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Contrary

Contrary is a decentralized venture firm that invests in university-affiliated startups.

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Contrary is a network-driven venture fund backed by the founders of Facebook, Tesla, Reddit, and many more great companies. The University of Maryland Contrary team is looking to identify and invest in startups founded by students and faculty. Selected startups across all industries receive up to $500k in investment.

Use Contrary to…

  • Find and invest in startups

    As a venture capital firm, Contrary is focused on backing the brightest individuals and bleeding-edge technologies coming out of universities. During the school year, we invest through 100+ Venture Partners on-the-ground at dozens of universities. Whether you just have the seed of an idea or are looking to raise money, we’d love to meet you.

  • Find entrepreneurship events

    As a way to engage with university entrepreneurs, Contrary hosts several events throughout the academic year. The events range from talks about venture capital to speaker series as well as private dinner events with Contrary.

  • Get business advice for my venture

    Contrary provides free advice and office hours to any students, faculty or alumni of UMD to review pitch decks or term sheets or to give general advice and help. 

  • Launch my venture

    A core part of the Contrary vision from day zero has been it's summer accelerator. Specifically designed to help the dozen most promising teams from across the country, we spend three months building alongside our founders and facilitating access to the world’s best founders and investors.