Innovacorp and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency last week awarded a total of $225,000 in development money to seven winners of their 2016 Spark Cape Breton Innovation Challenge.
The Spark competition is designed to find promising young companies in Cape Breton and the Mulgrave area and provide a bit of seed capital to allow them to grow. The cash prizes this year range from $20,000 to $45,000, depending on the company’s potential and needs.
Innovacorp said in a statement that the funds must be used to support the completion of prototypes or preparation for taking the product or service to market. In addition to the funding, winners will receive mentoring from seasoned business people through Cape Breton’s MentorConnect program.
This is the fourth year that the Spark competition has been held. A total of 25 companies entered the competition and 10 were invited to pitch to the panel of judges.
The winners are:
Advocate Cognitive Technologies Inc., Anna Manley, Sydney.
Amount: $45,000
ACTI’s legal software, called Hux, uses artificial intelligence computing technologies to analyze and extract meaning and relationships from text and voice material, identify relevant information, and complete legal documents.
Arista Data Solutions, Laird Wilton, Darren Gallop, Darryl MacLeod, Sydney.
Amount: $45,000
Arista is a web-based software that provides clients with data security tools and resources.
Digital Diesel Industries, Matthew Dilney, Howie Centre.
Amount: $20,000
Digital Diesel Industries provides a security device for heavy equipment that reduces tampering, theft and unauthorized use and can increase recovery rates of stolen equipment.
Geter Done Applications, Donald Hanson, Darren Hanson, Todd Chant, Sydney.
Amount: $30,000
Geter Done is a mobile platform designed for busy people to get small jobs done by connecting users with contractors and managing everything from job posting to payment processing.
The Instant Chaga Tea Company, Kevin Chisholm, Barrachois.
Amount: $20,000
The company will manufacture instant chaga tea and conventional chaga products for the nutritional and health food markets around the world.
Perata Data Systems, Glenn Laughlin, Point Edward.
Amount: $20,000
Perata uses real-time data analytics on mobile carrier networks to locate, identify and assess the movement of people, enabling businesses to engage with local prospective customers.
Punch Club, Marc Botte, Shawn Green, Shaun Stevens, Keith Buckland, Sydney.
Amount: $45,000
Punch Club offers a cloud-based platform that allows small businesses to automatically create, track, and deploy loyalty and marketing programs for both existing and new customers based on their individual shopping patterns.
Disclaimer: Innovacorp is a client of Entrevestor.
