This winter term, Enterprise Co-op students submitted five-minute video pitches for prizes of $5,000 at the Ignition Week pitch competition. Each student's video pitch was evaluated by a panel of judges. Meet the winter 2022 pitch winners!
E-Launch Awards
The E-Launch Awards are awarded to the winners of a pitch competition among non-engineering students in the E Co-op program. Up to five scholarships of $5,000 are awarded each term.
Bismun Kaur, Kaurtino
Science and Business
Kaurtino, sells luxury handmade scrunchies and is considered The Best Care For a Princesss Hair. The company name derives from the Punjabi word Kaur meaning princess and tino which means small, therefore small items for a princess. My mother and I sew every Kaurtino Scrunchie in Toronto. Together we have a combined sewing experience for over 45+ years! We offer 40 different colours and unique floral designs via our website. I started Kaurtino in May 2021 when I could not find high quality, fashionable scrunchies for my 40 long hair, so I decided to make them! Traditional hair ties are made from rough elastics causing tension, breakage and split-ends. Kaurtino Scrunchies reduce hair breakage as the fabric is so smooth that there is virtually no friction. Scrunchies allow the hair to be tension-free, encourage hair hydration and promote silky smooth hair! With every order, we provide a free scrunchie and elegant packaging, perfect for gifts! Furthermore, we are eco-friendly as we use 100% of all fabric to reduce waste. Currently, we are working on a Fabric Repurpose Initiative, in which we take customers donated clothing and repurpose them into scrunchies.
Alexander Campbell, Zac Simon and Abrar Mahmood, Benchbuddies
Accounting and Financial Management
BenchBuddies is an online medium that facilitates quality gym/fitness partnerships and interactions. Our value proposition consists of a web/mobile application and our community consists of an online support group. We stress community as a service within our app, and our primary customers are students. Our matching system helps users find the best individual partners for them, alongside community groups to address broader social opportunities. Starting with university students across Ontario, we plan on marketing our brand and platform as a solution for those who want to take a hold of their health but dont know and may feel shy/insecure. The current focus of BenchBuddies is developing a community from the ground up that consists of enthusiastic, like-minded individuals who are avid fitness enthusiasts and can equally benefit from and contribute to such an ecosystem. In short, we would like to build a self-supporting fitness network to define the identity of BenchBuddies so that more people can hear about our platform through their influence, and be convinced to join our fold. Our soon coming mobile application will offer matches for everyone of all skill levels and interests. Users can choose between groups and individual gym partners and can customize their preferences from those of similar skill levels to personal trainers.
Avery Griffen, Hypo Beads
Biology
Hypo Beads are a no-effort, spill-proof, odour-eliminating solution that lasts 3+ months and are safe for both children and pets. They are made using a plant-based natural odour eliminating solution that gets absorbed by super absorbent polymer beads and when exposed to air the solution evaporates and uses natural chemistry to fully eliminate the odours instead of just masking them. Eliminate odours naturally with Hypo Beads.
Young-Vin (Vincent) Cho, Repro Sports
Recreation and Sports Business
Repro Sports is an activewear brand that aims to reinvent retro sportswear from the 70s and 80s. Through modern and sustainable materials, Repro Sports captures the spirits of retro sports fashion while also providing high performing gear. Repro Sports is a brand that the athletes back then would have wished they had worn.
While Repro Sports brand is inspired by the sporty heroes such as Terry Fox, Kathrine Switzer, Princess Diana, and Sohn Ki-Jungthose who inspired the world through sports and fashionRepro Sports goes beyond the conventional roles of an activewear brand by shining light to those sports figures who were an inspiration to the world. Each package of Repro Sports products comes with an in-house designed sports card that outlines the legacies of sports heroes who were overlooked upon
William Hsu, PACESConnect
Science
A non-profit program that aims to promote successful ageing and healthy longevity for LTC residents of Canada.
Norman Esch Enterprise Co-op Awards
The Norman Esch Enterprise Co-op Awards are available to students in Engineering. There are three winners this term:
Shuangrun (Orianna) Min and Daniel Hu, Elpis
Mechanical Engineering
Elpis is an innovative biotechnology venture aiming to improve the living quality for people living with spinal cord injury. Our main project right now is an affordable and accessible passive walking and exercising exoskeleton, working as a walking frame, for the users to improve their everyday physical participation rate and regain a certain level of mobility.
Morgan Gallant, Operand, Inc.
Computer Engineering
Operand is a simple, enterprise-ready API which makes it easy for businesses to leverage knowledge as a core feature in their product or service. Takes minutes to integrate, and no NLP experience is required.
Jonathan Xu, Grynn
Software Engineering
Grynn accelerates the game development process by dramatically reducing the time and energy that is needed to create art assets and designs. By using a canvas powered by novel deep learning models, anyone can generate images of characters and settings in almost limitless complexity and styles. All thats needed is 30 seconds and a text description of what to create. Targeting the asset creation space totalling over $22B, this automated solution aims to reduce barriers to entry, lower costs, and improve turnaround. Founded by tech students from Waterloo and Caltech, the company has raised investment from notable VCs and is in partnership with several indie game studios