Skip to content

Meet the 20 Teams that Pitched in the Concept $5K Semi-Finals

The Concept $5K pitch competition offers the opportunity for University of Waterloo student led teams with innovative solutions and high potential business ideas to showcase their hard work and compete for grant funding. Participants receive valuable feedback, pitching experience, and idea validation from a network of experienced entrepreneurs and Concept Coaches.  

Meet the 21 teams that pitched at the Concept $5K Semi-Finals on June 28 and 29th from 5-7pm to a panel of experienced entrepreneurs. Each competitor had just 3-minutes to present their idea and convince the judges it has the potential and viability to succeed.  The eight finalists moving on to compete on July 14th for their chance to claim one of four prizes, will be announced soon!

“Someone gave me very good advice that I never forget – and that is if someone is nervous about what they are doing, it is an indication that they are doing something extraordinary,” Moraes do Nascimento, Co-founder of OrientaMed

Read more from imprint online

Meet the teams

Night One: June 28

Collox is a project management platform for software engineers that show an individual only information relevant to them.
Team member: Shari Sun (Engineering, Systems Design Engineering)       

EV123 is a public EV charger status verification software that audits uptime reports through crowdsourcing and gamification.
Team members: Alex D’Alton (Engineering, MBET), Andrew Smedley (Engineering, MBET), Prasanna Karthik (Engineering, MBET)

From waste plastic to building material Our project is the development of a technology to convert waste plastic into a construction grade material when combined with soil/sand on-site where construction is to take place.
Team members: Boris Nazareth (Science, Chemistry) and Derek Schipper (Science)

Lawyer-ed is an end-to-end service provider for entrepreneurs looking to grow and accelerate their startup or small business at the lowest possible cost.
Team members: Jashan Singh (Arts, Honours ARBUS: Business and Legal Studies (majors), Cognitive Science (minor)), Aman Pal Singh, Vikas Malhotra, Jeel Patel 

Novel Real-Time Sensing and Feedback for Clubfoot Brace Treatment     
Development of a novel interface for children’s clubfoot braces, using sensors to provide real-time feedback to parents and clinicians and optimize patient care and parent comfort with treatment.
Team member: Ella Walsh (Engineering, Biomedical Engineering)  

OrientaMED is developing a breath-based glucometer to replace the blood test with a single breath.  
Team Members: Nathalia Moraes do Nascimento (Math, Computer Science), Júllia Nascimento, Rheyller Vargas and Eduardo Lucena

RÜF We aim to revolutionize the roofing industry by leveraging robotics and automation, reducing cost, decreasing turnaround time, and increasing quality and consistency.        
Team members: Brian Machado (Engineering, Engineering Mechatronics), Ethan Childerhose (Engineering, Engineering Mechatronics), Clayton Haight (Engineering, Engineering Mechatronics) 

Tako is a B2B solution for the global seafood supply chain. Tako takes care of the information processes, allowing exporters and importers to focus on their expertise in delivering fish.
Team members: Tan Hung Le (Engineering, Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology), Osama Siddiqui (Engineering, Master of Business Entrepreneurship and Technology)

The President Braids A project aimed to provide quality, reliable and accessible day long customized hair care services to people of colour across Ontario.
Team member: Adanna Amechi (Engineering, Chemical Engineering)

Unlimited App is a freelance platform that uses an internal repository of work to provide consistent, reliable, and affordable recurring design services – with a cost effectiveness that continuously increases.
Team members: Benedict Wahyudi (Mathematics, Computer Science), Ryan Natanael, Jason Aditya and Christophorus Jeremy Wicaksana

Night Two: June 29

Canada’s First All-weather Autonomous Delivery Robot We have developed Canada’s first autonomous delivery robot that will be deployed in UW campus. We also provide all-weather hybrid driving software stacks and complete solutions to autonomize logistics.        
Team members: Chao Yu (Engineering, PhD Doctoral), Yaodong Cui (Engineering, PhD Doctoral), Jinwei Zhang (Engineering, PhD Doctoral), Jiaming Zhong (Engineering, PhD Doctoral), Shucheng Huang (Engineering, Master Program)

Daneshbaz Our platform helps researchers to write papers easier and publish them faster without wasting time.         
Team members: Mojtaba Valipour (Math, PhD Computer Science), Alexander Sharp (Math, PhD Statistics) Ethel Zlotnik (Arts, UI/UX), Farzad Tabashir, Mehdi Moozeh, Parsa Nasirimehr, Mojtaba Valipour

Happy Reading! An app which allows readers to customize their perfect reading space and then read in it using VR.
Team members: Elnaz Ghorbani (Engineering, Management Sciences), Mohammadtaghi Badakhshan (Engineering, PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Iqra’s Art Producing and selling artwork inspired by Islamic, South Asian, and Middle Eastern art. Using social media to provide relaxing, relatable, and educational content related to the artwork.
Team member: Iqra Azhar (Environment, Knowledge Integration)

NEXT:Immigrant Services All-in-One App Our product acts as a bridge to information and service gaps that will help immigrants integrate into Canada by providing essential functions including housing, language barriers, employment opportunities, etc.
Team members: Jia Qi Liu (Science, Science and Business), Boon Kent Chin (Arts, Global Business and Digital Arts), Chenyong Qin (Engineering, Computer Engineering), Miley Xu (Environment, Environment and Business)

Okaya An online platform selling immense range high quality modest fashion to the world
Team member: Ayah Okasha and  Mariam Sedik (Arts, Global Business and Digital Arts)

PV Parkway Perovskite solar EPC (Engineering Procurement Construction) developers who provide end-to-end photovoltaic solutions for townhouses in Ontario.
Team member: Arshmeet Singh (Conrad, Masters Business Entrepreneurship In Technology)

PWR Athletic Wear Inc. is a sustainable equestrian clothing line with large goals of bringing sustainability, modernization, and gender equality to sport through our company. Team member: Juliana Huber (Health, Recreation and Sport Business)

Symphonic wants to build a wearable interface that directly decodes speech from neuromotor intentions, enabling people with speech disabilities to speak.
Team members: Christopher Samra (Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering), Avery Chiu (Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering), Ryan Trainor (Arts, Accounting and Financial Management)

VR Speech Therapy Kit We’re developing a VR speech therapy kit to supplement their existing speech therapy or provide an accessible option for people who cannot afford or allot time for dedicated speech therapy.
Team members: Emily Shiu (Arts, PHd, Psychology Management), Thomas Mastantuono (Engineering, Management Sciences) Jing Hao Yao (Engineering, Software Engineering) and Karthik Prasad (Engineering, Management Sciences)