10 student startups in running for $25,000

Ten students will compete for up to $25,000 in prize money at McMaster’s first Student Startup Competition March 31.

The event, hosted by Spectrum, will give 10 entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business or startup idea to a panel of industry judges and the McMaster and Hamilton entrepreneurship community.

The students will be pitching their ideas in hopes of winning one of three top prizes; First Place ($25,000), Second Place ($15,000), or Third Place ($10,000). Finalists will also have the opportunity to be awarded a $5,000 People’s Choice Award by the audience.

The competition will take place March 31 at 5 p.m. in the Student Centre marketplace. There will be free food and a great networking opportunity for those who register.

For more information on the event, visit: www.studentstartup.ca.

Learn more about this year’s Top 10 Finalists:

Sina Afshani of Blue Orchid – Blue Orchid designs and develops assistive devices and rehabilitation tools that support and empower patient care. Their mission is to create simple innovative solutions for the challenges millions of caregivers face every day improving the quality of life for them and their patients.

Henry Beckett of Comikka – Comikka is mobile comics.  No apps, no downloads, no costs.  Just beautiful, free comics always on your phone.

Chris Fuller of FriendlyRentr – FriendlyRentr is a peer-to-peer rental community where you can rent anything you own or need with people you can trust.

Jeffrey Girard of HARvEST – HARvEST was born from a collaborative research project between McMaster University, Thermoelectronics Corporation, and Pizza Pizza, to transform the definition of waste heat from a worthless by-product to an untapped resource surrounding our daily lives via a suite of waste heat recovery technologies.

Peter Basl of Ranggo – Ranggo is an all-in-one feedback, loyalty & marketing service for restaurants based on menu item ratings using a mobile application. The free Ranggo app allows users to find the restaurants serving the best food they crave and save on it.

Chetan Singh of RotaNovus – RotaNovus is a design firm focused on creating mobility solutions that allow people to maintain their independence and continue to lead full lives after experiencing loss in mobility.

Cristina Beghiano of Sound Options – Sound Options Tinnitus Treatment offers an effective, affordable and convenient sound therapy for tinnitus sufferers. They do this by assessing the tinnitus and hearing of a customer to create a personalized treatment that can be loaded onto any music-playing device.

Shiloh Covey of Start the Cycle – Start the Cycle is a non-profit bike library program starting in Hamilton. They work with current book libraries to create bike libraries in order to make bikes more accessible to youth, creating healthier and more active communities for everyone.

Saverio Pietrantonio of Syntegra Labs – Syntegra Labs will make a high margin product called Insoluble Sulphur, a critical ingredient for making rubber tires. They will create competition in the industry, reduce prices and supply chain risk for tire makers, and create valuable manufacturing and R&D jobs in Hamilton.

Graham Spry of UWallet – UWallet is a mobile platform that redefines how university and college students explore and engage with their on and off-campus food options. UWallet aims at improving the student experience by connecting students with the dynamic communities that surround their campus.