Lumos Energy Strips of Queen’s University, which has developed a quick and calorie-free means of getting a caffeine shot, won the $15,000 second prize at Canada’s Business Model Competition on Saturday.
The $10,000 third prize was awarded to the University of British Columbia’s Ohm Wearables, which has developed a smart belt that checks your breathing during yoga.
Dalhousie University hosted the Fourth Annual Canada’s Business Model Competition, which assesses student entrepreneurship teams based on the process they used in building their company. It places particular emphasis on the use of a lean canvas and interviewing potential customers and partners to shape the business case. ExVivo Labs, Lumos and Ohm with the big winners Saturday from a group of six finalists, which were chosen from a total field of 30 entrants.
ExVivo Labs Wins Canada’s Business Model Competition.
Presented by Co-Founder Chris Angelatos, Lumos Energy Strips are similar to fresh-breath strips that dissolve in your mouth, only they deliver a shot of caffeine. There is now a $115 billion market for coffee and energy drinks, but these products can be unhealthy and take time to pass through the digestive system to work. Flavoured with mint, the Lumos strips work instantly through sublingual absorption – meaning the caffeine enters the blood stream through blood vessels in the mouth.
Angelatos said Lumos has been in business since May, and has interviewed more than 1,000 people. It now has a product developed and its four-member team, which is in The Next 36, is moving the product to market.
“Why us? Because we are our market,” he said. “Every member of our team thrives on high-pressure, high-stress environments.”
Ohm grew out of a Startup Weekend project that identified the key role that breathing plays for the millions of people who do yoga. But there is no way to monitor your breathing.
The Ohm product is a belt with sensors that you can use during yoga to monitor and analyze your breathing.
“Our passion is to bring technology and oneness together,” said Co-Founder Adrian Wong. “This product is the first step that will help to bring that vision together. We’re going to improve health one breath at a time.”
She said the company interviewed 122 yoga practitioners and 76 percent of them identified with the problems of not being able to track their breathing. The company plans to sell its smart belt for $179 directly to customers over the internet or in partnership with yoga studios.
The other three finalists in the competition were:
BioFlex
University of Waterloo
This company has developed biodegradable polymers that can secure a broken bone while it heals. Broken long bones are now held in place with titanium rods, which need to be removed with a second operation – which can be painful and expensive. The BioFlex solution would end the need for that second operation. The company is now developing its prototype and doing a patent search. It plans to soon begin clinical trials with animals, hoping the market for pets can produce revenues as it moves into regulatory trials for humans.
University of Victoria
Suavair uses drones to monitor the growth of trees in woodlands. Private foresters on crown lands in B.C. need to produce reports for government on their reforestation efforts, but producing the data can be expensive, time consuming and dangerous. Sauvair has developed expertise in using drones to monitor reforested areas, and working with foresters to interpret the images brought back by the drones. The company is now working with a few clients, and is able to cut their costs in compliling the reports by 30 to 50 percent.
SeeMePly
St. Mary’s University
SeeMePly is an online platform that helps to simplify the process of applying for private schools in Africa. In Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, as many as 40 percent of secondary school students attend private schools. But parents don’t know what schools offer, and schools have trouble differentiating themselves in the market. And the application and payment processes are inconvenient. SeeMePly allows an exchange of information between schools and parents and simplifies the payment process. The Co-Founders, who attend St. Mary’s' Masters of Technology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation program, have established contacts with several schools and one is ready to be on the platform at $1200 per year.
