The major difference I’ve come to realize are the tools an entrepreneur may have to increase its reach within the global community. The Ottawa Innovation Challenge tries to approach the business competition from a different angle and tackle these new problems and give us many opportunities to connect with other young entrepreneurs in the region.

The way the Ottawa Innovation Challenge works is actually fairly simple; companies are responsible to prepare a problem statement which reflects current challengers the company is experiencing. We are given 48hrs to provide the client the best solution. I was assigned a partner, Nigel Kay, who I never met before and go! It was an incredible experience where I had the opportunity to learn so much from the mentors who gave their time over the weekend to assist us.

The Ottawa Innovation Challenge is tailored in such a way where making connection is critical and this gave me the confidence I needed to start my business this summer.

I cannot stress how excited I am with the positive response which we have been getting all along throughout our planning stages. Not only do we have more teams and participants, but through our incredible mentorship experience we are truly feeling a grand community feeling right here in Ottawa.

By: Tuhin Das

OIC is back, bigger and better, and I for one can’t wait.  48 hours of intense competition, learning, excitement and fun. What better way to spend a weekend?

From April 23rd to April 25th, 16 students will work on one of four business challenges provided by 4 local Ottawa start-ups. The challenges are real, reflecting present day issues that our entrepreneurial leaders are currently facing.

This year’s unofficial theme is “for start-ups by start-ups” and is represented by the start-ups involved in presenting the challenges, the challenges themselves, and the mentors, sponsors & prizes.

I’m expecting as exciting a time as last year, so stay tuned for updates leading up to OIC 2010 and the event itself,  from this OIC blog, the TBridge blog, facebook and twitter @InnovateOttawa.

For more information, go to  http://innovationottawa.com/

To apply to participate:  Click here

The event had just begun and I was sitting at a big conference table with a dozen or so participants and some onlookers, well wishers and the presenters. I sat there trying to mentally prepare myself for a 48 hour marathon.

And just then Steve Robins took over the stage and the event commenced. Beginning with a short speech thanking everyone, the focus of the event quickly shifted to the challenge presentations where each company, Benbria and ThinkSM, made their case. I was taking copious notes in order to pin down the key things that were addressed by the speaker so that later on we could have a checklist from which to work out our proposal document and our presentations 48 hours later.

With that, we were off to the residences where we were set up in our groups and sent off to our rooms to begin the task at hand. I quickly met with my group in our room and set a course of action. I thought to myself, introductions will come as we go along and tackle problems. Each person’s personality and strengths will fully reveal themselves in due time. What was important for now was to tackle the task at hand with a strong start so that we could time manage and deliver a great presentation. Winning was the last thing on my mind.

I decided that it was best, as my group members were not techies, to introduce them to the challenge presented and the basic background knowledge required for general understanding.  This was done with some short and quick demonstrations to help solidify the concepts. Once this was done, we quickly split up work roles and went to task. Much of the first eve was spent understanding the problem, looking at background documentation and material, researching any possible solutions that already existed, as well as what was currently being done to solve the challenge presented to us. We independently researched the different tasks that were split up amongst us depending on our strengths and decided to share our findings with each other the next morning.

We all reconvened bright and early the next morning and began sharing the thoughts and ideas we had gathered from the research conducted the previous evening. We then re-evaluated our checklist for deliverables and really analyzed each finding to make sure that we were in line with the task at hand. This helped us to quickly and early on weed out some findings that would lead us in an interesting, yet very disconnected path. We removed such obstacles from the findings and reviewed the shortlist one final time before further splitting up work and moving forward.

We then held a strong brainstorming session coming up with new ways to solve the problem and rethinking the possible solutions that are already presented and what their shortcomings were. This allowed us to take a step back and re-evaluate what was currently being done to solve the problem and how it was insufficient. We then used this invaluable information to strategize and pull together an innovative solution.

The remainder of the day was spent ironing out our strategy with at least half a dozen revisions to make sure that we got it just right. Once we had formulated a strategy we then set out to build a document. A proposal was one of the key deliverables and needless to say we spent quite a bit of time developing it. We began by flushing out as many of the sections of a business proposal as possible. All of us then took time sharing our thoughts and providing feedback while constantly rechecking the deliverables and the goals set out for the challenge as well as the notes that were taking during the initial presentations by the companies. We went through additional revisions until a solid document was formulated.  After that, we decided to call it a night and to be up and at it again early the Sunday morning, the day of presentations.

