DC students pitch business ideas to win $2,500

It started with 25 applications, 10 business ideas were chosen and now the final seven are left standing as part of the Durham College (DC) Summer Accelerator, a 15-week incubation program, funded and supported by FastStart DC and facilitated by the Spark Centre.

These teams have been working since the beginning of May to develop and refine their businesses and will be competing in the Summer Accelerator Pitch Finale on Tuesday, August 11.

Below is information about the students and their innovative ideas:

Shanoo Gupta, a graduate of the Marketing – Business program is the founder of Delush, a juicing company that focuses on natural ingredients and preservative-free products. Gupta walked away with a $500 prize after winning the first Summer Accelerator Pitch Competition on Thursday, July 9.
Jeremy Coulis, a student in DC’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business program, who will be graduating this fall, has created Agile Fat Guy, a craft distillery that will use the business model of craft beer and apply it to his business to make craft spirits. Coulis tied for second during the second Summer Accelerator Pitch Competition receiving a $500 prize.
Michael Brideau, a third-year student in the Sport Administration and Management program, has developed, Hockeypedia, an online database for minor hockey league tournaments. Brideau’s goal is to provide the public with easier access to tournament schedules across Ontario. Not only will Hockeypedia post information of when and where tournaments will take place throughout the province, it will also promote and advertise them as well.
Robert Biggar, a graduate of DC’s Advertising and Marketing Communications program has created Ideal Compass along with his business partner and brother William. Ideal Compass is a web application that helps travel agents increase their businesses efficiency and improve the quality of their service.
Kristof Lindale is a young community member who has developed a startup to provide post-secondary students with financial guidance through a series of video blogs. The goal is to help students by teaching different methods of budgeting and how to be successful.
Shazaan Sajeeb, a third-year student of DC’s Computer Systems Technology program, created Logique One, a business focused on the building of custom computers for specific uses, such as graphic design.
Michael Shankar, a second-year student in DC’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business Program. He founded Belle in a Box, a luxury subscription box service to help further the product experience for users.

Over the course of the Summer Accelerator program participants learned how to bring their innovative ideas and business ventures to market faster, while accessing professional services and support from an experienced team of faculty, entrepreneurs and business owners. Throughout the program they have assessed their business models, developed operational plans and validated the market need for their companies. Each participant also attended regular seminars and workshops in pitching, sales, marketing and public speaking offered by the Spark Centre’s expert team of startup advisors.

The entire college community wishes them well as they compete for the grand prize during Tuesday’s Pitch Finale Competition, where the winner will be awarded a cash prize of $2,500.