Ten VeloCity Fund finalists will compete for $100K

Entrepreneurs developing diverse businesses – everything from a puzzle game that teaches children about computer programming to an app that helps you order clothes online that actually fit -– will compete at the VeloCity Fund Finals on Nov. 28.

“The wide range of industries and the diverse business models of these VeloCity Fund finalists shows the breadth of entrepreneurial talent that is fostered at the University of Waterloo,” says Mike Kirkup, director of VeloCity. “The VeloCity Fund Finals process helps to draw out innovators and entrepreneurs from the university and prepare them for the transition into the global startup community."

VeloCity, the University of Waterloo’s startup program, has confirmed the ten startups that will pitch their startup ideas for a chance to win one of four grants of $25,000 and a spot in the VeloCity Garage in downtown Kitchener.

The ten finalists are:

GamePress - GamePress lets users create fun mobile games without any programming experience and share them with users around the world.

Light-bot - Light-bot is getting today's generation of kids hooked on computer science by playing games.

MetricWire - MetricWire accelerates groundbreaking research by enabling academic researchers to easily collect rich scientific data via smartphones.

PiinPoint - PiinPoint uses machine learning to identify optimal new store locations while centralizing demographic, real estate, traffic, and municipal data.

Realtime Labs Inc.- Realtime Labs Inc. develops real-time audience feedback technology for a variety of industries including education and entertainment.

Sesame IO - Sesame IO provides a free service that streamlines a teacher’s day from lesson planning to capturing and assessing student work into personalized portfolios.

SparkGig - Online marketplace to connect performers with event planners.

TrendRadius - Defensible Product Decisions. All Customer Feedback. One Simple Solution. Let your Product Managers do what they do best!

uMentioned - uMentioned is a college-based location app that lets you anonymously flirt and make new friends with people nearby.

Velatron Labs Inc. - A personalized tailor app that helps you find or order perfect fitting clothes online.

An additional ten entrepreneurs from the University of Waterloo will pitch their early-stage startup ideas for one of three $1,000 grants. The $1,000 competition starts at 11 am and the $25,000 competition starts at 1 pm at the Student Life Centre.

A live stream of the VeloCity Fund Finals will be available.