Upon reconvening on the final Sunday, we reviewed the proposal document for any final thoughts and comments and solidified the document and set it aside. We then moved on to building a prototype as applicable for our solution. We spent quite a bit of time evaluating and critiquing the current solutions as well as taking notes taken on what was desirable for the outcome of the challenge as a solution.  This took quite some time to build. The other group members were busy preparing the presentation and doing some final research to make sure that we were indeed providing a viable solution that could be built with real-world tools available.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned thus far and should be addressed, is that while we were taking short breaks here and there, there were pockets of five to ten minute dicussions about personal lives and getting to know each other which helped to build connections and closeness in the group. This was the reason why I had avoided the initial introductions and chat so that things could progress more smoothly.

By 3 p.m. that afternoon we had developed a rough outline of the presentation and it was in need of serious revision. In the meantime I had finalized the prototype to demo for the solution. It was looking really good and we were all quite excited about how well it turned out. Honestly, we were unsure as to how it would be received but our intentions were good and not once did our focus shift from the deliverables document and the notes that we had taken at the initial presentation. We made sure to stay on task and all of us helped each other to reinforce this.

We spent the final few hours revising and finalizing the document and revising the proposal as parts of the prototype and our solution had changed over time due to additional research.  By 5:30 p.m. we had completed the documentation and the presentation and were preparing ourselves for the presentation by practicing several runs and affirming to each other the great job that we had all done in putting in the effort.

There were some reasons for our success and I would like to address them here before closing off. We worked great as a team, did not get side tracked, were focused on the goals and the challenge that was presented to us and we delegated work very well.  It was also crucial that we did not experience any superiority complexes or authority issues. It was done in a very friendly and mutual beneficial environment and that brought the three of us together and allowed us to create something fantastic.

During the presentation we showed our protoype and ran through a quick, but long, presentation that wowed the audience. It was all of the above mentioned items that made for a well orchestrated grand finale that ended in our group winning the challenge.

In conclusion, OIC 2009 was a tremendous success and great fun. I enjoyed every minute of it.  Meeting brand new people and having to come to terms to tackle a business challenge in 48 hours was definitely, well … a challenge!

Now it was our moment of truth.  We needed two laptops – one for the presentation and one for our  prototype required a different program, which felt cool!  After the first few slides, it was my turn to speak.  Although I have done numerous presentations, this was different;  it was a different feeling altogether, it was more real.  I was nervous but at the same time enjoying speaking to the crowd as it felt like I was talking about my brain child which was born roughly 2 hours before the presentation.

To my surprise, the CEO’s and the other members did not leave during our presentation and seemed to be interested in what we were talking about. That gave my team a real boost and very soon we were done presenting with a TEAM GO BANG!

Soon I found myself talking to the other teams as if I had know them for years. Without trying, a lot of us had bonded over the short weekend. The company representatives and the OIC organizers helped us all and by the end of the weekend and we were all cracking jokes together. Not only did I learn more about actual corporate presentations, but I also made many new friends.

In a nut shell, what I truly enjoyed about the whole OIC challenge was the practical entrepreneurial experience, the mentorship, sustainability, building my network within the Ottawa Business Community and of course winning the challenge. What I did not like during the challenge were the pillows in our dorm rooms which were too small.  Lastly, and most importantly, my OIC experience definitely did not come to a halt after the weekend.  In fact it is only getting bigger and better as I continue to form strong relationships with the OIC organizers, TalentBridge, and the new network that I have developed.  I would absolutely recommend this experience to anyone who is interested in self-development and networking and myself am intending to participate again in OIC 2010.

I was extremely excited, as this environment reminded me of the show ‘The Apprentice’.  The venue, the tasks, the CEO’s and the short time frame for the challenge all made me feel as if I was living in that show. I had no idea who my other team members were or which challenge we would get.  I was put on a team with Mundeep Gill and Samrat Dhillon, and were assigned to the Benbria challenge.  We had barely enough time to introduce ourselves before starting the intial brain storming session on how best to tackle our new task.  We were given 10 seconds to come up with our team name, and the first thing that popped out my mouth was ‘GO’, hence the name ‘Team Go’.

We got down to business in the Carleton Prescott dorm rooms.  At first it was over-whelming to see the scale of information that needed to be researched before our final presentation in just 48 hours. My team and I decided to break things down to the bone and see what happened. It was unfortunate for me the first night, since both my team members preferred to work during the day, unlike myself, who is more of a night person. But this was reality, and we all had to work together.

Next morning on Saturday, after having a grand breakfast at the Carleton Cafeteria (ham, eggs, bacon, hash browns, just name it…yumm), we once again went back to brainstorming. It was a critical moment for my team; it was getting closer and closer to the deadline, but we still did not have a concrete solution. The pressure was building up, and so after a stressfull day we decided to cool ourselves, take a break and meet up the next day.

Now it was Sunday which was ‘THE DAY’.  We had 3 hours left and we had still not completed our presentation slides, simply because part of our final solution was still incomplete. I kept on asking myself what would happen – would the company CEO’s see us and just leave?  And not to mention what kind of questions they would ask us after our semi-finished presentation.  Talking with the other teams, it was clear they were afraid that they would take too long to present given the 15 minute limit. Our concern was how we would use the whole 15 minutes provided due to our unfinished results.

Then finally the words of wisdom started rumbling into our heads and a final strategy began to take shape – at once we knew what had to be done. I think we were working most efficiently two hours before our actual presentation. We were still short of slides and things to talk about, but at this point it was too late to discuss issues which would only confuse us further. So we decided to go with the flow and do the best that we could with the analyses we had conducted.  It was too late to change anything – it was showtime.

OIC 2009 Social – The Attendees, originally uploaded by RiaSon at flickr.

The OIC 2009 Social, held at City Hall on September 18th 2009, was an occasion to celebrate the achievements of OIC 2009. The event was attended by the participants, the OIC 2009 organizers, Scott Lake of ThinkSM and Alicia Liu, Ronald Richardson, and Mason Du of Benbria and our supporting partners, namely Stephen Daze and Claude Haw of OCRI, Luc Lalande of Carleton University, Ian Scott of the City of Ottawa, Andrew Fisher of Wesley Clover, and other friends of OIC and TalentBridge.

The winning teams had a chance to showcase their impressive presentations to a wider audience and just, how would I say it, “knock their socks off”! It was a chance to celebrate, network, and appreciate the hard work and all the different parties involved in building and recognizing the talent in our community.

Thank you to all those who attended, all those who supported, and all those who participated in OIC 2009. A great culminating event for OIC 2009 and a great energetic start to OIC 2010, coming to you March 2010.

Congratulations to all our participants!!

Winning Team: Team Definitely

Participants: Jad Saab, Sarah Maksoud, Muhammad Azam

Winning Team: Team Go

Participants: Tuhin Das, Mundeep Gill, Samrat Dhillon

After a weekend long work marathon, four teams of talented entrepreneurs came up with four solution for two startups in the Ottawa area, ThinkSM and Benbria. Now with the competition over, what better way to acknowledge the great efforts made by everyone to make OIC 2009 a success than with a social!

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting the OIC 2009 social at City Hall to provide participants, companies, members of industry, and event organizers a chance to mingle and enjoy some food.  The event is taking place Friday September 11th from 6-8 p.m.  Stay tuned for updates and pictures.  For a live stream, follow us on twitter @innovateOttawa (#OIC2009). ]]> http://innovationottawa.com/oic-social-2009/feed/ 0 http://innovationottawa.com/meet-the-oic-2009-participating-teams/ http://innovationottawa.com/meet-the-oic-2009-participating-teams/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:56:35 +0000 Sonia Riahi http://innovationottawa.com/?p=316 12 Participants, 4 Teams, 2 Challenges, and 48 hours.  Meet the participating teams of OIC 2009.  The challenge information is also availabe: ThinkSM and Benbria.

