Ryan Church, Nihal Ahmed shortlisted in Ivey Business Plan Competition
Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - 4:45pm
A team composed of OCAD University Strategic Foresight and Innovation (SFI) students Ryan Church and Nihal Ahmed, and Schulich School of Business, Health Industry Management Program students Jason Lin, Dr. Justin Chopra and Srivatsan Vijayakumar, made it to the shortlist in the IBK Capital Ivey Business Plan Competition in January.
Over 50 teams entered the premier graduate student business plan competition, with 12 teams shortlisted. Entrepreneurial teams were drawn from top graduate schools across North America. The competition offers students an opportunity to present innovative business plans to potential investors, offering them an advance look at up-and-coming entrepreneurs and new ventures.
Leveraging the existing Angel Sensor hardware, the team created Ripple Labs Inc. to develop their product, Circle of Love, a wearable, waterproof, medical band that tracks vital signs and statistics using Bluetooth and Smartphone technology.
In addition to tracking vital statistics, Circle of Love also has an accelerometer for the purpose of detecting a fall, and a call function connecting the user with a loved one or a personal support worker.
The OCAD U SFI students focused on design thinking, horizon scanning and user flow, while the Schulich students focused on SWOT analysis and the necessary financials. While the they didn’t win the competition, the OCAD U/Schulich team received serious investment interest from one of the judges, and was honoured to be among the shortlist group.
The OCAD U/Schulich connected originally through an SFI/Schulich collaborative design challenge called Boomers to Zoomers: Re-Designing Health Care for our Coming of Age, which kicked off in November, and proved to be the catalyst for the team’s concept. The team then fast-tracked product development in order to enter the Ivey Competition. The team is now focusing on their final preparations in the Boomers to Zoomers challenge, for which final designs will be revealed at an event on April 23 at MaRS Discovery District.
A team composed of OCAD University Strategic Foresight and Innovation (SFI) students Ryan Church and Nihal Ahmed, and Schulich School of Business, Health Industry Management Program students Jason Lin, Dr. Justin Chopra and Srivatsan Vijayakumar, made it to the shortlist in the IBK Capital Ivey Business Plan Competition in January.
Over 50 teams entered the premier graduate student business plan competition, with 12 teams shortlisted. Entrepreneurial teams were drawn from top graduate schools across North America. The competition offers students an opportunity to present innovative business plans to potential investors, offering them an advance look at up-and-coming entrepreneurs and new ventures.
Leveraging the existing Angel Sensor hardware, the team created Ripple Labs Inc. to develop their product, Circle of Love, a wearable, waterproof, medical band that tracks vital signs and statistics using Bluetooth and Smartphone technology.
In addition to tracking vital statistics, Circle of Love also has an accelerometer for the purpose of detecting a fall, and a call function connecting the user with a loved one or a personal support worker.
The OCAD U SFI students focused on design thinking, horizon scanning and user flow, while the Schulich students focused on SWOT analysis and the necessary financials. While the they didn’t win the competition, the OCAD U/Schulich team received serious investment interest from one of the judges, and was honoured to be among the shortlist group.
The OCAD U/Schulich connected originally through an SFI/Schulich collaborative design challenge called Boomers to Zoomers: Re-Designing Health Care for our Coming of Age, which kicked off in November, and proved to be the catalyst for the team’s concept. The team then fast-tracked product development in order to enter the Ivey Competition. The team is now focusing on their final preparations in the Boomers to Zoomers challenge, for which final designs will be revealed at an event on April 23 at MaRS Discovery District.