Mtech Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2005

Test2do, ARTKIA Take First Place in University of Maryland $35,000 New Venture Challenge

Student-led start-up companies (event photos) Test2do and ARTKIA each won $12,500 by winning the 2005 New Venture Challenge, the University of Maryland’s $35,000 business plan competition, held on May 6.

Test2do took first place in the graduate student category, while ARTKIA captured the top slot among undergraduate students.

During the competition, six teams of finalists presented their ideas for new companies to a panel of five distinguished judges from the regional technology venture community.

Graduate winner Test2do is developing front-to-end, automated tools for testing software. The tools are designed to make software more reliable, and to reduce the costs of testing and fixing faulty programs. U.S. corporations spend $60 billion per year to repair software defects, according to the company. Test2do’s tests have shown its tools yield a three-fold gain in effectiveness, and a two-fold gain in efficiency, over current tools in the market

Test2do’s team includes Ph.D. student Avik Sinha and Associate Professor Carol Smidts, both from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as well as Jean LaFonta, manager of administrative service for the Centre for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling.

Undergraduate winner ARTKIA is developing a complete PDA-based solution for restaurant management. The company’s integrated components will include interfaces for waiting tables, kitchen order processing, in-store hosting, and management. Additional interfaces may include online reservation and ordering, food delivery, bar and employee management, video conferencing, and multi-store collaboration.

Team members for ARTKIA include electrical engineering majors Armin Kiany, Payam Golriz, and Ramtin Kiany, business major Josh Norris, and Mohsen Attarpour.

SecureGo took second place and a $5,000 prize in the graduate student category. SecureGo is developing a Universal Serial Bus (USB)-based device that provides secure online shopping and online banking capabilities.

Avere was the second-place winner in the undergraduate category, and was also awarded $5,000. Avereis developing a software system to help consumers live healthier lives by offering them detailed information about their food purchases.

The New Venture Challenge is designed to promote new venture ideas and build successful businesses, as well as to provide education and networking opportunities for students.  The prize money offered by the Challenge enables young companies to start businesses with the promise of boosting economic growth in the region.

The competition was open campus-wide to University of Maryland undergraduate and graduate students. A team was eligible as long as one team member, who was a current University of Maryland student, held an executive and equity position in the company.

The judges of the competition were Jonathan Aberman, of counsel for Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Govsky and Popeo, PC; Henry Ahn, program manager of technology funding programs for the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO); Warren Citrin, co-founder of Solipsys and recent founder of Gloto Corporation; Christopher Foster, deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development; and Richard Harris, managing director of SpaceVest.

Sponsors of the competition included TEDCO, Mintz Levin, and the University of Maryland Division of Research.

The Venture Challenge is managed by the university’s Hinman Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities (CEOs) Program, a living-learning, undergraduate entrepreneurship initiative in the A. James Clark School of Engineering’s Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute.

For more information, visit: www.bpc.umd.edu/2005.

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