The 10 early-stage startups competing for $20K
On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, students from the University of Waterloo pitched their early-stage startup ideas at the Velocity Fund $5K Qualifiers. A total of 40 teams pitched their innovative ideas hoping to be one of the 10 teams selected to move on to the Velocity Fund Finals $5K on Tuesday, March 26, for the chance to win one of four $5,000 prizes.
The $5K competition provides equity-free funding to early-stage startups to help remove some of the barriers that hinder innovation and entrepreneurial growth. Each participant at the Qualifiers had exactly 3-minutes to pitch their solution to a real-world problem and convince the panel of judges that they should get a chance to win $5,000. The judges, either startup founders themselves or Student Venture Fund members provided feedback to each student on their pitching style and insights on ways to improve their business ideas. The top five contenders from each night were selected to move on to the finals.
We are pleased to announce this term’s Velocity Fund $5K finalists:
Animus is creating a pair of glasses that discreetly integrates neuro-stimulation technology into the frame, allowing for non-invasive stimulation of deep brain regions without affecting surrounding structures.
CannaRemedies
CannaRemedies is creating Cannabidiol (CBD) nano-particles to produce ultrafast pain relief patches.
Forsa is a project management tool that allows renovators and homeowners to collaborate on projects together.
Mingo
Mingo is a patient entertainment experience to reduce boredom and pain during medical procedures.
PhosphoPOWER Group is seeking to make renewables the primary source of energy generation in the world through the Ocean Battery.
Pulse Home
Pulse Home is a panelized construction technology developed in partnership with Canadian Indigenous communities that address the housing crisis on reserves.
Reka
Reka aims to bridge the gap between natural communication and communication using speech synthesis devices to improve the speed and quality of speech.
Stellar Care
Stellar Care is developing a mobile application to improve the home care nursing experience for families of children with medical complexities.
TagBull
TagBull is a mobile-first dataset labeling platform.
Voice Outside Your Head Space (Voyhs)
Voyhs gives trans people the resources to train their voice in order to boost their confidence and improve their lives.
Make sure to come out to the Velocity Fund Finals $5K on March 26 to watch these awesome startups pitch for $20K in funding. This winter we are extremely lucky to host special guest speaker Ted Livingston who has been influential in the success of Velocity and the creation of the fund. Ted is the Founder of chat platform Kik (a member of tech’s billion-dollar unicorn club) and before the pitches begin he will be sitting down for a candid fireside chat with Velocity Director, Jay Shah. This will be an excellent opportunity to hear about Ted’s journey from student to CEO.
The fireside chat is at 11:00am and the $5K pitches will begin shortly after lunch at 12:30pm. Register to attend or join in via live stream!
The Winter 2019 Velocity Fund Finals is sponsored by Thomson Reuters.