Dingman Venture Capital Group
From campus
to capital
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Why we exist
The other half
Maryland has one of the strongest entrepreneurial ecosystems in the country. The founders of Google, Oculus, Under Armour, CAVA, and many more hail from UMD, backed by real infrastructure to help them grow.
But surprisingly enough, what has never existed is the matching half: a way for undergraduates to sit on the investor’s side of the table — to read a market, interview a founder, write an investment memo, or put real capital and support behind a promising venture.
Dingman Venture Capital Group was founded to change that.
What we do
Where we come in
DVCG operates as Maryland’s only student-run venture fund, an official program of the Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship.
We run a non-dilutive fund where our members source companies, sit down with founders, conduct diligence, and make the final investment recommendation. We also work inside several Maryland funds to garner live exposure to deals and learn directly from the professionals who know exactly what to look for in a promising venture.
Our work helps support real founders.
- Impact fund
- $140K
- Deployed
- $50K
- To place
- $90K
Education
Foundational & applied
Two MBA professors lead our educational program, teaching everything from the basics to its practical implementation.
The first phase teaches you everything you need to know about venture: how to read a market, how a fund actually works, what makes a company defensible, how to support founders, and how to write the investment memo that follows.
The second phase shows you how to put that textbook knowledge into practice. In a scout-like role for a fund manager, you’ll source companies, interview founders, and bring your findings back to class — where your work can ultimately lead to real investments.
The two teams
Both sides of it
Impact
Runs the group’s own $140,000 fund. Source the company, meet with the founder, run the diligence, make the investment call, and then be ready to help them grow.
Venture
Works inside Maryland funds and angel groups. Garner exposure to live deals, dilutive capital, and the inner workings of a real fund.
Events
Start by showing up
Alongside our analyst program, we run events that are open to everyone: fireside chats with investors, case competitions, and workshops to help grow both student founders and investors.
We have worked with Collide Capital to make these possible and have more on the horizon. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
Our sponsors
Interested? Apply now.
Maryland was always going to keep producing top-tier founders — we’re sure of that. Our mission is to not only back the exceptional people building here, but to build the next generation of prominent early-stage investors alongside them. And hopefully, we’ll see you alongside us on that journey.