Three-in-one crab mallet picks up top prize at Salisbury University’s biz competition

Shelby Blondell has done it again. The Sheller, which is a stainless steel tool that is part-crab mallet, part-knife, part-bottle opener invented by the Baltimore entrepreneur, won the $30,000 grand prize at Salisbury University’s semi-annual Ratcliffe Foundation Shore Hatchery entrepreneurship competition.

The April 30 event marked the 16th edition of the Salisbury University entrepreneurship competition. This year, the Perdue School of Business-hosted competition awarded $105,000 in prize money.

The 10-year, $2 million initiative started in 2013 in an effort to reward entrepreneurs for their creation and growth of businesses that will eventually boost employment in the mid-Atlantic region. Every year, businesses apply  in the fall and spring to win a share of the $200,000 awarded annually.

This spring round’s winners also included:

• Maryland Energy and Sensor Technologies (MEST), founded Sherry Xie and Ichiro Takeuchi, is a College Park-based energy application firm specializing in thermoelastic cooling technology. It won $25,000.
• Hummii, LLC, founded by Tyler Phillips, is a D.C.-based producer of plant-based frozen treats. It took home $20,000.
• Chow Corp., an Annapolis nonprofit with a “Kitchen with a Mission” and food truck programs to assist military veterans through cooking therapy and culinary training. Cofounders Jordan Foley and Charles Magovern won $15,000 at the competition.
• Rip Current Sports, LLC, founded by Jose-Luis Gallagher, is a Kensington-based maker of bilateral kickboards that assist with swimming. It won $10,000.
• Side Eye BBQ Sauce,  a Baltimore flavored barbeuce sauce producer founded by Marven Turner and Syerita Turner, won $5,000.

Donte Kirby is a 2020-2022 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.