Dingman Center Open House - September 28

Michael Chasen Speech - October 2

On Tuesday, October 2, Michael Chasen, president and CEO of Blackboard, Inc. shared how he provided the leadership to take Blackboard from a start-up company offering one product to a publicly-held company offering software and services to millions of people around the world. His expertise managing fast growth Internet software companies coupled with a passion to enhance education through technology has been critical to Blackboard's success.

Chasen, together with Blackboard Chairman Matthew Pittinsky, founded the company in 1997. Chasen has served as CEO of Blackboard since January 2001, as president since February 2004 and as a director since founding the company in 1997. Together, Chasen and Pittinsky developed a company that is a leader and pioneer in online education. Because of a strong business plan and complete understanding of the business, Blackboard has a promising future.

Throughout his speech, he offered words of advice to entrepreneurs, including: starting a company is more than full time work; networking is key; don’t build the business infrastructure before the business; know your business; build the product in order to sell more; target potential investors; valuation is an art and science; experience is good but drive and passion are better; have a business model that generates money, and always be one step away from making money.

Before co-founding Blackboard, from May 1996 to June 1997, he was a consultant with KPMG Consulting (now BearingPoint, Inc.) serving colleges and universities. He received a bachelor of science degree from American University and a master of business administration degree from Georgetown University School of Business.

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Entrepreneur Invitational - October 10

The Entrepreneur Invitational took place on Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at Waverly Woods Golf Club in Marriottsville, Maryland.

As the name implies, invitations to the Entrepreneur Invitational were extended to presidents and CEOs of high-growth venture businesses, as well as principals of firms that provide services to entrepreneurs. This exclusive event was the 15th golf tournament to support entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland, benefiting the Lamone Entrepreneur Scholars Program.

An incredible day of golf and corporate hospitality was planned for sponsors and guests, including 18 holes of championship golf, cocktails, dinner and entertainment. Each corporate foursome was paired with a professional golfer in an exciting pro-am format, where each amateur foursome had the unique opportunity to watch and learn from pros.

Participants enjoyed the opportunity to gather at a beautiful golf setting, while creating and enhancing business and social associations with each other. All guests were provided with a memorable golfing and corporate entertainment experience, while benefiting the Lamone Entrepreneur Scholars Program.

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Dingman Day Lunch featuring Scott Nash of My Organic Market - December 7

Not everyone can turn $100 into a chain of four, thriving retail spaces; but Scott Nash of My Organic Market (affectionately known as MOMs) is one of those who can. In an entertaining lunch hour, Nash shared his story, as well as some of his insights into being an entrepreneur.

Twenty years ago Nash was an energetic 22-year-old, running his organic food mail-order/home-delivery business, Organic Food Express, out of his mom’s garage. After two years of toiling away in these cramped quarters, he opened up a retail outlet in Rockville.  Focusing on high-quality organic produce, discounted prices and exceptional customer service, Nash set up the cornerstones for MOMs success. Through the years, these distinguishing factors have remained integral to MOMs’ growth, and they are strongly exemplified in each of his four establishments.

To get to where he stands now, Nash had to put a lot on the line. About every five years, he claims he had to risk everything he had in order to move forward. There were times when he thought he might even have to sell his house to keep afloat. When asked why he kept doing it, Nash replied “It’s like breathing. When you have your own business you just do anything you can for it.” 

It’s this mindset that encapsulates why he is an entrepreneur. For Nash, starting his own business was really the only option he had for a career. Throughout his life, he always got in trouble for “mouthing-off” at work because he felt he could run the business better. So instead of continuing to criticize his bosses, he became his own; and it was one of the best decisions he ever made. “There’s never been a day when I felt like calling in sick,” he says.

The energy Nash has for his business is evident in the strong environmental mission that MOMs has taken on. In their corporate statement, they assert that “restoring the environment is the number one reason for their existence.” While many companies claim this, Nash genuinely lives by it. He believes that “walking the walk” is what sets him apart from other organic markets. Not only do his stores operate on 100 percent wind power, but he also has employees pay attention to the little details, such as checking customers’ tire pressure to make sure they get efficient gas mileage. It’s this dedication to the environment that impresses MOMs’ customers and keeps them coming back.

Due to MOMs’ success, there will always be imitators cropping up trying to steal some of the organic market. However, Nash feels very few will ever be able to accomplish what MOMs has simply because he did it first. By sticking to his principles, Nash has proven himself as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs, and someone the University of Maryland should be very proud to call him an alumni.

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