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Managing a community is tough, especially without the typical physicality and tactility of in-person events. Over the past year, we've let in batches that haven't yet experienced the dynamic of a late-night Grind Night, a Shell Retreat, or just kickin' it on a bean bag.
How we got here
Regardless, a dashboard for Shellers, our partners, aspiring shellers, and alumni was needed, pandemic or not. Some of you may know and even had used tin.umd.edu, my vision of an interconnected campus, focused on innovation rather than one-upping. And if you haven't, don't worry, it didn't work out. I pitched it to every organization on campus and every center for innovation, seeking their buy in to use the platform and engage together. Many people liked it, some people loved it, but ultimately the plan was too ambitious and conflicted with more institutional plans for community building.
A few years ago, my.startupshell.org was formed to solved this issue, running on Wordpress. That was my first experience after joining Shell and was easy and welcoming, but the solution required a lot of maintenance and hacky solutions to adopt everything we needed. The dashboard needed to:
A few years ago, my.startupshell.org was formed to solved this issue, running on Wordpress. That was my first experience after joining Shell and was easy and welcoming, but the solution required a lot of maintenance and hacky solutions to adopt everything we needed. The dashboard needed to:
- Be a source of truth for Shellers - Members needed a reliable place to find and be notified of events, announcements, connect with members, etc.
- Allow for a preferred sign in - Although having a @startupshell.org email is great, it was not necessarily convenient, especially after graduation. We saw a lot of requests for flexibility to use a personal email.
- Facilitate conversation - Shell's community is in a lot of places: Facebook, GroupMe, Slack... GroupMe works well for current students and immediate updates, but many people, especially newer batches, just don't have a Facebook (or deleted theirs). It's been around forever and probably won't be going away, but just doesn't offer the same customizability. Slack is awesome for the Directors.
- Searchability - Having a super search bar for everything Startup Shell is super useful, and this platform has it. Find members, events, and resources all in the search bar above.
The Platform
That brings us to this, a consolidated solution focused on Startup Shell rather than connecting the campus. Moving forward, this will be home for:
- Mentorship - If you're an alumni, partner, or want to give back by helping rising doers, click here to sign up as a mentor.
- Events - Events hosted by us and by others around campus will be posted here and on our website. Join the space to get notified.
- Discussions & Opportunities - The Discussions tab is public, so anyone can view and post there. For conversations with just Shellers, we have a secret section 🤫. Share all your opportunities in Opportunities.
- Resources - resources.startupshell.org will be deprecated and redirected here. Some are public, but most are private, for Shellers only. We also built a Startup Guide at UMD for easy access to campus resources
- Member Directory - Replacing a Coda document, find everyone involved with the Startup Shell community. Shellers get their own tags by batch, if they are a founder/fellow, and if they are an alumni. Click on Map to see a map of everyone across the globe. This works dynamically based on your profile, so enter City, State under Location to show yours. (In the works, just squashing some bugs)
Just the beginning
It's just getting started, but I'm sure there are things to improve and add. Questions and comments, just reply below. Let's build this thing together.
Ilana Pelzman-Kern and Terp Designers are leading a workshop on creating beautiful and engaging designs!
Register for Event
Contrary is hosting a DC, Maryland, & Virginia (DMV) Pitch Competition on Saturday, February 27th 2021 from 1 - 3pm ET.
The event will include pitches from student founders and feedback from esteemed judges!
Student founders can apply to pitch to a star list of judges and the winner will win $1,000 to develop their business. Judges include Ron Boger (former VP @ Contrary & tech lead @ Google X), Juliana Neelbauer (Senior Attorney @ Drew Eckl & Farnham), Demi Obayomi (Vice President @ Sapphire Ventures), and Mackenzie Burnett (Cofounder @ The Next 50 & Ambrook).
RSVP to attend or pitch: https://contrarydmvpitch.splashthat.com/
Join us for a talk with Y Combinator partner Aaron Epstein and Zentail Founder Dan Sugarman. https://ycombinator.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtcu6oqzkqH9UF5RQJwsy6wYQgRltOTJ9u
Register for Event
A dynamic increase in the development and use of immersive media tools and technologies is underway, transforming how we work, learn and appreciate the world around us. At the University of Maryland, students, faculty and staff from six colleges and nine departments have come together to showcase their research and scholarship that is fueling new advances in science and health care, producing innovative education and training modules, and inspiring creative and socially-relevant artforms.
Register for Event
📈 Pandemic Investing trends & opportunities
⚒ Building a startup during covid
👋 Clubhouse
Register for Event
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Over the past 15 years, YCombinator has created many videos, podcasts and essays as resources for startup founders. They are now consolidated here in the "YC Startup Library".
Do you have plans for Summer 2021? Apply for the Dingman Center's Terp Startup Accelerator program! You'll spend eight weeks over the summer making substantial progress on your startup venture and you'll also receive up to a $5,000 stipend!
Apply Now! go.umd.edu/TerpStartupAccelerator
Hey everyone! Two exciting opportunties for Shell members…
- Scholarship and Entrepreneurship Scholarship opportunity. The Innovators of Progress grant awards $1000 for tuition expenses and $1000 as seed money for a submitted venture idea. The funding is non-dilutive and there is no company too early so everyone should apply. https://innovatorsofprogress.org/about/how-to-apply/
- Social media marketing opportunity for sports startup. They are providing a platform to virtually match students and instructors for golf lessons. The company (http://www.golfprotech.com/) is offering credits or negotiable commission on sales. The company is well positioned to take-off with coaches looking for new venues in the pandemic so definitely worth checking out. DM if you are interested and I can provide some more info.
Less sugar than a Clif Bar, more fiber than a Kind Bar, and more flavor than both. Snack bars made of dreams. (Trust us, we tried them)
Learn more about Startup Shell company Modbars (Fall 2020 Batch) and the team making it happen
