Forge Student Startup Competition draws record crowd

Twelve student entrepreneurs took to the stage on March 22 at McMaster, to pitch their startup ideas at the annual Forge Student Startup Competition.

Students competed for up to $60,000 in cash prizes as well as an entrance to the Forge’s Summer Accelerator program beginning in May 2018. This was the largest Student Startup Competition to date, with over 400 people in attendance. David Farrar, McMaster’s Provost, delivered opening remarks.

Some of the projects included an energy efficient and self monitoring temperature control systems for the home, a drag-and-drop publishing tool, and a product that would allow users to autonomously create, track and manage cryptocurrency index portfolios. The judges of the evening were Jayne Huhtanen from Toronto, a McMaster alumna who spent 26 years in senior leadership at Procter and Gamble; Ehsan Mirdamadi, a serial entrepreneur in biotech and cloud computing, also from Toronto; and Kailash Amwani, McMaster alumnus from Silicon Valley, a serial entrepreneur and senior executive and the current CEO of Actiance Incorporated.

The presenters were: Francisco Ho, Ezzeldin Tahoun, Leah Flanagan, Ryan Marks, Saad Ahmed, Adit Patel, Andreanne Lavoie, Leno Zhao, and Uzair Faruqui.

This is the first year that all 12 finalists were awarded $3000 in seed funding for their startups and invited to join The Forge summer accelerator program.

The first-place winner of the evening, Cole Kirschner, is a fourth year biotechnology student twho received $10,000 in seed funding for his startup, BioAge. BioAge helps people understand how lifestyle and environmental choices impact how rapidly they are ageing. They have developed a novel, cost effective method of analyzing DNA-methylation patterns to determine a person’s biological age.

Ryan Threndyle, a fourth year Earth and Environmental Science student, finished in second place with $7500, that will be used to fuel the development of Peersight. Peersight helps connect students and recent graduates with outstanding employers.

Third place went to Avin Regmi, fifth year Computer Engineering student who won $5000 for his startup, PaniniAi, which helps physicians make evidence-based decisions through an artificial intelligence platform.

The raffle prizes consisted of a Nix color sensor and a Google home.

The next Forge Student Startup Competition will be taking place in September 2018, and students are encouraged to start thinking about their ideas.

The Forge is the gateway to all things entrepreneurship at McMaster University. The competition was sponsored by the Faculty of Engineering, with additional prizes and support supplied by Nix Sensor Ltd. and Greening Media. In partnership with the Forge, the competition was also supported by McMaster University (Student Affairs/Industry Liaison Office) and the Ontario Centre of Excellence.