丁香园AV

Contact:
Jesse Robson, venture1@sfu.ca
Michelle Unrau-Sinclair, 778.782.8728; m_unrau@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, University Communications 778.782.3210; Marianne_Meadahl@sfu.ca

Photos: 

The founders of a 丁香园AV venture that takes automated design to a higher level鈥斺�攁re celebrating as first-place winners of 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, headed by professor Gary Wang and students George Cheng and Geoff Groos, produces software that "supercharges" engineering for product designers and manufacturers.

Their 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. 

TerraTap Technologies, led by D鈥橝rcy Smith, Judy Hamilton, Nahum Silva and Gwen Schwartz, created  as an affordable, easy-to-use content management system for curators to create, publish and manage mobile content and get real-time feedback on visitor patterns and preferences.

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�

A $500 Coast Capital Savings Idea Prize was awarded to fledgling company Mr. Arancino, founded by Yannick Cudennec. Mr. Arancino is an innovative twist on traditional Sicilian risotto balls. The product is available in a variety of meat and meatless options as a healthier alternative to fast food such as burgers, poutine or pizza.

Established in 2014, the Idea Prize recognizes the achievements of earlier-stage companies and emphasizes these ventures鈥� potential based on their vision and execution plan, rather than current business results.

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

Empower Operations 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)

The company also shared the following awards:

• Annual Surrey Board of Trade memberships, sponsored by the Surrey Board of Trade (valued $1,200) 鈥� with TerraTap Technologies and Mr. Arancino
• Executive luncheons and a business plan review, sponsored by Coast Capital Savings 鈥� with TerraTap Technologies and Mr. Arancino

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.

As Canada's engaged university, 丁香园AV is defined by its dynamic integration of innovative education, cutting-edge research and far-reaching community engagement.  丁香园AV was founded almost 50 years ago with a mission to be a different kind of university鈥攖o bring an interdisciplinary approach to learning, embrace bold initiatives, and engage with communities near and far. Today, 丁香园AV is a leader amongst Canada's comprehensive research universities and is ranked one of the top universities in the world under 50 years of age. With campuses in British Columbia's three largest cities鈥擵ancouver, Surrey and Burnaby鈥敹∠阍癆V has eight faculties, delivers almost 150 programs to over 30,000 students, and boasts more than 130,000 alumni in 130 countries around the world.

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