event held in Beijing, China. After several rounds of presentations and questioning by a panel of international venture capital judges, the following were declared the winners:

US$25,000 grand prize winner – Renjing Tu, ShenZhen QianRenRen Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd.
US$15,000 second prize winner – Lufa Kang, K68.cn
US$5,000 third prize winner – Yajia Lv, Aquascape

The Smith School sponsored the competition in China to help showcase and encourage the development of entrepreneurship and world-class business ideas. Entrepreneurship, globalization and the integration of business and technology are key areas of focus for the Smith School, which offers Executive MBA programs in Beijing and Shanghai.

“Congratulations on a job well done to the winners and all of the participants,” said Asher Epstein, managing director of the Smith School's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.

“The Smith School is committed to sharing its leadership in building entrepreneurship as a vital cornerstone of the global, digital economy and we look forward to continuing the success of this year's competition with the next Smith School China Business Plan Competition in 2006,” said Howard Frank, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

During the final-round competition the 10 finalists delivered 10-minute presentations as well as participated in a final feedback session with judges that included representatives from Mahon China Investment Management Limited, China Equity, Siemens China Investments and Intel Capital. The contest was open to teams of two to four individuals with business plans that supported a China-based business model. In earlier stages of the competition the playing field had been narrowed from approximately 50, to 20 and then the 10 finalists.

“Not only was this an opportunity for the competitors to win the start-up funds needed to get their ideas off the ground, but it was also a chance to have the real-life experience of presenting those ideas to a live VC audience and getting feedback. That might actually be the greatest prize the contest offered and one the finalists will benefit from long after the competition is over,” said Tien Wong, CEO of Opus8 and a judge as well as the keynote speaker at the competition. “I commend the Smith School for creating a vehicle that concurrently showcases and helps nurture Chinese business ideas and talent. It's a wonderful example of the leadership role the school has taken in bringing its experience in building leaders for the digital economy to China.”

The next Robert. H. Smith School of Business China Business Plan Competition will be held in July 2006 with a call for submissions to go out in winter 2005.

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DINGMAN SENIOR FELLOW MARK WALSH
ADDRESSES NEW MBA STUDENTS

During their orientation week, the first year MBA students were fortunate to be able to hear Mark Walsh, a well-known entrepreneur and businessman. Currently the managing director of Ruxton Associates, a firm making many investments in technology companies, Walsh greeted the students on their first day in grad school with the following questions:

What's next? What matters? Why me? and what the hell was I thinking???

A graduate of Harvard's MBA program, Walsh has become a strong supporter of the valuable business education that is taught at the Smith School. He told the students they had made a choice: a choice to take the time, spend the money and made the commitment to better their career path, expand their knowledge base, and explore new horizons.

He asked the new students if they were:

    ►  On a crusade to change the world (you want to eradicate world hunger through better agri-business practices).

    ►  On a mission to start a company (you want to prove your former boss wrong and start a better web-services/software
          company).

    ►  On an assignment to accelerate your career in the company you love (by coming back as a fast-tracked division head
         candidate at a large industrial company).

    ►  On a search to change careers and reinvent yourself (because you're tired of the rat race, and you want to go to a
          non-profit and give back to the community).

Walsh went on to tell the students they would only get what they give, and they have to give to this school to make it a good investment.

He suggested any number of activities, such as:

    ►  Volunteering in the Dingman Center
    ►  Cheering on the Terrapins
    ►  Serving as captain of the case competition
    ►  Working on an academic committee with Deans Frank, Assad or Koerwer, or
    ►  Hanging out in the grad lounge after class, talking sports and politics and business…

Whatever you choose, you have to open yourself up in order to gain assets. The cost will be worth the benefit, and the risk will be worth the reward.

You are here for a reason. Smith wanted YOU, and you wanted SMITH. Make the most of it, and both will prosper.

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UPCOMING DINGMAN CENTER EVENTS IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER

Friday, October 14: 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. -- China Trip Overview
An overview of the Smith School's first China Business Plan Competition will be presented to all those interested on Friday, October 14 at 12:30 p.m. in the Executive Dining Room of Van Munching Hall.  Asher Epstein, Managing Director of the Dingman Center, John LaPides, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Dan Goodman, Technology Commercialization Fellow, and the four Dingman Scholars who traveled to China will present some slides, some video footage and other interesting anecdotes about this great event in the expansion of the Smith School's international reach.  The lunch menu will be -- of course -- Chinese food!  Seating is limited, so all guests must RSVP to Carol Cron, ccron@rhsmith.umd.edu by Thursday, October 13.

