Funding boost
Robin Murphy learned about the risks of hearing loss and the importance of protecting against it while growing up.
A startup he founded to do just that won $25,000 in seed funding last night at the 2021 Mel Woodward Cup (MWC) finals, a pitch competition for student entrepreneurs at 糖心视频 University.
鈥淢y mom has a disease called Usher鈥檚 syndrome, meaning she has progressive hearing and vision loss. So, I learned that hearing is precious, and you need to protect it,鈥 he said.
鈥淲hen I started motorcycling, I was amazed to hear no real solution existed to protect hearing while maintaining situational awareness. I founded Audyse to help protect people and ensure they could listen to what they needed and cancel what they don鈥檛.鈥
Mr. Murphy, a fourth-year computer engineering student, founded with business partners Joel Hatcher, a process engineering student, and Keeley Flynn, a student at College of the North Atlantic. Audyse was also a finalist in the 2020 MCE competition.
鈥淲e are very grateful and excited to win,鈥 Mr. Murphy said. 鈥淭his will help our company move forward and will enable us to work towards our goals.鈥
鈥楢wesome feeling鈥
The virtual fifth edition of the MWC saw five finalist teams compete through pre-recorded video pitches and a live Q&A with a panel of judges from business and startup communities in St. John鈥檚, N.L., Toronto, Ont., Washington, D.C., and the Bahamas.
Forty-two teams applied to participate in the competition.
Bx Medical Solutions, a health management platform that aims to help bariatric surgery patients track their progress and connect with their health-care teams post-surgery, won $15,000 as the runner-up.
The company was founded by computer engineering student Alex Mills and business partner Malcolm Snow (B.Sc.鈥20), who came up with the idea during a work term with the N.L. Bariatric Surgery Project at the Faculty of Medicine.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an awesome feeling seeing the hard work we have put in over the past several months pay off,鈥 said Mr. Mills.
鈥淭his money will allow us to make the necessary additions to our team to continue with development. We鈥檙e also looking forward to seeing the product continue to grow, and hopefully provide significant benefits to patients and clinical care teams.鈥
Milestone competition
Both teams will receive in-kind prizes related to legal, marketing, market research, tax and business and professional development services from Altitude Media, Gardiner Centre, Genesis, HeyOrca!, KMPG, McInnes Cooper, Perfect Day and TechNL.
The MWC, hosted by the (MCE), has invested $180,000 in student-led startups since it began in 2017.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great indication that entrepreneurs are able to find support and develop innovative businesses right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.鈥 鈥 Florian Villaum茅
To date, 168 teams have participated, representing 374 participants.
鈥淭he Mel Woodward Cup has been an important early milestone for success stories like CoLab Software, BreatheSuite and PolyUnity,鈥 said Florian Villaum茅, director, MCE.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great indication that entrepreneurs are able to find support and develop innovative businesses right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.鈥
Finalist list
The other three finalists were as follows:
- Orogen Data: An application to organize projects and archive data using a laser-printed, barcoded tag that users scan to access information related to the specific core box (founders: Ali Fakhoury, master of science student; and Cole Inkpen);
- Owlya: An artificial intelligence-powered online assessment platform designed to help instructors create smart online tests and detect cheating (founders: Chukwuebuka Amaefula and Martins Ojakpa, master of science students; Chukwuemeka Achilefu, master of applied science student; and Chukwuemeka Ezeiruaku); and;
- CakeyHand: A business that allows users to design and order cakes from local bakeries (founders: Suren Margaryan, bachelor of science student; and Anna Paytyan).
Woodward family gift
The MWC was created in 2017 through a donation from the family of the late Dr. Mel Woodward, a well-known entrepreneur who founded the Woodward Group of Companies.
Peter, Melvin and Tana Woodward collectively donated $1.13 million to 糖心视频鈥檚 Faculty of Business Administration, in memory of their father, to support student entrepreneurs through the MCE.
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency also provides support for the competition.