In-person Pitching Resumes at the Spring Concept $5K Competition

After almost three years and no in-person pitch competitions, Velocity welcomed a packed house as students, faculty, friends and family filled the seats for the Concept $5K pitch competition. The competition is the culmination of the term end and the largest event for Velocity student participants.

The standing room only event took place on Thursday, July 14 at the Student Life Centre in the Black and Gold Room and saw nine aspiring student teams present a three-minute pitch to a panel of esteemed judges. The ideas presented covered a wide variety of sectors from Health to Construction to Commerce and in-between.

The President Braids, OrientaMED, Symphonic and TAKO featured high potential business ideas and were each awarded $5,000. This term, teams featuring Engineering students had the advantage, claiming three out of four awards along with showings from Math, Arts and MBET students.

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Meet the winners

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)  

“The most valuable piece of advice I can give someone that wants to start a business is believe in yourself but listen to others as well. You might think the idea you have and the solution you have for your business is the best way to solve that problem but it might not be.” - Adanna Amechi

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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), Glaucia Melo dos Santos, (Math, Computer Science), Júllia Nascimento, Rheyller Vargas and Eduardo Lucena

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)

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)

“Winning the Concept $5K is like a dream for me. One year ago I applied to the $5K but I didn’t make it, so this time, I did it.” - Tan Hung Le

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In The News & Social

Engineering shows well as in-person pitching resumes

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