A student startup backed by the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business at Waterloo Engineering has a shot at $1 million in seed funding after winning a prestigious competition for social entrepreneurs.
Team EPOCH topped a field of 61 entries from universities around the world at a recent regional event for the Hult Prize in London, England.
EPOCH team members (l-r) Lisa Tran, Keith Choy and Jade Choy are joined by engineering co-op student Ryan Schmied at the recent event in London, England.
Members will now join the winners of four other regional competitions for a two-month stay at the Hult Prize accelerator in Boston this summer, before pitching for the $1 million grand prize in New York in September.
EPOCH is comprised of Lisa Tran, a science and business student, Jade Choy, an accounting and financial management student, and Keith Choy, a master of accounting graduate.
After the team won the University of Waterloo’s Hult competition in the fall, it moved into the Velocity Garage and was joined by co-op computer engineering student Ryan Schmied through the Bridging Entrepreneurs to Students program at Conrad.
Bill Clinton issues the challenge
The Hult Prize, backed by the Clinton Global Initiative, is the world’s largest social entrepreneurship competition. It challenges student teams to tackle big problems selected each year by former U.S. president Bill Clinton.
EPOCH, which is advised by Conrad professor Nada Basir, answered this year’s challenge to restore the rights and dignity of refugees with a mobile application for the exchange of skills, talents and services. It has partnerships with 12 organizations interested in using it.
Teams from the University of Waterloo also competed at regional Hult events in Boston and Shanghai. There were about 2,000 entries in all.