Tuesday, October 18:  5:45 - 7:00 p.m. -- Back-2-Basics: Financing Your Business
(to be held at the Shady Grove campus)
Our 2005 - 2006 Back-2-Basics Series kicks off with the topic of "Financing Your Business" with panelists  Mr. Mark Walsh, CEO of Ruxton Associates and Smith Senior Fellow, Mr. Yuval Boger, CEO of Oblicore, and Mr. Pete Howton, CEO of Kingfisher Systems, Inc.  If you are considering starting a business and need advice about financing it, you need to attend this Back-2-Basics Event!  This event is co-sponsored by the Universities at Shady Grove, and will be held in "Building I", room 220, 9640 Gudelsky Drive, in Rockville, Maryland.  While some students in the audience will have to leave to attend class at 7:00 p.m., an opportunity for Q&A's with the panelists will continue past 7:00 p.m.   Light refreshments will be served.  RSVP to Carol Cron, ccron@rhsmith.umd.edu by October 17.

Friday, October 28: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. -- Dingman Day Field Trip to Mack Truck Facility
This new event will be an all-day trip to the Mack Truck Manufacturing Plant in Hagerstown, Maryland, via one of the UM luxury coach buses. The day will include a tour of the plant, a meeting with the senior management, an opportunity for Q&As with the management team, and will end with a fun activity on the return trip to College Park.  There will be a $20.00 per person charge for this event.  The bus will leave Van Munching Hall at 8:00 a.m. and will be back in College Park at 5:00 p.m. For more information or to make a reservation, e-mail Ori Zohar at ozohar@umd.edu.  Participation is limited to 50 students. 

Wednesday, November 9: 5:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.  Speaker Event -- Hugh Panero, President and CEO of XM Satellite Radio -- Ronald Reagan Building, Washington, D.C.
This returning event will feature Mr. Panero, who has served as a member of the Board of Directors and as President and Chief Executive Officer of XM Satellite Radio since June 1998. Mr. Panero has over 16 years experience building and managing entertainment distribution services. Most recently, from 1993 to 1998, Mr. Panero served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Request TV, a national pay-per-view network owned by Liberty Media and Twentieth Century Fox. Prior to his employment with Request TV, Mr. Panero spent ten years with Time Warner Cable where he was part of the team which built the cable systems serving parts of Queens and Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Panero held various positions with Time Warner Cable, including VP, Marketing.  A reception will be held during which time the audience can network with each other, Smith faculty who are present, and Mr. Panero.   RSVP to Carol Cron.

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ANGEL INVESTING
A Private Seminar For Angel Investors
Sponsored by Howard County Economic Development Authority
and
Walker Ventures

October 22, 2005 -- 7:45 a.m. – 5:45 p.m.

Kossiakoff Center
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
11100 Johns Hopkins Road
Laurel, MD 20723-6099

"Angel Investing – An Overview" is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of angel investing for private investors with limited or no angel investment experience. The seminar is offered in a “protected environment”, without solicitations from service providers and entrepreneurs looking for angel financing. In order to provide adequate opportunities for interacting with the experts and other participants, registration will be limited to 25 individuals.

Who Should Attend? (qualifications to be an angel investor)
►  Successful entrepreneurs who have exited their businesses and have interest in staying involved in early stage
      companies.
►  High net-worth individuals with senior business/entrepreneur experience who now have the time and interest in
      investing in early stage companies.
►  Investors who are interested in learning more about the specifics of angel investing.

Cost and Registration
The registration fee for this seminar is $175.00. Registration is limited to 25 participants.   To register, call Amy Tubman at the Center for Business and Technology Development, 410-313-6550. 

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   TechNite 2005 -- October 25, 2005
Co-Sponsored with the Greater Baltimore Technology Council

Readers of the Dingman Center's newsletter can attend TechNite 2005 (http://www.gbtechcouncil.org/technite2005) and receive a discounted rate of $160 (a savings of $15 over the non-member rate).

TechNite has become Greater Baltimore's premiere night out for the business and technology communities. Now in its 16th year, the evening includes a high-powered program, dinner, and intensive networking. With 1,000 attendees, including the one person start-up to the Fortune 500 businesses filling our region, TechNite is the place to be!  It's fun, high energy, and it will make you proud to do business here.

Greater Baltimore Technology Council
in partnership with KPMG, LLP
TechNite 2005
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Baltimore Convention Center
One West Pratt Street
5:15p.m. ~ Reception
7:00p.m. ~ Dinner and Program
8:45 p.m. ~ Tech Café (dessert and coffee)

Register at: http://www.gbtechcouncil.org/technite2005 .  When registering, enter the word promo in the Promotion Code box and click O.K. to receive the reduced pricing.

