VeloCity’s next big idea

The ten teams pitching for one of four $25,000 grants at the VeloCity Venture Fund Finals this week are a diverse group but they all have one thing in common: They all want to make your life easier.

One team is developing a wristband that will track your exercise, diet and sleep. Another hopes to help teachers plan their classes and assess students. There is a startup that will help you create your own music even if you can’t play an instrument, and another one that helps you write.

“The VeloCity Venture Fund Finals & Demo Day showcases University of Waterloo students with innovative ideas who seek support from the Waterloo community to turn their ideas into viable businesses,” says Mike Kirkup, Director at VeloCity and host of the event. “It also attracts the attention of big businesses and strategic investors who are looking for the next big idea.”

The Winter 2013 VeloCity Venture Fund winners: (l-r) Tripzaar, CirCit, Drafting Space and Lumotone.

The event starts at 11 a.m. on Thursday July 25 at the Student Life Centre with seven teams pitching to win one of three $1,000 prizes at the Demo Day part of the event. Demo Day is primarily for startups who want exposure to the campus community and VeloCity stakeholders.

Ten VeloCity Venture Fund finalists

Then, after a free boxed lunch, the ten VeloCity Venture Fund finalists will present their ideas before a panel of judges starting at 1 p.m. Live video of the event will also be available. 

The ten teams are:

• Blacktree Health – A smart way to deal with stress, the ultimate health monitor wristband tracks your exercise, diet and sleep – www.blacktreehealth.com
• GoPexo – An online collaborative trip planner that makes it easy to plan the logistics of a group trip –www.gopexo.com
• Kite – A simple way to build and launch web apps in the cloud – www.runkite.com
• LibertyBit – A revolutionary Bitcoin currency exchange system for making payments around the world instantly with substantially reduced banking fees – www.libertybit.com
• Planleaf – Project management via email – www.planleaf.com
• Redro – A social mobile ordering platform for users to discover and order what their friends are eating – www.goredro.com
• SesameIO – A centralized web platform that streamlines K-12 teachers’ workflow, from planning and assessment to sharing and curriculum tracking, to improve personalized learning and school effectiveness – www.sesameio.com
• SoundBrush – A new way for people to create music – www.getsoundbrush.com
• Tessoll – Consolidates and simplifies one of the biggest use cases for mobile devices: email – www.tessoll.com
• Wriber – Makes it easy to write by providing suggestions as you type – www.wriber.com