丁香园AV

Empower 鈥� a 丁香园AV venture led by mechatronic systems engineering (MSE) professor Gary Wang and students George Cheng (MSE) and Geoff Groos (computing science) 鈥� netted first place at the .

The competition, presented by  in partnership with , was held at 丁香园AV鈥檚 Segal Graduate School of Business on Feb. 11.

Prizes of $3,000 and $1,500 cash were awarded to Empower Operations and second-place , recognizing their entrepreneurial excellence and the success of their growing, stable companies.

This has been the annual competition鈥檚 biggest year, with a total value of more than $36,000 in cash and in-kind prizes awarded. Empower Operations won more than $30,000 of the total.

Empower produces software that "supercharges" engineering for product designers and manufacturers. Its flagship product, OASIS, uses simulation software to automate the design process and reduce the need for costly prototypes. This allows for higher quality products while reducing development costs and time to market. 

 鈥淐oast Capital Savings鈥� community promise is to help build a richer future for youth in our communities,鈥� says Don Coulter, president and CEO, Coast Capital Savings. 鈥淚t is through partnerships such as the one that we have forged with 丁香园AV, through the Venture Connection program, that helps us realize that promise.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 participants impressed us with their innovation and passion, showing that British Columbia鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit is most certainly alive and well. On behalf of Coast Capital Savings, I would like to congratulate Empower Operations and TerraTap Technologies on their win and all of this year鈥檚 participants.鈥�

The in-kind prizes were sponsored by Coast Capital Savings, , , ,  and the .  

Empower also received:

• a cloud-based back office support package, sponsored by Deloitte (valued at $12,000)
• a legal services package, sponsored by McCarthy Te虂trault (valued at $12,000)
• a visual identity and brand consultation, sponsored by Skyrocket Digital (valued at $5,000)
• Lean Entrepreneur Program (LEP) tuition, sponsored by Launch Academy (valued at $1,200)

 鈥淭here were a lot of really good competitors and I felt any one of them could have won,鈥� says Cheng, COO, Empower Operations. 鈥淭he fact that we did is a testament to our achievements. I鈥檓 really proud of our team and thankful for their hard work.

鈥淚鈥檇 also thank Coast Capital Savings and Venture Connection for giving us the resources to do what we are able to do.鈥�

The Venture Prize winners competed in a final 鈥減itch-off鈥� on the afternoon of Feb. 11 after securing their place in the finals in a preliminary round of pitches held in January. Competitors delivered a 10-minute presentation, followed by a 10-minute question-and-answer session before a panel of industry judges.

The competition judges this year were Wayne Berg, chief commercial officer, Coast Capital Savings; Mo Dhaliwal, director of strategy, Skyrocket Digital; Michelle Osry, partner, Deloitte; Bill Tam, CEO, BC Technology Industry Association; and Shauna Turner, CEO, BC Renaissance Fund.

The winners were announced at a post-competition reception that featured keynote speaker Maryam Sadeghi, CEO,  and top 2014 Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize winner.

For background on last year鈥檚 contest see: 

Since 2008, Coast Capital Savings has been supporting the 丁香园AV Venture Connection program, which provides support for student ventures from initial idea to business validation. It offers an early-stage business incubator, mentorship, co-op terms, competitions, networking, speaker events, workshops, seminars and other business resources. More than 3,200 students have participated since 2008 in its range of programs, with development services provided to more than 300 student venture teams.

Edited version of story by Allen Tung for 丁香园AV News. Read the story in its original form .