Student entrepreneurs vie for awards
April 21, 2017
Culinary Management students Patricia Di Chiara, Emily Behm and Trisha Speakman came up with the business idea of creating a nut-free chocolate spread.
Students who created their business “Luisella” proved they weren’t nuts to design a chocolate spread after it earned them first place and $2,000 in the annual Georgian Den Competition at the Barrie Campus on April 10.
Culinary Management students Patricia Di Chiara, Emily Behm and Trisha Speakman came up with the business idea of creating a nut-free chocolate spread after Patricia’s family moved to Canada from Italy and her children could not take their beloved chocolate spread to school due to nut allergies.
The idea was a hit with judges made up of industry professionals, such as Kent Smith, owner/operator of Michael & Marion’s restaurant, Scott Kennedy from the IoT (Internet of Things) division of Rogers and Michael Lalonde, co-owner of Innovative Automation.
Luisella was one of about 30 student-led businesses from the Hospitality and Business programs that showcased the business idea they cultivated over the semester in a tradeshow held in the Holland Lounge in Georgian’s Automotive Building. The top six groups earned a spot in the final round of Georgian Den and competed for one of the four cash earning positions.
Hospitality student Chantal DeGaust’s business idea, “Veda,” placed second ($1,500); “In-Line Sports,” created by Recreation students Alexander Grove, Melissa Paoletti, Ashley Clubine and Daniel Harrison placed third ($1,000); and “B-Map,” the business idea created by Hospitality students Ryan Chevrefils, Anthony Cucullo, Tyler Stevens, Evan Good and Felisha Gravel came in fourth place ($500).
All of the students were in the Entrepreneurship for Small Business course.
Information on Veda, In-Line Sports and B-Map:
Veda – a Chat-bot (artificial intelligence) that helps renters find the perfect place. The bot is programmed to talk to the potential renter to filter their preferences and once complete will search for ideal rental properties from all websites advertising rentals. It’s a similar platform to Air BnB.
Line Up Sports – an app that helps community athletes find a sports league to join. This app matches active people to sport leagues in their community.
B-Map – an app that delivers a 3D video that visually walks users on a route to their classrooms once they have input the course number.