Announcing the Velocity Fund W18 $5K Finalists

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, students from the University of Waterloo pitched their early-stage startup ideas at the Velocity Fund $5K Qualifiers. After a record number of applications, 39 teams pitched their innovative startup ideas, hoping to be one of the 10 teams selected to move on to the Velocity Fund Finals on Wednesday, March 28, for the chance to win one of four $5,000 prizes (up from three prizes previously). The $5K competition will kick off the day at 11:00am, and the $25K competition will start at 1:00pm, where another 10 teams will compete for $115,000 in funding to help build their businesses.

The Velocity Fund Finals $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 Velocity Fund $5K 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, startup founders themselves, 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:

Circadian Energy
Circadian Energy provides affordable, long-term energy infrastructure for underserved communities by providing simple home-to-home energy sharing.

Elevate
Elevate is a game-based digital platform that empowers individuals with Down syndrome to become active members of society.

Freewheel
Freewheel is an accessible, affordable retrofit system for walking devices.

gndrv
Gndrv is a data management platform for biological data, like GitHub for DNA.

Intelline
Intelline builds mass custom cryocoolers to enable widespread implementation of cryocooled technologies.

Quantum NanoPure
Quantum NanoPure provides affordable access to specialty fullerene molecules for researchers and distributors.

Stabilo
Stabilo offers a hardware solution to improve the rate and level of recovery for people regaining motor functions, starting with victims of stroke.

The Health Aisle
The Health Aisle is a web-based platform that directly connects pharmacists with their patients to improve health outcomes and increase billable revenues for pharmacies.

TobyX
TobyX offers an in-room kiosk to optimize hotel service experiences and revenue.

WatVision
WatVision helps the blind and visually impaired interface with touch screens.

Make sure to come out to the Velocity Fund Finals on March 28 to watch awesome startup pitches from these $5K and $25K companies as they compete for $130,000 in funding. Register to attend or join in via live stream! Audience members will also have a chance to win 1 of 5 Fitbit Flex 2 Fitness Trackers.

The Winter 2018 Velocity Fund Finals is sponsored by Thomson Reuters, Sequoia, and Magna. 

Thomson Reuters provides professionals with the intelligence, technology and human expertise they need to find trusted answers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, and media markets. The new Thomson Reuters Toronto Technology Centre will create 1,500 high-quality technology jobs in Canada and accelerate research for cognitive computing, visualization, UX, and cloud development.