Announcing the Velocity Fund $5k Finalists

Last week, 40 aspiring entrepreneurs from the University of Waterloo pitched for their chance to compete at the Velocity Fund Finals. After two nights of competitive pitches 10 teams were chosen to pitch for one of three $5,000 prizes available during the Velocity Fund Finals.

A panel of judges from the local investor community will choose the top pitches from these startups.

The $5K judges:

• Steve McCartney, VP, Startup Services at Communitech
• Andrew Jackson, Vice President, Client Services at Accelerator Centre
• Wayne Chang, Coordinator, Enterprise Co-op; Course Instructor, Foundations of Venture Creation (BET 300); Alumni Council Member, University of Waterloo; President, Pivotry Consulting Group Inc.

Here are the 10 finalists for the Spring 2015 Velocity Fund $5K competition:

Arc Home: Developing breeze, a smart air register that integrates with smart thermostats and allows the customer to control the temperature of individual rooms in their home.

DeepVision: aims to use deep learning and proprietary image processing technology to advance the field of Computer Vision. We want to delve into the depths of what is truly displayed in images and allow users to instantly interact with objects within images.

Extempra: A communications training company that empowers people to speak with impact. We offer workshops and personal coaching in the realm of public speaking and interpersonal communications.

Finuvo; Enables hobbyists and designers to create visually stunning 3D parts by applying a variety of colours and patterns to the surface of the part.

Fosite: Fosite writes software for the legal industry.

HiredWell: a mobile-optimized solution that enables brick-and-mortar businesses to seamlessly gather all required information from walk-in job seekers and quickly screen this information with an easy-to-use dashboard.

intuiMIX: A mixing platform that allows small independent artists to automate the sound engineering process.

Pave: A time management tool that improves and enhances productivity in one of the most reliable ways possible.

Tether: Tether is working to enhance the means by which people interact with computers and technology in general. Our first product is a form-factor redesign of the desktop mouse to allow precision productivity on any surface.

Thalo: Thalo is building a new display technology to increase the battery life and daylight visibility of mobile devices.

To join us at the event and listen to the pitches, please register. Some lucky audience members will walk away with a new Pebble Time smart watch.

In addition to the 10 Velocity Fund $5K finalists, 10 additional teams will pitch at the Velocity Fund Finals for one of four $25,000 prizes as part of the Velocity Fund $25K.