Although entrepreneurship is sometimes perceived as a one-person show – think Steve Jobs – in many cases, the next big, successful business idea is ignited through teamwork.
That’s the basis behind U of T’s first-ever Idea Ignition Weekend, hosted by U of T Engineering’s The Entrepreneurship Hatchery and the Nspire Innovation Network. The weekend event, which took place on January 19 and 20, encouraged U of T students – from engineering, to commerce, to criminology – to join forces, molding ideas into a winning business pitch.
“The goal of the event was to promote not only entrepreneurial thinking around an idea, but to encourage team-building,” said Adjunct Professor Joseph Orozco, Acting Director of The Entrepreneurship Hatchery. “Students were working in groups with people they’ve never met before, from different programs – that’s how ideas morph.”
More than 50 students participated in the inaugural event, which saw them split into 15 teams to develop an innovative idea to pitch to judges on the final day. Many of the business concepts were rooted in software engineering, including the team behind ‘Code 101,’ who came up with an online software development learning platform.
They were among the six teams who made it to the final round, where they got to pitch to a panel of three generations of entrepreneurs. Among them, emerging entrepreneur and recent engineering graduate Hadi Aladdin (CompE 1T2) of CoursePeer Inc., young alumnus Somen Mondal (CompE 0T2), CEO of Field ID, and seasoned entrepreneur Arthur H. Watson (CivE 7T5) of Convergent Bioscience Ltd.
The winning teams were ‘Fashion Choice,’ who presented a social, mobile-based platform for fashion lovers, designers and brands to connect; ‘SKUA,’ who pitched a collapsible, multi-purpose bag to be used by the day-to-day consumer; and, ‘SizeRight,’ who got an honourable mention for their mobile-based, e-commerce platform that facilitates the sale of denims between retailers and consumers.
“The weekend was a great success,” said Orozco. “Students came together in a fun and practical environment to build the next generation of business ideas.”