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HOLIDAY GAME FESTIVAL
Co-Sponsored by Dingman Center and North Star Games

Free Holiday Game Festival for Families & Friends – December 4th

More than $2,000 in Cash Prizes and Door Prizes!

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and Northstar Games are sponsoring a Holiday Game Festival that will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park's Stamp Student Union from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 4. North Star Games is a local start-up business that was incubated at the Dingman Center in 2003. The company is working closely with the YMCA and other local organizations to provide a fun event for families and friends. The Holiday Game Festival will feature local board game inventors, volunteers who will teach and play the best new board games with you, and over $2,000 worth of free prizes! This is your chance to enjoy the day with family and friends, and find unique holiday gift items at the same time.  You can find more information about the event on the North Star Games website at http://www.northstargames.com/about/events/index.page.

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HALF DAY SEMINAR ON BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES
Co-Sponsored by Dingman Center and Grow Fast Grow Right Enterprises, LLC

Friday, December 9 -- 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Grow Fast Grow Right Enterprises, LLC (GFGR) is proud to partner with the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and Snowbird Capital to offer a special half-day version of GFGR's full day and a half event on business growth strategies from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Friday, December 9, 2005.  This half-day seminar has been custom-tailored for earlier stage and rapidly growing smaller companies. The program will cover current market trends and best practices in business growth, while offering the perspective of several local experts in a smaller, interactive environment.

This event will include an opening presentation led by award-winning Robert H. Smith Adjunct Professor, lawyer and co-founder of Grow Fast Grow Right Andrew J. Sherman on the questions facing all emerging growth companies including, “How do you keep your momentum?”, “How do you ensure a sustainable and durable increase in growth and profits?”, and “How do you increase your value and make money for your shareholders and leadership team?” GFGR can show you how. A panel discussion will follow with Mr. Sherman moderating and panel members including Dingman Center Managing Director, Asher Epstein, CEO of Snowbird Capital, Nelson Carbonell and President of New Vantage Partners, John May.

The leadership team at GFGR has seen it all in the selection, development and implementation processes of a given growth strategy. As business growth experts, Grow Fast Grow Right has helped hundreds of companies meet and exceed their strategic, financial and performance goals, delivering advice from the trenches and with the real-world track record to back it up. A GFGR event provides senior executives and other business leaders with the proven insights, tools and strategies that really do help to grow a strong, well-founded company. We hope you will take advantage of this rare opportunity to participate in a world-class executive education program co-sponsored by GFGR, the Dingman Center and Snowbird Capital.

To register for this event  call 1-866-GRO-RITE or register online at www.growfastgrowright.com. 

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CALENDAR OF DINGMAN CENTER EVENTS
FOR 2005 - 2006 ACADEMIC YEAR - FALL SEMESTER

Pitch Dingman Competition
This event is held monthly and is a follow-up to our weekly walk-in Pitch Dingman held on Fridays at 11:00 a.m.  Come to the monthly competition, present your business idea in 5 minutes to a panel of judges from the Dingman Center, and you could win $500!  For information about the weekly Pitch Dingman sessions on Fridays or the monthly Pitch Dingman competitions, e-mail Derek Vlcko at dvlcko@rhsmith.umd.edu.
Friday, October 21, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., 3570 Van Munching Hall
Friday, November 18, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., 3570 Van Munching Hall
Friday, December 9, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., 3570 Van Munching Hall

China Business Plan Competition -- Overview of China Trip (Dingman Day Lunch)
The Dingman Center invites anyone interested in learning about the recent highly successful trip to China to manage the first China Business Plan Competition to join them for lunch on Friday, October 14 at 12:30 p.m. in the Executive Dining Room of Van Munching Hall.  The menu is, of course, Chinese Food!  RSVPs are required to Carol Cron, ccron@rhsmith.umd.edu .

Dingman Day Lunch
These catered luncheons are open to undergraduate and MBA students and members of the entrepreneurial community.  Two successful entrepreneurs will talk about their experiences and answer questions from the audience.  Typically, a Dingman Scholar will talk about their business endeavor, how they got started, their successes, their failures, and where they plan to go.  RSVP to Carol Cron.

Friday, December 2, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m., 3rd floor atrium, Van Munching Hall

The guest speakers will be Dr. Rudy Lamone, Founder of the Dingman Center, Mr. Mark Walsh, Smith Senior Fellow, and Mr. Omarr Tobias, Dingman Scholar talking about his business, Clean City, LLC.

