College Park, MD – April 24, 2009 — Amanda Nachman, 23, won $15,000 from the University of Maryland’s Cupid’s Cup Business Competition her start-up, College Media Group, on Friday April 10.
In this “battle of the entrepreneurs,” Nachman fought against five other young entrepreneurs. Each competitor was given eight minutes to pitch his/her business idea to a panel of judges.
“Amanda gave a great presentation,” said Asher Epstein, Managing Director of the university’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurs explained. “She demonstrated a large and attractive target market that she can penetrate with College Media.”
Amanda has the desire and passion and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur,” Kevin Plank, UnderArmour CEO and Chairman and sponsor of the competition explained. “Her enthusiasm shines through..Her entrepreneurial spirit is refreshing and is what we look for in this competition.”
“We are so proud of Amanda”, said Les Kollegian, owner of Jacob Tyler Creative Group, the creative agency behind thedesign and marketing strategy of College Magazine. He added, “We are proud to be a partner and shareholder of College Media Group. We feel that Amanda has the vision and even at her young age, the competence to make College Media Group a big player amongst other media giants.”
College Media provides college students with a guide and resources for everything college. All College Media products—including its e-newsletters, magazine and interactive website—are created for students, by students. Recent issues have featured stories on college pregnancy, exotic study abroad destinations, and the stars of abcFamily’s college-hit, GREEK.
“College Media is my dream business; I love sharing my story everywhere I go, I love the opportunities it gives to students and I am eager to expand to students world-wide,” Nachman said.
Nachman’s company has expanded rapidly since its inception in September 2007. The print magazine now reaches over 120,000 students at nine D.C./Baltimore area schools and thousands more are reached through the online products including the website, www.collegemagazine.com.
College Media was also awarded $2,500 from the People’s Choice Award, an online poll where people were asked to vote for their favorite company.