By Michael Murphy

University of Maryland student entrepreneurs earned over $170,000 Wednesday competing in the 11th annual Pitch Dingman Competition.

The Pitch Dingman Competition places contestants into four tracks based on their ventures and whether they are UMD students or alumni. The Robert H. Smith School of Business hosts the competition every year through the Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship. 

The competition is open to all students and alumni with small businesses, and consisted of two elimination rounds before the finals, which took place at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. The finals had three contestants in each track.

The two tracks available for students are the Main Street track, which consists of students with any small business, and the David and Robyn Quattrone Tech Track, in which students with scalable software, tech or tech-enabled ventures are eligible. 

The competition has a similar setup for alumni, with the Alumni Main Street Track and Alumni Tech Track.

Marina Merchant-Dest, a senior marketing major and founder of The Finiti won second place in the Main Street track, which secured $8,000 for her business. Merchant-Dest began The Finiti in 2020, which sells sustainably made women’s tops that she says are designed to last for years. 

Merchant-Dest said she was tired of buying shirts made from cheap materials, which gave her the idea for The Finiti. She said her reason for joining the competition was to get over her worries of being on stage, and to challenge herself by doing something she was scared of.

Although she shared she was disappointed not winning the competition, Merchant-Dest said she still gained a lot from competing. 

“You just get to experience so many emotions, and pushing yourself and growing really quickly,” she said.

A panel of company founders, investors and entrepreneurs judged the Pitch Dingman Competition.

Malcolm Tyson, a venture growth advisor, was a judge for both alumni tracks. He spoke about the value of the competition and getting feedback on startup ventures. 

“You can’t build your idea in a vacuum,” he said when talking about creating a venture. 

Eric Thiel, a senior lecturer in the English department, attended the Pitch Dingman Competition, an event he said he has participated in for the past six years.

Thiel spoke about the importance of learning by doing, and said the competition has immense value for students. Thiel said the competition gives students a real life education in finance, innovation, marketing, and other skills.

“I wish we had this when I was in college,” Thiel said. 

Thiel explained that he started a social venture in his senior year of college.

“I took $1,000 that my dad gave me to graduate, and I spent it on my venture,” he said.

Merchant-Dest advised students who are considering joining the Pitch Dingman Competition to “just do it.” 

Merchant-Dest expressed her uncertainty about reaching the finals, admitting she was somewhat unsure if she would qualify. However, she opted to believe in herself and take a risk, which she encourages other student entrepreneurs to do as well.

Merchant-Dest said that she hopes to continue working on The Finiti after graduation.

 “I didn’t expect that to be the case if I’m honest,” she said. 

After her experience with the Pitch Dingman Competition Merchant-Dest realized that being an entrepreneur is a possibility for her.

The Pitch Dingman Competition has distributed over $1 million in seed funding to UMD entrepreneurs since its founding.

Featured Image: The Main Street track finalists, including Marina Merchant-Dest, founder of The Finiti. Photo by Michael Murphy.