Dingman Day Field Trip
This new event will be offered once each semester, and will be an all-day trip to an interesting manufacturing plant, via one of the UM luxury coach buses. The day will include a tour of the plant, a meeting with the senior management, an opportunity for Q&As with the management team, and will end with a fun activity on the return trip to College Park.  There will be a $20.00 per person charge for this event.  The bus will leave Van Munching Hall at 8:00 a.m. and will be back in College Park at 5:00 p.m. For more information, e-mail Ori Zohar at ozohar@umd.edu.
Friday, October 28, Trip to Mack Truck Facility

Back-2-Basics Panel Discussion
This popular event returns with proposed discussions about family run businesses, marketing your business, financing your business, and exiting your business.  The typical format includes two entrepreneurs who are highly experienced in the given topic, along with two Smith faculty who are experts on the topic.  Light refreshments will be served.  RSVP to Carol Cron.
Tuesday, October 18, 5:45 - 7:00 p.m., University of Maryland's Shady Grove Campus
    "Financing Your Business," with a panel to include:
     Megan Scheffel, Vice President, Silicon Valley Bank
     Pete Howton, CEO, Kingfisher Systems
     Mark Walsh, CEO, Ruxton Associates and Smith Senior Fellow
     Yuval Boger, CEO, Oblicore
Thursday, December 1, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m., 1206, Van Munching Hall, College Park
     "Exiting Your Business," with a panel to include: 
     Lee McGee, Principal, Sterling Partners
     Bill Cole, Partner, Ernst & Young
     Bob Baum, Associate Professor at Smith School of Business

Speaker Event -- Hugh Panero, President and Chief Executive Officer -- Wednesday, November 9
Ronald Reagan Building, Washington, D.C.
This returning event will feature Mr. Panero, who has served as a member of the Board of Directors and as President and Chief Executive Officer of XM Satellite Radio since June 1998. Mr. Panero has over 16 years experience building and managing entertainment distribution services. Most recently, from 1993 to 1998, Mr. Panero served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Request TV, a national pay-per-view network owned by Liberty Media and Twentieth Century Fox. Prior to his employment with Request TV, Mr. Panero spent ten years with Time Warner Cable where he was part of the team which built the cable systems serving parts of Queens and Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Panero held various positions with Time Warner Cable, including VP, Marketing.  A reception will be held during which time the audience can network with each other, Smith faculty who are present, and Mr. Panero.   RSVP to Carol Cron.
Wednesday, November 9, 5:45 - 8:00 p.m., Ronald Reagan Building, Washington, D.C.

Holiday Game Festival -- Stamp Student Union
The Dingman Center and Northstar Games will co-sponsor a Holiday Game Festival at the Stamp Student Union on December 4 from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.  This is a great place to do some holiday shopping, try out some new games, and win some cash and prizes!  Read more about this event below, and watch for our upcoming newsletters to have even more details. 
Sunday, December 4, 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m., Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park

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EVENT SUMMARIES

DINGMAN CENTER OPEN HOUSE (September 8, 2005)

The Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship kicked off its Fall calendar with their annual Open House on Thursday, September 8. The event was attended by more than 200 people, comprised of graduate and undergraduate students, faculty members, guests from the entrepreneurial community, and Dingman Center staff. The attendees mingled while enjoying FIFTY pizzas and sodas, compliments of the Dingman Center. Various Dingman Center businesses and services were on display, such as “SHOP DC”- the magazine launched by former scholar Zoey Rawlins, Hook & Ladder Brewing Company launched by former scholar Matt Fleischer, Crooked Monkey, a t-shirt company that designs t-shirts with slogans popular for the college crowd, and CAN - the Capital Access Network currently run by scholar Susannah Campbell.

Undergraduate Dingman Center representatives Ori Zohar and Josh Norris sold fun foods to raise money for hurricane victims and to promote their new UG student club, MUSE -- Maryland Undergraduate Student Entrepreneurs. Asher Epstein, Managing Director of the Dingman Center gave an overview presentation to the attendees, covering all the entrepreneurial resources available through the Dingman Center. He started by providing an overview of the vision, introducing all the staff members and communicating the dates for key events scheduled during the fall semester. He emphasized the international relationships being pursued by the Center, and the Center's involvement in the China Business Plan Competition.

Asher talked about the Center's close relationship with the Smith Entrepreneurship clubs (at the MBA level and now at the UG level as well) and the student-run businesses. The Dingman Center helped incubate as many as 11 student-run businesses in the last academic year. The Dingman Center has invested as much as $10,000 in some of these businesses and continues to support them with its Mentor and Capital Access Networks. Asher invited the student community to take advantage of the center's innovative “Pitch Dingman” program. Students can pitch their ideas every Friday between 11 a.m. and 12 noon at the Dingman Center. Asher highlighted the $500 award given out to participants at the “Pitch Dingman Competition”, held monthly on the third Friday of the month. This program has already entertained over 90 pitches from students, faculty and staff.

