Smith Business Magazine: Special Silver Jubilee Edition - Magazine - Page 34
CONNECTIONS
Fostering
Fearless
Founders
The Smith School has long
celebrated and cultivated an
entrepreneurial spirit that
thrives in so many of our
students and alumni. In fact,
724 alumni are founders of
their own companies and
ventures. From founders whose
brands have become household
names to entrepreneurs
who got their 昀椀rst big boost
winning the Dingman Center
for Entrepreneurship’s annual
pitch competition, these
innovators are disrupting whole
industries and taking on grand
challenges with real solutions.
1. Kevin Plank ’96 was still
Then he co-created Sensible
Portions, a snack company
best known for creating Veggie
Straws. He has been a strategic
partner to many national
brands, such as SkinnyPop,
Thinsters and From The
Ground Up Snacks.
3. David C. Quattrone, MBA
’05, is co-founder and chief
technology of昀椀cer for Cvent
Inc., a provider of web-based
software for meetings and
events. Since 2015, he and
wife Robyn have worked with
the Dingman Center, helping
fund its annual Pitch Dingman
Competition, where student
entrepreneurs compete for
seed money.
a Terps football player when
he 昀椀rst came up with the
idea for athletic apparel that
could wick away sweat better
than cotton. He grew the
concept into Baltimore-based,
multibillion-dollar Under
Armour. He has also gone on to
launch Sagamore Spirit, a rye
whiskey distillery located on
the Baltimore Waterfront.
MPP ’21, won the $15,000 grand
prize at the 2019 Pitch Dingman
Competition as co-founder of
Aurora, an inclusive apparel
company that makes hosiery
for dancers and ice skaters of
all skin tones and sizes.
2. Jason Cohen ’96 co-
5. Dominic Crapuchettes,
founded Mamma Says Biscotti
and sold it in 2005 after
partnering with Kellogg’s.
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4. Jasmine Snead ’18, MBA/
MBA ’04, also got a boost
from the Dingman Center.
The board game company he
SMITH BUSINESS: SILVER JUBILEE EDITION /
fall 2023
co-founded, North Star Games,
was incubated at the center.
He also won the 昀椀rst Cupid’s
Cup business competition in
2006, sponsored by Plank. After
licensing hit party games Say
Anything and Wits & Wagers
to Mattel, he is now focusing
on board games for hobbyists.
consumer intelligence and
mobile marketing solutions to
help clients understand and
predict consumer behavior.
Previously, he founded Chutney
Technologies, which was
acquired by Cisco Systems.
10. Evan Lutz ’14, co-founded
a T-shirt for her friends to
commemorate the closing of a
popular local bar. Demand for
the shirts spread across social
media, so she began selling
them online. Soon she had built
Route One Apparel, an online
retailer of trendy Maryland
pride apparel and accessories.
Hungry Harvest from his dorm.
The company buys produce
from farms and packing houses
that would otherwise be thrown
away because of imperfections
in appearance or 昀氀uctuating
demand. The food is then boxed
and delivered to subscribers at
discounted prices. For every box
sold, Hungry Harvest helps feed
someone who is food insecure.
7. Anju Bist, MBA ’98, is
11. Roy Schwartz ’98, MBA
working in her native India
as creator and managing
director of nonpro昀椀t Saukhyam
Reusable Pads to distribute
the 昀椀rst reusable, sustainable
menstrual pads made from
the 昀椀ber of banana trees. The
pads are better for the planet
and more hygienic than other
options used by girls and
women in rural areas.
’01, co-founded digital media
company Axios, which delivers
news and analysis, offering a
mix of original and narrated
coverage of media trends, tech,
business and politics. He’s now
CEO of Axios HQ, after a sevenyear stint as president. He and
his partners have twice created
pro昀椀table media empires,
assisting in the expansion of
Politico before founding Axios.
6. Ali von Paris ’12 designed
8. Margo Thomas, MS
’90, founded the Women’s
Economic Imperative in 2018,
creating initiatives to promote
economic opportunities
that empower women and
underrepresented groups
around the world.
9. Anindya Datta, MS ’91,
PhD ’94, is founder, CEO and
chairman of Mobilewalla, a
tech company that provides
Tips for
Terps:
Advice for aspiring
Smith entrepreneurs
rhsmith.umd.edu
GET INVOLVED WITH DINGMAN: rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman
