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Pitch'Day 2015 showcases the evolution of Winnipeg's startup up scene
Winners L to R: Jesse Perry with Comfort Wave Mobile Imaging; Charles Gikwerere with USAFI; Ali Esmail with popRX; Adam Tsouras, Gord Parke and Bryce North with TrapTap; Sandeep Kaur with MI-LIFE; and Matt Cinibel with Giftmail
Innovate Manitoba veteran and serial entrepreneur Bryce North claims another big win with TrapTap!
The business ideas and pitches just keep getting better and better; this was a recurring theme for Innovate Manitoba's fourth annual Pitch'Day.
Innovate Manitoba's President, Jan Lederman was beaming as she connected with Pitch'Day competitors as well as members from the
record crowd of nearly 250 individuals from Manitoba's business and innovation communities, including over 65 students from three of Manitoba's post-secondary institutions.
“The ideas being pitched are more sophisticated and the presenters are more polished, not just in their presenting skills, but in the depth of their knowledge,”
Lederman said. “While not everyone could be a winner today, many of the businesses that presented will go on to do great things.”
Fifteen startups vied for over $15,000 in cash and in-kind prizes.
Tanya Soman, principal of Silicon Valley's 500 Startups and a first-time Pitch'Day judge, was impressed.
“The technology many of them were working on was very mature. Most surprising was how far along their thought process was for next steps. They definitely knew what they had to do.”
Judge Barb Gamey, President & CEO, Payworks, agreed and said she was thrilled to see some solid thinking around distribution models as well as a focus on technologies to “improve lives and solve problems”.
Mike Fata, CEO & Co-Founder, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods and Martin Cash, business columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press, rounded out the judges' panel.
“There was definitely an increase in the level of talent. The fact that the organizers had to cut out 15 businesses in the preliminary round speaks to this,“ said Mike Fata.
One of the pitchers described the event as “Silicon Valley of the North”. 500 Startups' Soman agreed. “The landscape in Canada is close to what we see in Silicon Valley. Startups vary from early stage to already launched and post-pilot. That was important to see – that they're on the same track.” Soman added that in
addition to the quality of the startups, she was also impressed with the support system that's available.
“Other judges were telling me how 5 years ago, this didn't exist. That's exactly what [a VC] wants to see in a developing ecosystem.
You want to see help from other vehicles in the local community because they know the startups and the founders better than anyone else coming into the ecosystem.”
“Innovate Manitoba is providing an excellent filter for the kinds of startups they want to include and promote in the ecosystem.
They're not diluting the value, so it's still attractive for VC's from Silicon Valley to come here,” Soman said.
The Pitch'Day 2015 Winners
1st place | $7,500: TrapTap
is a legal, hands-free indicator device that sits on your dash and lets you know if you're near a speed trap, school zone or red light camera.
It also allows you to “tap” the device (connected through an app to your phone's GPS) to alert other TapTrap users of road hazards speed traps.
North refers to it as “your not-so-annoying backseat driver”. The TrapTap device is free with a $50 annual membership fee. North's plans for his winnings?
“We'll come up with a finalized product, sell to B and B, move on with the consumer model and take over the world!”
2nd place | $2,500, People's Choice | $1,000 and Best Student Pitch | $500:
Comfort Wave Mobile Imaging,
presented by Jesse Perry, impressed the judges and the audience with its technology for breast-cancer pre-screening.
The technology holds the potential to save millions in healthcare costs while offering peace of mind to individuals who can receive almost immediate
test results. Perry shared how the microwave technology, developed by the University of Manitoba's Dr. Stephen Pistorius, provides early detection
potential for areas where there is less accessibility to health services, including mammograms. “We're not trying to replace mammogram technology.
What we're providing is a cost-effective and fast pre-screening system that can be done more comfortably in any medical practitioner's office,”
Perry said.
Best Research Pitch | $500: MI-LIFE,
presented by Sandeep Kaur, is an advanced microwave-based technology that can help locate survivors in disaster zones by detecting breathing signals.
It also has the potential to be used in healthcare environments. Of the Pitch'Day experience, Kaur, who is working towards a Graduate Masters Degree in
Physics at the University of Manitoba, said, “I'm not from a business background so this was a really good validation of just how great a product this is.”
Best Technology Pitch | $500:
Matt Cibinel's Giftmail, lets you send digital gift cards to anyone via email,
text message or Facebook. Cibinel plans to use his $500 prize to help support updates for the tool that's designed primarily for local businesses that may lack the resources
to break into the online gifting market. “As we expand beyond Winnipeg, we're looking for the right investor/partner to help us turn Giftmail into an international leader in digital gift giving.”
Best New Product Pitch | $500: popRX
presented by Ali Esmail, is an automated prescription service described as the “quickest and easiest way to organize and order medication.”
Esmail shared that the win is good validation for what he and his team are doing. “Next steps include finishing the current round of financing and getting out there and expanding,” he said.
Best Social Innovation Pitch:
Charles Gikwerere of USAFI is the first winner of this inaugural award that recognizes the importance of bringing together ideas and investors to advance social change.
In Gikwerere's words, “USAFI will be to developing countries what the kitchen or bathroom sink is for developed nations.” The product is designed to provide
hand-washing availability in conditions where running water isn't available. Gikwerere cites stats by the World Health Organization that 39 per cent of the
world's population lives without access to proper sanitation – a disparity that was especially evident during the Ebola health crisis in Western Africa.
Did you miss Pitch'Day? Want deeper insights into the event from the competitors, judges and community leaders? Check out the
Startup Winnipeg Pitch'Day Podcast
with Michael Legary and Chris Johnson!
Learn more! Read the rest of the Pitch'day recap and check out the event photos.
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