Next, Asher went through the “Dingman Process”, a structured process that takes an entrepreneur through four stages: Ideation, Assessment, Implementation, Iteration. The “nuts and bolts” of Dingman Center's operations, this insightful yet simple process helps in identifying a business idea, testing it for viability, launching it as a business, and verifying the constant need to change as the business flourishes. To conclude the program, Asher announced the launch of a new service “MBAFinder.net”, a unique service that will allow interactive communication between MBA students and third parties interested in hiring them while they are in school for short-term projects.

WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEUR EVENT (September 28, 2005)
"Entrepreneurs Battling Stereotypes"

Do we look like CEOs? Do we lack negotiating skills? Can we juggle career and family? Do we help one another? On September 28, these were the questions that were dispelled when three successful local women entrepreneurs came to speak at the Smith School of Business in a joint event sponsored by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and the Smith Association of Women MBAs in a program entitled “Entrepreneurs Battling Stereotypes.”

Speakers included Zoey Rawlins, a 2005 Smith graduate and former Dingman Scholar who successfully started ShopDC (http://www.shopdcmagazine.com), with the vision of creating definitive retail shopping guides, with specific, guided itineraries for upscale shopping in Washington, D.C. Mary Moslander, a former Vice President at the Washington Post, is the president and founder of an online subscription business, LiveHealthier to help individuals maintain their health goals by leveraging social connections. Mary's online company will be up in mid-November. Kathy Korman Frey, is the managing director and founder of Vision Forward, a consulting firm that has partnered with the Hot Mommas Project; she is also an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the George Washington University and a Harvard Business Case author.

Moderated by Zoey Rawlins, Mary and Kathy spoke of their experiences with battling stereotypes in building relationships and networking when first starting their businesses. Highlighting their battles with being their own cheerleader at times when there was no corporate affirmation of their small triumphs, all three cited their passion to pursue their endeavors as the goal for which they consistently put in long hours and made sacrifices.

All three women entrepreneurs also touched on the financial aspect of funding their own business. Zoey, through the help of the Dingman Center, was able to receive seed money. Through advertisements, she has recouped her investment in this upcoming second issue of ShopDC. Mary and Kathy both were self-financed, but did so in interesting ways. Kathy shared office space with her entrepreneurial husband as it was more cost-effective. She also used consultants on contracts, and paid them as her clients paid her. Mary used a variety of resources, including tapping into one of the State of Maryland's incubator centers to set up her business with office space that allowed her to gain new clients.

For many in the audience, both students and aspiring entrepreneurs, Mary offered resources that were helpful to her in starting LiveHealthier. These included a group called Ladies who Launch (www.ladieswholaunch.com), the Maryland Technology Development Center and the help available through the resources at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.

The insightful thoughts and comments from these women will help aspiring entrepreneurs to channel their passions into actionable business plans and transform their small businesses or business ideas into viable, money-making companies.

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MBAFinder.net
A new online service launched by the Dingman Center

A new service to match MBA students with area businesses looking for some good part-time and/or short-term consulting by MBA students was launched this month by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.  MBAFinder.net is a marketplace for temporary service to help small businesses and entrepreneurs find high quality graduate business school students to work on short term projects.

Any Smith MBA student who is looking for some short term, part-time work, whether for money or just for the experience, should check out MBAFinder.net to see what kinds of skills are currently being sought.

Please provide any feedback about this new online service to Asher Epstein, at aepstein@rhsmith.umd.edu .

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THE DINGMAN CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Founded by Rudy Lamone in 1986, the Dingman Center was one of the first of its kind in the country and has emerged as a top-ranked entrepreneurship center. Thanks to initial funding with a generous grant from Michael D. Dingman, founder of the Signal Corporation (now part of Honeywell International), the Dingman Center continues to grow as a regional and national catalyst in the field of entrepreneurship. The Center is now aggressively evolving, and in some areas, is expanding its services to further its role as a leader in the student, regional, and academic entrepreneurial communities.

The Dingman Center is currently led by:
Asher Epstein, Managing Director
Dr. Charles Heller, Chairman of the Board and Director Emeritus
Dr. Scott Koerwer, Associate Dean, Executive Education, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing, Communications

Please visit our website at http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman .

This newsletter is powered by and co-sponsored by Mailer-Mailer, at http://www.mailermailer.com/

Previous 2005 Issues of Dingman Center Newsletters:
September, 2005
July, 2005
June, 2005
May, 2005
April, 2005
March, 2005
February, 2005
January, 2005

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