2011/12 Business Plan Competition

Past Winners

2010
1st Place – DragonFly Instruments – University of British Columbia
2nd Place – Aegis – University of British Columbia
3rd Place – Aeos Biomedical – University of British Columbia

2009
1st Place – VSM Technologies – Carleton University

VSM Technologies is based on the co‐founders’ award winning Ph.D. work, and offers two types of products. The first is a novel wireless vital signs monitoring IC which improve patients’ safety by continuously monitoring their physiological statistics. In an emergency situation, it can communicate the data to medical staff through Bluetooth and WiFi enabled personal communication devices like cell phones and PDAs. It is a miniaturized, low cost device which can measure blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature continuously and simultaneously. The design is revolutionary as its wireless circuits employ on‐chip antennas which reduce the overall size of the module immensely. The second product is a ground-breaking 3D package for wireless circuits which reduces their power consumption drastically. This design has received international acclaim and media attention. Visit site.

2nd Place – EasyPlug – University of British Columbia

EasyPlug is based out of UBC and was formed in the New Venture Design program, combining some of the school’s best engineering and commerce students with the objective of forming a company. Their product, the EasyPlug, is a magnetic adapter for electrical plugs and sockets that mitigates the tripping hazard presented by power cords. EasyPlug solves two problems: the person hitting the cord no longer trips and falls, and the attached device is not pulled to the ground. There is currently no product on the market which offers the portability and harm reduction features found in EasyPlug. Their goal is to have an EasyPlug in a home near you in the next 5 years. Visit site.

3rd Place – Carve – Simon Fraser University

Founded in September 2008, Carve is a new venture dedicated to developing high-quality, innovative products that will make winter sports more enjoyable for all users. Home to the 2010 Winter Olympics, Carve is ideally located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in the heart of a large winter sports market with numerous ski and snowboard resorts nearby. Their proprietary product, the Carve Strap, is elegantly designed to address four “pains” that average snowboarders encounter. Not only does it allow users to carry heavy snowboards more comfortably, it also prevents theft through its built-in lock, reduces strain on a snowboarder’s front leg when on a chair lift, and helps beginners disembark without falling. Composed of both business and engineering students. Carve is taking their passion and transforming it into a business.

2008
1st Place – VerifyRx – University of New Brunswick

VerifyRx Inc. is a New Brunswick-based eHealth company designing and developing risk-based, predictive technologies targeting prescription drug abuse. An estimated 100 million prescriptions for drugs like Oxycontin, Adderall, and Valium are at risk for abuse every year. VerifyRx, through predictive technology, quickly verifies a prescription by determining the probability that a prescription may be at risk for abuse, making prevention and early intervention a reality.

2nd Place – Daily Splice – University of Victoria

DailySplice modernizes the concept of radio by creating customized radio-style programs that are delivered daily to computers in an iPod or mobile phone ready format. The company helps to quickly find personalized content from a library of thousands of podcasts and enables the user to build a program template, or “Splice”, that can be listened to on demand as a part of a personal routine. “DailySplice: just what you want to hear.” Visit site. Click here for an article coverage.

3rd Place – TechTouch, Schulich School of Business, York University

TechTouch is a privately owned innovative Canadian company that concentrates on launching new health care products by employing cutting edge technology, such as infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure blood glucose concentration. The company’s mission is to break down the lifestyle barriers for diabetic patients, enabling them to lead normal and healthy lives. By developing key medical instruments such as Diabitix, TechTouch is providing a brighter future in the medical industry with its first Comprehensive Diabetes Management system.

PwC Innovation Award – LDCA Innovations – Ecole de Technologie Superieure

2007
1st Place – Divisio Technologies

Divisio Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2006 by Ashley Blackman, Reagan J. Davidson, Sydney Davidson, and R. Tayze MacKenzie. This company exploits novel chemical compounds known as ‘catalysts’ designed and developed by Dr. Mark Stradiotto in order to provide a chiral switching service (separating the ‘good’ from the ‘bad’) to drug companies currently manufacturing drug mixtures. Separating these drugs results in a safe alternative that not only has reduced side effects, but also meets the FDA’s strict new standards, increases the drug’s effectiveness, and most importantly extends the patient life. The strong management team at Divisio includes scientists with specialties of chemistry, neuroscience, and pharmacy working alongside accomplished entrepreneurs. In addition, the team is supported by a highly qualified board of directors bringing many years of industry experience.

2nd Place – NeoSpectra Technologies

NeoSpectra Technologies Inc. is headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. and is a promising start-up in the child safety field. NeoSpectra’s initial launch product is the ChromaTap, an innovative faucet add-on device which will help prevent children from suffering burns in the home. It does so by lighting the stream of water different intensities of red for hot, or blue for cold, depending on water temperature. The ChromaTap aims to be safe, easy to use and install, and affordable, and the NeoSpectra team are confident that children and adults alike will enjoy this product and its safety benefits.

3rd Place – Effiventa Corporation

Effiventa Corporation is a drug delivery company specializing in nanotechnology. Effiventa’s flagship technology is Nutralease TM, a drug delivery technology used to improve the solubility – the ability of a substance to dissolve – and the bioavailability – the amount of a compound absorbed given the volume ingested – of drugs within the body. These improvements add commercial and clinical value to pharmaceutical companies through product differentiation, reduced side-effects, increased safety, convenience, and consumer compliance. It also helps overcome insolubility and toxicity problems, leading to shortened development times, saving time and money.

2006
1st Place – Sunpeak Foods

Sunpeak has developed over five innovative, healthy, and all natural food products that taste great! Some products include All Natural Chicken Tenders, Frozen Pasta, Gluten Free Brown Rice, and Wholegrain and Multigrain Pastas. Their delectable food products are now in distribution in 45 locations in Manitoba. After winning the 2006 Enterprize Business Plan Competition, Sunpeak Foods went on to win two international competitions in Manitoba and Idaho. Since incorporation in August of 2006, their revenues now exceed their costs and are now running a profitable business. Visit site.

2005
1st Place – Energy Aware

Soon after the 2005 Enterprize Business Plan Competition, Energy Aware became incorporated and continued to move forward with their idea. They are currently refining their third business plan after competing in the Telus New Ventures competition and completing their prototype. This team also won Energy Ambassadors, which is a federal competition hosted by Natural Resources Canada for undergraduate students. Now an official Energy Ambassador of Canada, the team is working on competing at an industry competition, New Ventures BC. Visit site.