¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

Using drone technology to deliver aerial intelligence at scale, Spexi Geospatial wins the 2019 Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize.

A start-up that uses drone technology to make geospatial data more accessible has won ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV’s largest entrepreneurship competition.

Spexi Geospatial emerged from a slate of promising early-stage ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV entrepreneurs to win ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV’s eighth annual Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize competition, claiming the title of ‘top venture’ and taking home a cash and in-kind prize package worth $35,000.

The start-up aims to empower organizations by using drone technology to deliver aerial intelligence at scale. The firm's cloud-based platform provides a streamlined end-to-end solution that automates drone flights, photogrammetric data processing, and geospatial data analysis.

Co-founders Bill Lakeland and Peter Szymczak met while completing the Management of Technology MBA program at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV’s Beedie School of Business. Lakeland’s geospatial background and Szymczak’s technical background made them a great pairing for this venture.

Presented by at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV, the Venture Prize is ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV’s largest entrepreneurship competition. Competitors endured two intensive rounds of pitches to a panel of industry judges and a public audience. Open to ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV staff, faculty, students and recent alumni, this year’s applicants represented a diverse array of ventures – from IoT to services to pharmaceuticals, all vying for a piece of the $75,000 prize pot. 

Notably, this year’s competition saw more female-led companies competing as finalists than in any previous years and finalists were representative of seven of ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV’s eight faculties, reflecting the Coast Capital Savings Venture Connection’s broad and inclusive approach to early ventures and innovation. 

OTHER AWARD WINNERS:

Idea Prize award: 

Top Digital Internet award: 

Top Small Business award: 

Female Founder award: 

¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Alumni Founder award:  and 

Social Impact award: 

Penguin Pivot Prize: 

The Venture Prize has been recognizing entrepreneurial excellence at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV for almost a decade, and is supported by Coast Capital Savings – a key partner for Venture Connection since 2008. 

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