FAS students make their big pitch

The Dunin-Deshpande Summer Pitch Competition was an opportunity for student and community entrepreneurs to pitch innovative start-ups. Attracting a diverse group of students and members of the Kingston community across a wide range of backgrounds and expertise, the competition has provided more than 510 participants with the chance to take their ideas to the next level, with prizes and grants totaling $100,000.

The 2021 competition was a particularly special year, not only because it is the 10th anniversary of the competition, but also due to the recent recognition of Queen’s as an Entrepreneurial University by the Deshpande Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education.

The final competition, featuring 15 teams, was held virtually and hosted by the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre (DDQIC). Participants had seven minutes to pitch their business to judges, followed by a six-minute question-and-answer session.

“The Summer Pitch Competition provides important opportunities for Queen’s students, staff, and faculty, to interact and collaborate with citizens in the region,” says Dean Barbara Crow, Faculty of Arts and Science. “I’m proud of our students and their work towards becoming changemakers.”

Six teams featuring founders from the Faculty of Arts and Science competed in the finals including:

• Vireine - Vireine is an accurate digital fitting solution meant to help users understand their breasts, with a goal to find a bra that fits comfortably.
• Caddie Health - Using AI-powered software, Caddie Health reduces administrative burdens on physicians.
• Coastr - Coastr lets restaurant customers pay their bill through their phones so they won’t have to wait for a server.
• SELF - SELF is an online training program that teaches sex trafficking prevention in schools and intervention in businesses through interactive modules.
• S.H.E. - S.H.E provides self-care provisions and income generating opportunities to underprivileged women from rural Indian villages to tackle mental health disorders.
• Actionable Nuggets - Actionable Nuggets is a one-stop-shop for low prevalence, high demanding primary care, providing credible, concise and actionable information.

The Coastr team earned the Wisdom of the Market Award of $2,000. All 400+ event attendees had the opportunity to cast their vote for their favourite team, and Coastr was the team with the most votes. The Coastr team made it into the program by winning the Mayor’s Innovation Challenge that is hosted each year by the City of Kingston.

“DDQIC builds change-makers by catalyzing their potential for creative problem solving, and equipping them with translational skills that allow them to solve problems in the real world,” says Jim McLellan, Academic Director of DDQIC. “DDQIC’s mission is to develop the entrepreneurial mindset of participants through experiential learning opportunities like the pitch competition.”

For aspiring competitors in the next Summer Pitch Competition, there are many experiential programs to support teams year-round in developing a start-up. This year’s competing teams developed their ideas during numerous entrepreneurship initiatives on campus, such as the Mayor’s Innovation Challenge, the Certificate in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Creativity, the Queen’s Innovation Centre Summer Initiative, and Build2Scale Health.