Disease Diagnostic Group Wins 9th Cupid’s Cup
Disease Diagnostic Group, which makes inexpensive handheld devices that can diagnose malaria in one minute, was named the winner of the 2014 Cupid’s Cup Business Competition. The 9th annual completion, chaired by Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank, was on April 4 at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus, and hosted by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Unlike most Cupid Cup Finals, this year had a last-minute twist involved: Disease Diagnostic Group’s founder accepted Plank’s offer of an additional $25,000 in exchange for equity to be held by Plank’s Cupid Foundation, bringing the company’s grand prize winnings to $100,000.
Plank, a graduate of the University of Maryland, started the competition with the Dingman Center to foster interest in student entrepreneurship. The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate-level students at accredited U.S. colleges and universities, and recent graduates of these institutions.
The $20,000 second place prize was awarded to Compology (co-founded by a University of Maryland alumnus), a company that makes a sensor and software system that tracks dumpster volume and reroutes waste pickup to increase haulers’ margins by 50 percent. Another University of Maryland student-run company, Wheel Shields, placed third ($5,000 prize) with a longboard skateboard accessory that improves safety, blocks mud and enables skaters to perform more advanced tricks.
