Startups

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

Here's a look the spring 2021 winners of the $105K Shore Hatchery competition, which brings together entrepreneurs from around D.C. and Maryland.

Shore Hatchery's spring 2021 competition. (Courtesy photo)

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.
Companies: Salisbury University

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