Entrepreneurship

They are travelling from as close as Oakville, Ontario and as far away as Coquitlam, British Columbia, but this year’s Schulich Leader scholarship winners were all drawn to the Univeristy of Waterloo by its reputation for innovation, high standards, and entrepreneurial spirit.

For some, calling Waterloo home will mean the realization of a lifelong dream:

Two Waterloo engineering students have completed an Enterprise Co-op term by creating the first autonomous vehicle to drive on a Canadian road.

A young company of three Nanotechnology Engineering students from the University of Waterloo is one step closer to its mission of eradicating counterfeit products after winning $25,000 at the Velocity Fund Finals today.

Winners of the Velocity Fund $25,000 prizes.

Ten of Waterloo Region’s most progressive startups will pitch for one of four $25,000 prizes at the Velocity Fund Finals at the University of Waterloo next Thursday.

Judges will present one winner with an additional $10,000 for the top hardware pitch. Another 10 startups will compete for one of three $5,000 awards.

The term ‘plug and play’ — which suggests various pieces of computer hardware can be snapped together with ease — had a dubious history in the technology industry. What’s often described as plug and play turns out to be more difficult to use than expected. If Calvin Chu is successful, however, people will soon be combining technology in ways that make Lego pieces look complex in comparison.

With no breaks and G-force speeds, the sport of track cycling kicks biking into high gear. But with a limited number of velodromes in Canada, it has long been out of reach for even the most adventurous of recreational athletes — until now.

This summer, Waterloo researcher Luke Potwarka will lead a unique project designed to leverage the legacy of the 2015 Pan Am Games and bring track cycling to athletes across the Greater Toronto Area.

So you’ve started a business and you’re growing your team. As a new business leader, you have the opportunity to create an awesome work culture from scratch. You know you don’t want to lead a herd of sheep. Instead, think about assembling a wolf pack.

Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky has pitched his smartwatch to dozens of investors. In the startup’s early years, he drove his bicycle up and down a Silicon Valley road famed for its concentration of venture capital firms to sell his vision.

Matt Rendall, a robotics entrepreneur who got his start at the University of Waterloo, is a finalist for the $100,000 Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Young Entrepreneur Award.

The grand prize winner will be selected by a public vote combined with a score from a national committee made up of top Canadian executives.

Victoria Stacey is graduating with a job as the digital media co-ordinator at a Toronto firm and as the founder and editor-in-chief of her own online magazine.