University Canada West hosted its first-ever UCW Pitch Night event, showcasing its students’ entrepreneurial talent and giving them a platform to present their business ideas to investors and industry experts.

The event, which took place at Vancouver House Campus on Friday, November 1, featured seven business pitches from undergraduate students in UCW’s Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Arts in Business Communications and Associate of Arts programs.

Teams of students presented their groundbreaking ideas for solving real-world challenges, ranging from sustainable food practices and supply chain sustainability to mental health support, health and fitness as well as healthcare.

The students presented their business ideas to a panel of industry leaders, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who served as judges for the evening.

Each team had five minutes to present their business ideas, followed by questions from the judges. At the end of the evening, the judges announced the top three pitches, which received cash prizes.

The winning pitches were:

  • First Prize ($1,000): TimelyU – an efficient university scheduling web app revolutionizing university course scheduling with innovative data analytics solutions presented by Andres Agudelo and Alejandra Bonilla.
  • Second Prize ($750): Fresca Nova – a farm-to-table marketplace focused on sustainable food practices presented by Gaganjeet Singh.
  • Third Prize ($500): Fruitasty – a gourmet food truck offering a customizable organic fruit salad experience presented by Juan Morales, Shin Thant Aung and Juan Camilo Benito.

“We are incredibly proud to showcase the innovative spirit of our students through our first ever UCW Pitch Night,” said George Drazenovic, Department Chair, Undergraduate Programs.

“It’s a testament to their hard work and creativity, and it provides a vital platform to help them on their journey to transforming their ideas into reality. These aspiring entrepreneurs will be the business leaders of tomorrow, driving change and making a positive impact on our community.”

Judges included Praveen Varshney, Director and Founder of Varshney Capital Corp; Vahid Shababi, Chief Growth Officer of Victory Square Technologies; Steve Lowry, Founding Member of Frontier Collective and Executive Director of the AI Network of British Columbia; Neil Haran, entrepreneur and CEO of Rawbots; Mathew August, a long-term venture capitalist and growth investor; and Dr. Steven Whiteside, Director of Business Development at UCW, President of Zappa Media Consultants and a seasoned business consultant with a background in leadership development.