(courtesy of marataizes.com.br)

 

As the members of the teams arrived, a blend of confidence and nervousness filled the air. Eight (8) teams were selected out of 29 applicants to share their business ideas with a panel of three judges, John Cammack, Hugh Evans and Vince Talbert, all successful entrepreneurs and members of the angel investment group The Baltimore Angels. Teams were comprised primarily of UMBC undergraduate and graduate students, and each was paired with a business mentor to help them further develop and polish their idea prior to the final competition.

Stakes were high with cash awards of $5,000 for 1^st place, as well as membership to Betamore, a Federal Hill based incubator and educational facility co-founded by Cangialosi.

First place went to Kyran Richardson and Percy Addo for their development of InSource, a web-based space that brings skills together with people. InSource helps students and faculty know what skills students have so finding a partner to work on a project, research, or company is easy and seamless. Richardson said the idea came about when he and his roommate were trying to find students on campus to collaborate on some business ideas they had, but due to a lack of connections they were unable to find the skills they required. Knowing there is an abundance of talent around, they wanted to make the matching process easier in the future. When asked about the experience of participating in the CBIC, Richardson and Addo said they were “humbled by winning first place while competing against some of the most innovative students at UMBC.”

Second place went to Ethan Steininger for his company Compared Care whose mission is to make the healthcare world more transparent. There is a large geographical disparity within the healthcare industry and the same medical procedure will cost significantly more in one area vs another. ComparedCare.com will allow users to upload several variables to help them locate the best alternative. According to Steininger, “The CBIC was the ideal experience I needed to get started in entrepreneurship. It helped to validate my idea of Compared Care and placing second made it seem more legitimate. My mentor, UMBC alumus Andrew Pollack, was a perfect match and I will continue to communicate with him throughout this startup process.”

Third place went to Markus Proctor and his team consisting of Walter Pearson, Kimberly Hodges, and Harjit Singh for their company, EduPal, which is working to revolutionize students’ study habits and improve planning by creating an online tool to help them manage their time more effectively. Markus commented, “Being a part of the CBIC was definitely an exciting and memorable experience. The atmosphere was amazingly positive and I enjoyed networking with some of the brightest entrepreneurs on campus and in the region. Having the opportunity to share my passion with students, faculty, and members of The Baltimore Angels was worth every hour of practice."

Participation in the competition is just the first phase of the business education the winning teams will experience. By far the most important part of the CBIC will be what comes next, the involvement in Betamore programming and events which will provide valuable connections to the Baltimore business community.

Following the event Cangialosi said, “I am so proud of all the students who participated in the competition. It was exciting to see that innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit is running high at UMBC! I look forward to the next competition and taking it to the next level.”

 

As the members of the teams arrived, a blend of confidence and nervousness filled the air. Eight (8) teams were selected out of 29 applicants to share their business ideas with a panel of three judges, John Cammack, Hugh Evans and Vince Talbert, all successful entrepreneurs and members of the angel investment group The Baltimore Angels. Teams were comprised primarily of UMBC undergraduate and graduate students, and each was paired with a business mentor to help them further develop and polish their idea prior to the final competition.

Stakes were high with cash awards of $5,000 for 1^st place, as well as membership to Betamore, a Federal Hill based incubator and educational facility co-founded by Cangialosi.

First place went to Kyran Richardson and Percy Addo for their development of InSource, a web-based space that brings skills together with people. InSource helps students and faculty know what skills students have so finding a partner to work on a project, research, or company is easy and seamless. Richardson said the idea came about when he and his roommate were trying to find students on campus to collaborate on some business ideas they had, but due to a lack of connections they were unable to find the skills they required. Knowing there is an abundance of talent around, they wanted to make the matching process easier in the future. When asked about the experience of participating in the CBIC, Richardson and Addo said they were “humbled by winning first place while competing against some of the most innovative students at UMBC.”

Second place went to Ethan Steininger for his company Compared Care whose mission is to make the healthcare world more transparent. There is a large geographical disparity within the healthcare industry and the same medical procedure will cost significantly more in one area vs another. ComparedCare.com will allow users to upload several variables to help them locate the best alternative. According to Steininger, “The CBIC was the ideal experience I needed to get started in entrepreneurship. It helped to validate my idea of Compared Care and placing second made it seem more legitimate. My mentor, UMBC alumus Andrew Pollack, was a perfect match and I will continue to communicate with him throughout this startup process.”

Third place went to Markus Proctor and his team consisting of Walter Pearson, Kimberly Hodges, and Harjit Singh for their company, EduPal, which is working to revolutionize students’ study habits and improve planning by creating an online tool to help them manage their time more effectively. Markus commented, “Being a part of the CBIC was definitely an exciting and memorable experience. The atmosphere was amazingly positive and I enjoyed networking with some of the brightest entrepreneurs on campus and in the region. Having the opportunity to share my passion with students, faculty, and members of The Baltimore Angels was worth every hour of practice."

Participation in the competition is just the first phase of the business education the winning teams will experience. By far the most important part of the CBIC will be what comes next, the involvement in Betamore programming and events which will provide valuable connections to the Baltimore business community.

Following the event Cangialosi said, “I am so proud of all the students who participated in the competition. It was exciting to see that innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit is running high at UMBC! I look forward to the next competition and taking it to the next level.”

Details:

Title: Programmer Internship

Description:

BreakAway Ltd. has an exciting opportunity for Interns with programming experience. In this position you will work with a team of other talented developers to implement game content. Current projects range from military and corporate simulations to first-person shooter games.

Activities/Responsibilities:

• Work on a professional team of experienced game developers under the supervision of a Senior Game Engineer.
• Gain understanding of game development lifecycle and process.
• Have responsibilities that may include user interface design and implementation, scripting, graphics, programming of scenario/map editors and research.
• Learn to work with Visual Studio.Net, Maya, 3D Max, Unity, and proprietary, in-house tools.
• Be required to adhere to projects coding standards.
• Ensure that their code is clean, easy to use and free of bugs.

Skills:

• Be proficient in C/C++
• Possess strong math background (Linear Algebra or higher preferred)

Education:

Must be currently enrolled in any fully accredited college or university and currently studying towards a Bachelors, Masters or PhD in the United States.

Requirements:

• Demonstrate excellent communication and writing skills
• Have a current GPA of 3.0 or better
• Express a strong desire to learn

Contact:

E-mail resumes along with samples of code to resumes1013a@breakawayltd.com

Summer Artist Internship

Description:

BreakAway Ltd. has an exciting opportunity for Interns with art experience. In this position you will work with a team of other talented developers to implement game content. Current projects range from military and corporate simulations to first-person shooter games.

Activities/Responsibilities:

• Complete basic art tasks assigned by supervisor.
• Participate in art department meetings and events.

Skills:

• 3d and 2d art skills capable of modeling, applying UVs and painting texture maps.
• Basic knowledge of either 3dStudio Max or Maya
• Basic knowledge of Photoshop.

Requirements:

• Must be currently enrolled in an fully accredited college or university studying towards a Bachelors or Masters degree.
• Solid base artistic base, including life drawing, color theory and painting.
• Creativity.
• Ability to work in a team environment.
• Ability to take constructive criticism and direction from others.
• Desire and enthusiasm to develop and improve skills and knowledge.

Portfolio:

Portfolio should include examples traditional work as well as electronic work. (All in a electronic medium) The portfolio should also demonstrate an understanding and use of color. 3d work should include examples realistic as well as stylized. A web format is preferred but will accept CD or DVD disks. Portfolios submissions are not returned.

Submit resumes + portfolios to resumes1013b@breakawayltd.com.