Propel ICT held its first local demo day in Charlottetown on Tuesday, an event significant because it symbolized the growth in IT in a market traditionally known for life sciences.
The regional tech accelerator is now wrapping up its first cohort of 2016, and this week it’s holding four local demo days -- in Charlottetown and Fredericton on Tuesday, and in Halifax and St. John’s tomorrow. These will lead up to the final pitching event in Halifax on June 21, which will feature the 12 strongest teams in the program.
In Charlottetown, there were six teams pitching – five from the local Launch program, which mentors early stage companies, and one that is going through the Build program for more advanced companies.
Charlottetown for the first time hosted its own Launch cohort, which has given the local tech community the type of mentorship long available on the Island for biotech through groups like the PEI BioAlliance.
The six pitching companies were:
Headed by CEO Brian Sharp, Onset is a communication system that helps film crew members communicate with one another instantly. Film crews are frequently bogged down as a few members need to iron out some detail, holding up the whole production and adding to overtime costs. Onset licenses out a kit featuring software, tablets and a server to film crews so people can instantly send out a visual message – that is, a still shot or video with instructions written over it. Sharp says it converts “10-minute discussions into 10-second decisions.” Onset, which is in the Build program, has already two clients to test the product and is looking for $500,000 in investment.
Led by Chris VanHorn, Airbly has created hardware and software that can be installed in private aircraft to automatically produce the plane’s flight log. The company, which already has four installations, eases the burden on owners of private aircraft, who often have to write out logs by hand. Airbly, which is presenting at the AirVenture air show in Wisconsin this summer, is looking for $220,000 in investment.
Found helps staff in senior residences locate elderly people and their things instantly. The company has produced a small device that the senior carries and that sends signals to the staff’s smartphone or tablet. It allows staff to locate a person (especially in a large complex) when they have to take medication, or if the senior gets out of the building and is lost. The company will have its beta test this summer. It is looking for $300,000 in funding to help build the team and bring the product to market.
Known as KDP, the company now comprises the husband-and-wife team of Alex and Maureen Hanley and is dedicated to improving food safety. Alex Hanley is a specialist in food safety inspection and wants to improve inspection at plants, too many of which have piecemeal processes in ensuring the safety of their food. KDP has produced a training program that helps plant managers and staff to put in place lean, state-of-the-art processes. The company is starting out as a consulting business and moving into a Software-as-a-Service product that could reach more plants. Ten plants across North America are now using the system.
Mighty Pebble is a video game studio whose first game is called Miner Meltdown. The 2D game takes place inside a mine, in which teams have to find gold so they can buy better weapons to use on the other team. The game, to be played on PCs or Macs, is scheduled to be released on the prestigious Steam market in February, 2017. Mighty Pebble is hoping to raise $350,000.
Led by Brandon Banks, TimeShifts is developing a scheduling help that helps managers and staff (especially in the restaurant industry) find an easier way to schedule shifts. Restaurants managers now get too many requests from a range of staff to work specific shifts, and these requests come in by phone, notes, emails or in person. The TimeShifts app centralizes and simplifies this task. The company, which is looking for $50,000 in investment, hopes to have a minimum viable product this month and has lined up three early adopters.
