Conrad School competition roundup: winter 2024
As the winter 2024 term comes to a close, it’s time for a competition roundup to celebrate the successes of Conrad School students!
Graduate students in the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program and undergraduate students in BET 300 or Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) performed splendidly in both on- and off-campus competitions!
In total, we had 25 Conrad School students compete this term! Congratulations to all!
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Semi-Final
Part-time MBET student, Aileen Agada, made it to the semi-finals for her venture BeBlended in the Odlum Brown Forum Pitch competition at the end of February.
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch, which is for women entrepreneurs, addresses the barrier of access to capital and offers education, mentorship, specialized resources, and more!
APEX Startup Challenge at UNB Fredericton
Aileen Agada, part-time MBET and founder of BeBlended placed first and took home the Entrepreneurial Powerhouse award!
Full-time MBET students Osose Itua and Youssef Ben Ammar and their startup Foodage placed first in the Elevator Pitch.
Texas Christian University - Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition
Earlier this month, BET 320 student Christy Lee alongside her teammates made their way to Texas for the 14th annual TCU Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition. The team took home $500 for the Investor Challenge.
Canadian Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC)
Among several other University of Waterloo students, a graduate team participated in the Canadian Venture Capital Investment Competition(VCIV) in early April. The team consisted of Hufsah Khan, Zia Baig, Viershaar Ragavan, and Rran Trainor from MACC, Hisham Ismail from MBET, and Leo Zhang from AFM.
This is the University's first time winning at the graduate level, beating out MBA teams from Queens, Rotman, Schulich, Alberta and UNB!
Read more about the VCIC from MBET student Hisham Ismail on our blog!
Stu Clark New Venture Competition
Conrad School was well represented at the recent Stu Clark New Venture Competition in Winnipeg.
- BET 320 student Christy Lee and her co-founders Valerie Liu and Ethan Alvizo won third place for their startup PatientCompanion as well as second place in the video pitch.
- Enterprise Co-op student Humza Ahmed won fourth place for his venture AutomaxAI.
- The Social Entrepreneurship Award went to PhD Fellow and part-time MBET student Eugenia Dadzie for MetaCycler BioInnovations.
Velocity Semi-Finals
Conrad School was well represented at the Velocity Semi-Final Pitch Competition in March with ten startups being pithed! The semi-finalists included both current and past Enterprise Co-op students, BET 300 and BET 320 students, as well as some of our part-time MBET and PhD Fellowship students, and full-time MBET students!
Day One Teams:
- Automax AI: Humza Ahmed, current E Co-op
- foresAIt: Ibukun Elebute, part-time MBET and Salman Lari, PhD fellow and part-time MBET)
- Montere: current BET 300 students Jenny Ho, Jakob Leville, Coleton Myers, and Matthew Xu.
- FarmicleGrow: full-time MBET Lydia Madintin Konlan
- GreaseTech: full-time MBET students Jesurun Ramesh and Minaal Butt.
- SheepIt: BET 300 student Josiah Plett.
Day Two Teams:
- BatBall: Wahaab Ali, Eco-op 2023
- PatientCompanion: Christy Lee, current BET 320
- Wygo: Jocelyne Murphy, former E Co-op 2023)
- LendN: Arsen Stepanyan and Muztahid Azim, full-time MBET students
Velocity Finals
Three of the winning teams in the Velocity finals this term were student co-founders from the Conrad School. We are proud to celebrate with our graduate and undergraduate students.
GreaseTech: Jesurun Ramesh and Minaal Butt, both currently enrolled in the full-time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program, co-founded GreaseTech to reduce human error and costly failures in manufacturing lines. The two pitched their startup at the winter 2024 Velocity Pitch Competition and won $5,000 to turn their innovative approach to industrial machinery maintenance into a business!
PatientCompanion: Christly Lee, a BET 320 student, pitched her startup PatientCompanion which streamlines the patient triaging system for optimal care coordination. PatientCompanion won $5,000 in the finals!
SheepIt: Josiah Plett, a BET 300 student, credits his motivation to participate in the Velocity pitch competition to the ecosystems around campus. His startup SheepIt is a herd management software for small sheep farmers – inspired by his sister who started her own sheep farm out west. Plett took home a $5,000 prize.
Ivey Business Plan Competition, Western University
Full-time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) students Jesurun Ramesh and Minaal Butt won third place for their startup GreaseTech at the Ivey Business Plan Competition at Western University.
GreenHouse Social Impact Showcase
PharmaChill – $8,000: Adedayo Adefarakan, a full-time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET), founded PharmaChill to provide transparency and visibility in the last-mile delivery of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals in Nigeria.
EchoNotes – $1,000: Computer science and BET 320 student, Josiah Plett won $1,000 with his startup EchoNotes, which is a self-messaging platform designed to naturally and easily connect you to your future self.
CareConnect – $1,000: Full-time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) student Kevin Ye and his co-founder from the part-time MBET and PhD Fellow Aosen Xiong developed CareConnect, a platform that connects clients with caregivers seamlessly to arrange in-home health care. CareConnect is focused on providing flexible solutions for both their clients and caregivers.
Proteus Pitch Competition
Current Enterprise Co-op student Dylan Tan and BET 300 alumni Monica Tsang won first place and took home the $5000 prize at the Proteus Pitch Competition in March!
"Monica Tsang and I pitched a new technology developed by Dr. Jennifer A. A. Lavoie at Wilfrid Laurier University. The Virtual Reality - Mental Health Crisis Response Training (VR-MHCRT) is the first de-escalation program for police officers that is backed by clinical research and input from persons with mental illness (PMI). 80% of fatal police encounters involve a PMI and our current training methods are not equipped to handle these cases. Dr Lavoie saw these gaps and took it upon herself to completely alter the entire landscape of police training" says Tan.
"I first want to thank Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business for exposing me to the Enterprise Co-op program, had I not enrolled I'd never even have heard about this opportunity. Thank you to Wayne Chang who's been a key advisor to me these past months."
Keep an eye out: upcoming competitions
Lydia Konlan, full-time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) student and founder of FarmicleGrow has made it to the finals of the Social Impact Enterprise Track at the Dobson Cup at McGill University in Montreal on May 1!