Ontario Community Newspapers

Waterloo Chronicle (Waterloo, On1868), 31 Oct 2012, p. 13

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mamas-mamauiz- u Tri k 9 C or treat . C C ’ , 0 Student edition of CBC 3 Dragons Den features two UW tech prOJects ‘ BY IlooVan~ ga Mall. and Liu said the City of Waterloo .___..":’.'L"E‘£‘f$“ifl., ,. W and the Uptown Waterloo BIA have just bought into the technology for a new project 3 he kids won't be the only ones looking in the core. , I for treats not tricks this Halloween as “We've been doing this for a while." said ‘ two companies iotiiided by University Liu. who founded the company along with ‘- of Waterloo students make their best pitch friend leander Lee and Mitchell Butler. “We ~ \, ‘ on the hit (2m; show Dragons' Den tonight. wouldn't have been here without VeloCity " . j . _ Mappedln and SMAR l’eat‘lier are two anti the work we did at the University of . 3?? “k; ' student-founded high-tech companies that Waterloo. ‘ ”if” , 7.“ mil appear on the popular student edition "By the time we went to the Dragons' $.13}! oi the show as they look to get the panel of Den the pitch was a cake walk. i wasn't wor- ““5 "‘ dragons, ”It hiding \let‘fititlrllillth‘ Dave ried about it at all, anti it's just because I've j» (ihilton, to but into their businesses. pitched it so many titties." 7 llongwei l.iu. (ii () oi Mappedln, is no lie said preparation is important in a ‘3 stranger to the art of the pitch. lie started good pitch. so they anticipated the kinds of the rompany Willi two fellow UW students questions that they would get from the as a part of the \‘elo(1ity program at the Dragon's and planned every contingency st hool. and they've refined their message they needed in answering them. silit‘t‘ incorinrating in March 2011 and jolt» "We weren't worried at all." said Liu. who mg the (Zomniuniiech Huh. now considers himself a veteran pitchman. lit-fore that they were winning a number “We prepared more than enough for that." . oi strident pilt’h competitions with their He said a good pitch tells a story. and too business that programs smart directories for many people worry about trying to impress use inside of malls. buildings and anywhere a panel like the Dragons' Den instead of else looking for interactive mapping. that believing in their own product. Leander Lee and Hongwei Liu of local high-tech company Mappedln make their pitch on the technology is already on display at (lonesto- “You can set yourself up to be intimidatâ€" popular CBC show Dragons’ Den tonight at 8 pm. sum-1m mom r .. ed or nervous.” said Liu. “You're worried about doing this in front of so many people, said Peters. “A lot of the questions they ask He said it all comes down to sales, and all i Y: but really this is about having a conversation on any episode on Dragons' Den are covered businesses need customers. That's why new i y ‘ and telling a story to another guy who has in your business plan. businesses have to get out there with some j “as“: ‘ probably been through the same thing a “As a startup you don't want to sit down infectious enthusiasm and get other people i - a . I longtime ago. and write a 20-plus page document it. kind excited. i .5; [ ”And we're cenainiy lucky with Mappedln of seems like a waste of time, but it's really “if we get somebody who is passionate .‘ when we can show them we‘re doing lnter- an important component and we were lucky about the product and has a command of _‘ 3 net navigation for malls. universities and enough that we got to do it for cdurse cred- the language to draw us in. they're more .: g , T ‘ airports, and here‘s how it works.” it." likely to draw others in." said Chilton. “More . . the art of selling your passion and ideas So what does the newest member of the than anything else I look for that energy and i . ' is something Alex Peters. another UW grad. Dragons' Den panel think about the show enthusiasm.” 5 has become familiar with since founding being mustvsee-TV in certain local business Chilton has some of that enthusiasm 4 ~ SMAR'l‘eacher with honours mechatronics courses? Chilton, the author of the best- himself, launching his newest book project is . engineering classmate Rohan Mahimker. selling personal-finance book The Wealthy and having to do various speaking engage~ . "it was our fourth-year project where this Barber and its follow up The Wealthy Barber merits before joining the Dragons' Den l ;« u all started for us." said Peters who is co-CEO Returns. said the reach of the show. which panel this fall. ‘, of the company along with Mahimker. “We airs Wednesday nights at 8 pm. doesn‘t sur- it's even got him thinking about the art of ' , ‘-’ ; were basically getting our feet wet building prise him. the pitch and how it shaped his own suc- ’3 inf our first prototype and taking a bunch of “One of the things that works so well is cases. including taking a chance on a book 1; 1 courses that helped give us the confidence that every pitch is different.~ said Chilton. project called looneyspoons that rivaled his ‘ we needed so when we yaduated we were “As a Dragon you weigh different variables own booksellingsuccesa ._ able to start a full-fledged company.” dramatically from pitch to pitch depending 'Everywhere i go people tell me they've ,. . ()ne of those courses was one on techni- on what the business model is like and Mint pursued an idea or started a business “ z cal entrepreneurship. and used the Dragons' the competitive landscape is like. because of Dragons’ Den.” said Chilton. i Den as model of what to expect when mak- "That being said, there are certain things "That's especially true on university cam- ~ a“ , ing a pitch to interested investors i want. like a pitcher who can come down poses and college campuses where they tell ,:- ’ , "It gave us some semblance of a direc- and articulate his or her vision well and is me they got interested in studying business VV‘ Dave Chitton tion. and the training in what we needed." doingitquickiy.” because of the show.” v P--------"---â€"----. . , Iâ€"oma- : : k ~* unsealed-m I . . ‘ 1 it nomluu: I ‘ .; -**0‘ . : ; tm0--- i . "‘ ' . 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