15 ventures selected to compete in 2015 LiON’S LAIR

LL2015-Finalists-e1434044434883
 

Hamilton, ON (June 11, 2015) – Fifteen companies have been selected as finalists for LiON’S LAIR, a competition that offers finalists the chance to pitch their idea to a panel of industry judges—the “Lions”—and solicit over $100,000 in cash and in-kind resources.

Hopeful participants submitted their business plans in April and each plan was evaluated based on the company’s product and commercial viability, ability to execute, and other factors by a panel of independent judges. The judge’s scores were tallied and this year’s fifteen finalists are: 12 Squared Diagnostics, Blue Orchid Care, BuckItLife, Chipsetter, ExVivo Labs, NanoSpin, OneBase, Peytec, Qidni Labs, QReserve, Sniper Skin, Tribute Tree, Virtual Possibilities, WeMesh and xocial.

“This year marks the fifth annual LiON’S LAIR competition and we’re delighted to see the diverse, high-potential businesses that have been selected as finalists,” stated Keanin Loomis, President and CEO, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

This year, a new component has been added to the competition. Fifteen ventures have been selected and all fifteen will go through training over the summer months, but in July, five companies will be eliminated during a round of preliminary pitching. The remaining ten will move on to face the Lions with the goal of winning a portion of the over $100,000 in prizing.

“This elimination stages adds another exciting element to the competition,” said David Carter, Executive Director, Innovation Factory. ”It also allows us to offer more entrepreneurs the invaluable workshop sessions to help them refine their business plan, their pitch, and ultimately accelerate their business.”

This years’ “Lions” are: Mario Paron (KPMG), Tonia Jahshan (Steeped Tea), George McCarter (Pearson Dunn), Cheri Chevalier (Microsoft Canada), and Michael Macaluso (CARSTAR Automotive Canada Inc).

Each finalist will participate in a pitch session with the Lions which will include the entrepreneur’s pitch followed by a question period. The Lions ultimately decide which companies receive cash and in-kind service investments from participating sponsors.

The pitch sessions will be filmed at Cable 14 and will be shown at the LiON’S LAIR gala on September 30, 2015 at Carmen’s Banquet Centre. The Lions’ investment decisions will be revealed live on stage at the gala.

LiONʼS LAIR gala tickets will go on sale in early July at www.lionslair.ca.

 

More about this year’s finalists:

12 Squared Diagnostics has developed a diagnostic test for the new oral anticoagulants. It uses a drop of blood from a finger-prick at point-of-care, giving result in 30 minutes.

Blue Orchid Care has designed the ORCHIDlift, a compact and portable sit-to-stand lift which allows the caregiver to lift and transfer 3x their weight limit and eliminates the forward bending motion and twisting of the spine that can cause back injury.

BuckItLife is an online adventure tourism hub that connects consumers to service providers who can fulfill the activities on consumers’ bucket lists.

Chipsetter is developing a low­-cost pick-­and­-place machine for the printed circuit board (PCB) assembly process that is 10 times more cost­-effective, easier to use, and quicker to setup than existing entry­-level machines.

ExVivo Labs is developing skin patch technologies to make allergy testing less invasive and more accurate. Our technology provides an alternative allergy testing method to the commonly used skin prick test, and gives results that are safe, simple and certain.

NanoSpin presents a patent-pending cooling technology for computer servers. The result of a decade of research, this technology can reduce energy consumption of a data center by up to 50%, and reduce its real-estate footprint to a fifth.

OneBase has created a web platform that allows teams to effectively and efficiently onboard their members. OneBase lets you track the effectiveness of your initiatives, engage your new team members, and offers a one-stop-shop that is accessible anywhere – desktop or mobile.

Peytec is an award winning company, offers real-time location tracking and sensing solutions. Peytec mainly helps agriculture, manufacturing, retail, and logistics industries to better manage their inventory and product quality through utilization of Peytec’s scalable sensors and location chips.

Qidni Labs is working on an implantable renal replacement therapy (artificial kidney) for nearly three million patients with End Stage Renal Disease.

QReserve is a matchmaking service for researchers, students and businesses. Their platform connects people who need research equipment, services or expertise, building collaborative research partnerships. The QReserve platform is a publicly searchable database of research resources, which spans labs across Canada in universities, colleges, hospitals and research institutions.

Sniper Skin has created a revolutionary hockey tape alternative. Conventional hockey tape has remained the same for decades – it must be replaced every few games and does not protect the stick. Sniper Skin’s one piece sleeve is heat activated, with a special surface texture that slides over the blade.

Tribute Tree is the only Software as a Service (SaaS) website platform that meets all of the funeral planning, arrangement and digital communications needs of their customers (families) during their time of loss.

Virtual Possibilities has developed a patented, prototype for minimally invasive surgery. Comparable to the classic board game Operation, LaparoGuard tracks and records the delicate movements of laparoscopic tools during surgery, alerting medical teams when instruments approach the boundaries of an established safe zone. The overall effect is to reduce and prevent instrument and tissue collisions that cause injury during surgery.

WeMesh is the world’s first truly synchronous multimedia messenger app, letting users experience their favorite videos in perfect sync with all their friends while messaging through text and voice. WeMesh features simultaneous video playback, a versatile chat engine, high-quality Voice-over-IP, and full contacts and social network integration.

xocial™ (soh-shuhl) is a platform to motivate do-gooders, inspire healthy competition and help organizations engage audiences—all by measuring our positive social impact with the xo score™. The xocial platform helps brands, non-profits, charitable foundations, employers and third-party apps connect with everyday heroes.

 

About Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
Representing over 1,000 businesses and institutions that employ more than 75,000 people in Hamilton, Ontario, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce is the city’s 169 year-old voice of business and thought leader in commerce. In addition to helping provide solutions to the day-to-day challenges of its member businesses, the Hamilton Chamber provides leadership on city building initiatives that are designed to stimulate commerce and increase prosperity in the community. www.hamiltonchamber.ca

About Innovation Factory
Innovation Factory is the Regional Innovation Centre for Hamilton in the Ontario Network of Excellence, leveraging funding and support from all three levels of government and the city’s top private sector and institutional partners. Our goal is to stimulate economic activity in this city by helping Hamilton businesses embrace the principles of innovation. www.innovationfactory.ca

###

For more information, contact:
Emily Kinread
Marketing & Communications Manager, Innovation Factory
905.667.2611 x233 | emily.kinread@innovationfactory.ca

Keanin Loomis
President & CEO, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
905.522.1151 x229 | k.loomis@hamiltonchamber.ca