Recent CS Alumni Win Business Plan Competition

The Cupid's Cup contest provides Maryland start-up companies with a mechanism to compete for funding.

The company that captured the imaginations of Plank and the other judges was Social Growth Technologies. Co-founder Paul Capriolo, a 2006 University of Maryland alumnus, is on his third start-up with Social Growth. He's generating sales and striking deals with major Facebook application developers. His company helps Facebook developers generate revenue from the virtual currency they may use in online games. On Facebook, there's over 1 billion users of virtual currency applications," Capriolo said.

For his six-minute pitch that captivated the judges, Capriolo's company won $15,000. Plank was impressed that Capriolo included Under Armour as a sample company that could benefit from Social Growth's technology

"He did a great job of positioning us as a potential client," Plank said. An article on this competition can be found at:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-05-07/business/bs-bz-umd-biz-competition-20100507_1_plank-start-ups-alma-mater/2