Earlier this month, the University of Windsor EPICentre hosted the 6th annual RBC Business Model Canvas Final Pitch Competition. This competition welcomed post-secondary students to showcase their business validation process using the Business Model Canvas – a visual outline with elements detailing a company’s value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances. 17 semi-finalist teams across Ontario were selected to compete for prizes which included:

• First place prize funded by RBC Foundation – $10,000
• Second place prize funded by RBC Foundation – $2,500
• Postmedia People’s Choice Award – $2,000 in-kind advertising
• KPMG Financial Competency Award – $750

Semi-finalists were invited to join us on November 4th for a virtual orientation session with keynote speaker, Dr. Pooja Viswanathan, Co-Founder and CEO of Braze Mobility. Dr.Viswanathan gave an insightful presentation on how she and her team utilized the business model canvas with their patented blindspot wheelchair sensors, then followed up the presentation with a Q&A session where attendee’s had the opportunity to ask questions about her entrepreneurial experience and gain insight on their own ventures. Teams then had the opportunity to network with each other, attendees tuned in from Brock University, McMaster, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and the University of Windsor.

On November 10th, all semi-finalist teams came together to pitch their presentations to a panel of judges. Of the 17 semi-finalist teams selected, 6 teams moved on to the final competition on November 18th where they pitched their presentations to our esteemed judging panel, Mary Kilfoil, Scott Stirrett, David Schuld, and Ali Abdulhussein. EPICentre is thrilled to announce the University of Windsor team (and current members of our RBC Founders Program), Luxury Dumbbel Weights, made it to the finals of the competition.

Congratulations to the 2022 RBC Business Model Canvas Competition winners:

• First place – Arbre from University of Toronto
• Second place – CloudSafari from University of Waterloo
• Postmedia People’s Choice Award – Si-13 from McMaster University
• KPMG Finanical Competency Award – Arbre from University of Toronto