Two Faculty of Mathematics students were among the finalists in the Concept $5K competition. Greg Maxin from Arbitrium and Nathan Knight from Prospr, competed alongside their teams with the hopes of securing a $5,000 grant for their startups.
Concept is Velocity’s experiential entrepreneurship and pre-incubator program at the University of Waterloo. It acts as a resource to students interested in entrepreneurship and provides them with guidance on how to lift their startup off the ground through programs, coaching, and grant funding opportunities.
Concept $5K is a competition that challenges student entrepreneurs to pitch their idea to a panel of judges, with the top ten teams making it to the Finals. This term, two teams with students from the Faculty of Mathematics have made it to this stage.
Knight is a fourth-year computer science major and one of the founders of Prospr. This software startup enables nonprofits to better understand their donors and create a unique and engaging donor experience. Prospr was created with user experience and accessibility in mind.
“We’re focusing on making [Prospr] easy to use and accessible so fundraisers can pick it up and be productive immediately without needing to invest in specialist training,” Knight says.
To Knight and his team, the Concept $5K competition is an opportunity to gain experience in pitching, receive feedback, and grow their company.
The second Waterloo Math student to make it to the Concept 5K Finals is Greg Maxin, also a fourth-year computer science major. Maxin and his partner are the co-founders of Arbitrium, a digital end-to-end decision-making platform that allows organizations to easily make unbiased group decisions involving multiple stakeholders.
Arbitrium is currently being used within the community by United Way (Waterloo Region Communities chapter) and Social Venture Partners (Waterloo chapter) to help facilitate discussions on how to allocate grant funding.
Maxin’s technical background in computer science has provided him with the tools necessary to undertake the development of Arbitrium. This, combined with his co-op experiences and the entrepreneurial spirit has prepared him for success in the startup world.
Maxin says, “Waterloo has an amazing entrepreneurial ecosystem, it has helped me tremendously in making connections, exploring ideas and providing mentorship.” He adds, “Through the co-op problem I learned valuable skills that have helped me succeed in my startup so far.”
On Friday, March 26 it was announced that Arbitrium was one of the four teams to win the competition, securing a $5,000 grant for their startup. Prospr also won at the Concept $5K competition, winning the People's Champ Award and securing $500 towards their startup.
Congratulations to both Knight and Maxin and their teams on this achievement!