If you want help meeting a big new fitness goal, Manikanta Sirumalla may have the app for you. Manikanta came to UMBC from India as a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in data science. Since arriving, he’s tapped into the wealth of support for aspiring Retriever entrepreneurs. Several UMBC-affiliated programs and people helped Manikanta as he developed and launched his AI-powered fitness and nutrition app, RepTrack Pro. He tells us what it took to be a student and a solo founder of a brand new venture. Take it away, Manikanta!
Q: Tell us about yourself.
A: I’m Manikanta, an M.S. in data science student at UMBC. I’m also the solo founder of RepTrack Pro, an AI-powered fitness and nutrition iOS app that’s live on the App Store. I’m currently building it out through UMBC’s Launchpad accelerator, and most of my energy these days goes into turning it into a real venture. Three years of iOS development before grad school got me here, but the founder path is what I’m all in on now.
Q: Who are some of the people at UMBC who have most supported you?
A: Masoud Soroush, the director of my graduate program at UMBC, has been a steady source of support throughout my time here. Balancing a demanding course load with building RepTrack Pro full-time hasn’t been easy, and Dr. Soroush has been understanding and encouraging of the path I’m on. Having a program leader who recognizes the value of building something real alongside academic work, and who supports rather than discourages that, has made a meaningful difference in how I’ve been able to pursue both.
Since joining UMBC, the support I’ve found has also gone far beyond the classroom. My growth as a founder has been shaped most by the mentors around me. Chris White, the entrepreneur-in-residence at bwtech [UMBC’s Research and Technology Park], has pushed me to think like a founder rather than just an engineer. Mike Adelstein [’96, biochemistry and molecular biology], with his background in fitness tech, has brought perspective directly relevant to what I’m building with RepTrack Pro.
Beyond individual mentors, the broader community has backed my work in tangible ways. Winning UMBC’s Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition gave RepTrack Pro real funding and validation, and the Launchpad accelerator has given me the structure and accountability a solo founder rarely has access to. What makes the difference isn’t just the resources—it’s that people here take my work seriously and invest in it.
Q: Tell us more about the Launchpad accelerator program.
A: The Launchpad accelerator is the part of my UMBC experience I value most. It’s given me structure and accountability I wouldn’t have on my own—a real framework for validating my business rather than just building features. Working through the business modeling tool Lean Canvas has forced me to question assumptions and to focus on the problems my customers actually have.
What stands out most about the program is the access to experienced mentors and a community that takes early-stage founders seriously. Being a student and a founder at the same time can feel isolating, and Launchpad has been the place where that work gets recognized, challenged, and supported. It’s turned a side project into something I’m pursuing as a genuine venture.
Q: What brought you to UMBC in the first place?
A: I came to UMBC because I wanted to deepen my technical foundation and grow beyond where three years of iOS development had taken me. I’d been building software for others, and I was ready to build something of my own with the data science skills to back it. UMBC’s program offered the rigor I was looking for, but what I didn’t expect was the entrepreneurial support that came with it. What started as a path to a stronger career has turned into the launch point for my own venture.
Q: What would you tell other international students interested in entrepreneurship?
A: As an international student, coming to UMBC meant building a life and a career far from home, often while navigating things such as visas, paperwork, and a new system that domestic students don’t have to think about. What made the difference for me was finding a community that didn’t treat that as a limitation. Through the Launchpad accelerator and the bwtech ecosystem, I’ve been able to build my own venture and be taken seriously as a founder despite being new to the country.
To others in my shoes: Don’t assume the entrepreneurial and professional opportunities here are out of reach because you’re international. UMBC has the people and programs to support you if you’re willing to seek them out. Being an international student shaped my path here, but it never closed doors. If anything, the support I found opened them.
Manikanta Sirumalla at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (left), with Apple CEO Tim Cook (center) and at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California (right).
Q: What are your plans for after graduation?
A: After I graduate this December, my plan is to take RepTrack Pro full-time. What started as a project at UMBC has become a real venture, and post-graduation is when I commit to it completely growing the user base, launching the Pro tier, and building it into a sustainable business. UMBC’s entrepreneurship ecosystem gave me the foundation to make that leap, and my goal is to turn the momentum I’ve built here into a company that lasts.
Q: How has UMBC helped you get ready for life after graduation?
A: UMBC prepared me for life after graduation in a way I didn’t expect when I enrolled. I came for the technical foundation, but what I’m leaving with is the start of a real company. By the time I graduate, I won’t be starting from zero, I’ll be continuing something UMBC helped me build. That’s the best preparation I could have asked for.
Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?
A: The support here is real and hands-on, not just a brochure promise. As a solo founder, I expected to figure most things out alone. Instead I found mentors who take my work seriously, a competition that backed RepTrack Pro with real funding, and an accelerator that gave me structure and people to lean on. UMBC didn’t just let me build something on the side, it invested in it. That kind of support turns an individual effort into something bigger than what you could do on your own.
* * * * *
UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.
