Haskayne students compete in inaugural RBC Fast Pitch competition

Winners’ startup venture offers on-campus security bracelet

By Ashley Tymko
 
All 12 teams in the inaugural Hunter Centre RBC Fast Pitch Competition finals arrived bright-eyed early Friday morning; first place winners, Securelet, went home that afternoon with the grand prize of nearly $100,000 in cash and in-kind to realize their startup.
 
The competition involves second-year Haskayne students enrolled in Entrepreneurial Thinking 317, and tasks them with researching and developing a sustainable new venture.
 
Derek Hassay, RBC professor of entrepreneurial thinking, believes that this is one of most community-oriented competitions in Canada. “Our students had to work with all levels of business advisers, community leaders and consultants within Calgary in order to bring their new venture to life.”
 
The first-place team, Securelet, is a revolution in on-campus security. Their product combined fashion with function in a bracelet for women to wear on campus that has a button to call for help in case of an emergency.
 
Second place was awarded to EcoSpire Plastics and Happy Hands scooped up the third place award. A surprise twist awarded One World Blankets as Viewer’s Choice which was determined by the audience.
 
Teams were given ten minutes each to pitch their new venture idea to a panel of 12 judges who are prominent business leaders in Calgary. After the presentation, the judges were allotted four minutes to ask hard-pressing questions regarding the real-world functionality of their enterprise.
 
Haskayne School of Business Dean Jim Dewald says, “This competition is reflective of the principal teachings at Haskayne geared towards building leaders within the Calgary community. These second-year students brought the wow-factor to this experiential competition and have made Haskayne proud.”
 
The 12 RBC Fast PItch competition finalists, in the order they presented, were: Eco-LOGic, Happy Hands, One World Blankets, Peeach, Build-A-Bar, Lazer Lots, EcoSpire Plastics, Revitalize Scrubs, Campus Catering Company, Safety Dynamics, Securelet, and Little Feet.
 
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