Both finalist teams that included students from the Faculty of Math – AFAIK and RelayMD – won top prizes at the Velocity 5K finals yesterday afternoon.
Velocity, an innovation incubator based out of the University of Waterloo, has helped launch more than 400 companies since its founding in 2008. The 5K competition, in which teams of student innovators compete for $5,000 in funding, is one of Velocity’s highest-profile student events.
In the 2.5-hour event, representatives from eight different teams had three minutes each to pitch their projects and three minutes to answer questions from the trio of judges: Neha Khera, a general partner at venture capital firm 2048; Sydney Robinson, cofounder of Vessl Prosthetics; and Philbert Chan, Student Venture FundAssociate.
The energy in the room on Wednesday afternoon was palpable, with a full house of students and interested community members there to support friends and learn about exciting new projects. Attendees enjoyed chatting with team members between pitches, as well participating in a “fireside chat” and audience Q&A with John Dick, Director of Velocity Campus, and Ryan Marchewka, Waterloo alum and CEO of nanotechnology company Halion.
Dr. Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor of the university, also made an appearance to congratulate all of the participants on their talent and hard work. “Whether you’re in the private sector or the public sphere…we all need that entrepreneurial spirit that we see so much of at Waterloo,” he said.
After a deliberation period, the judges chose four teams to receive $5,000 in funding each towards developing their projects.
While several Math students participated in the semi-finals on November 9 and 10, two were part of teams that advanced to the finals. Zhiying Jiang, a PhD in Mathematics, is a cofounder of AFAIK, a tool that maps academic knowledge for self-learners. Her other team members are Orianna Min (Mechanical Engineering) and Yiqin Dai, a UI designer.
Dhvani Patel, a Software Engineering student, is a cofounder of RelayMD, an online platform that helps family doctors find information on medical specialists and manage outbound referrals more efficiently. His other team member is Ali Qamar, a family physician.
The other two winning projects were TrainPro, which seeks to create smart workout clothing that can provide real-time guidance on exercise technique, and LandscapeDirect, an online shop shipping outdoor plants directly to consumers across Canada.
In addition to the four teams awarded $5,000 for their projects, more than 150 audience members voted for the winner of the $500 audience choice award: SkipWash, a service that picks up, washes, and folds people’s laundry.
“I had a great time pitching at Velocity’s 5K,” says Dhvani. “As I’m still currently still in school and we are fully bootstrapped, funding helps go a long way. It was also great to meet people who have experience in the health tech space.”
Jiang agrees. “We think the 5K competition provides a great opportunity to practice your pitch,” she says. “You will be grilled, yes, but you will end up with a more well-rounded story and a way better pitch, so it is totally worth it. We feel winning this award is definitely a solid nod to what we are building, but we also regard it as just a start.”
To learn more about RelayMD, check out their website. You can read more about Velocity, and the companies they’ve helped launch, at their website.