Team Definitely

Jad Saab, Sarah Maksoud, Muhammad Azam

ThinkSM

Jad Saab

Jad Saab graduated from the University of British Columbia in Mechatronics Engineering. Throughout his time at UBC, Jad made sure to get involved in some of the many opportunities available. His activities have included volunteering in the Downtown Eastside through a UBC Learning Exchange program, playing intramural sports, making films with the UBC Film Society Productions Club, and participating in the mentoring program for engineers. He also held several positions with the UBC chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and completed an EWB Junior Fellowship which included a summer placement in Ghana with a partner organisation that works to improve the standard of living of rural poor through self and wage employment.  Through his work overseas he developed an interest in the relevance of an entrepreneurial skill-set to some of the challenges facing the world today. In his spare time, Jad enjoys playing music, watching live concerts and improvisational comedy and playing sports.

Sarah Maksoud

Sarah is a second year student at Carleton University studying policy and economics.  Her interest in the private sector has grown since becoming involved with SIFE and she is now eager to participate in the OIC.

Muhammad Azam

Muhammad Azam is an Electrical Engineer and a graduate of Carleton University.  He is a well-rounded individual with varying interests from high-tech to philosophy, religion and psychology as well as the sciences with astronomy being a personal favorite. Having achieved success in a boot-strapped Web 1.0 tech venture for the equestrian market, he is currently pursuing additional opportunities in the entrepreneurship arena.  He is passionate about business and the satisfaction that entrepreneurial accomplishment brings.  Muhammad is an intellectual on many levels and surrounds himself with like-minded individuals as he strongly believes that success breeds success.

Team Yes
Milad Dakka, Gordon Cameron, Sameer Valiyani
ThinkSM

Milad Dakka

Milad Dakka is a 4th year student pursuing an Engineering Physics Major with Minors in Economics and Mathematics.  Milad is interested in entrepreneurship, diplomacy and fiber optics research.  He is currently balancing scientific research and business-oriented ambitions as he plans to use his recent breakthrough research to open a start-up.  His pursuits in entrepreneurship and community involvement led him naturally to join Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) – a student organization at Carleton University.  Milad was born in Montpellier, France and is of Syrian descent.  He grew up in both Montréal, Québec and Ottawa, Ontario and speaks fluent English, French, Arabic and Spanish.

Gordon Cameron

Gordon Cameron is currently a 4th year Aerospace Engineering student at Carleton University.  His previous work experience includes working with the iPod design team at Apple Inc. where he was a member of a high-level engineering design team that exposed him to both engineering and corporate business interactions.   This experience peaked his interest in business and led him to TalentBridge where he is currently working on business development with Infonium Inc. a local healthcare IT company focusing on accountability reporting and patient access. Outside of his professional life William plays water polo for Carleton University and enjoys weight lifting and reading. His goals for the upcoming years are to finish school, continue learning in a small-company work environment and ultimately begin his own startup.

Sameer Valiyani

Sameer Valiyani has over four years of software development experience. He is certified as a ‘Software Development Associate’ by the IEEE Computing Society and received top position at the First Annual Innovation and Entrepreneurship Endowment Fund (EIEF) competition held by the Faculty of Engineering at University of Ottawa. He is adept at learning in a fast paced knowledge intensive environment, like that of the OIC. He is involved in entrepreneurship, community development, and cricket.  Some of his interests are reading, volunteering and international affairs.

Team Go
Tuhin Das, Mundeep Gill, Samrat Dhillon
Benbria

Tuhin Das

Tuhin Das is a recent graduate from Carleton University where he received his Bachelor of Honour’s degree in International Business majoring in International Marketing and Trade, with a minor in Spanish. His key strengths are in analyzing reports and company profiles by providing strategic analysis and recommendations for improved management. He is an excellent team player and enjoy working under pressure.  He has come from a diverse background having been born in India, and then lived in Ghana for ten years. He also spent a year abroad in Spain for his undergraduate studies. Presently he is living in Ottawa where he is exploring his entrepreneurial opportunities through his marketing background.  He enjoys travelling and learning new cultures.

Mundeep Gill

Mundeep Gill is currently studying commerce at the University of Ottawa and is entering his 3rd year of studies. He loves to see how people can take an idea of something they love, take a risk, and transform it into a business to make a living for themselves. That drive and dedication is true motivator for him. Having participated in many clubs and societies which promoted entrepreneurship, he can easily state that the entrepreneurial drive is truly alive within him. He is currently collaborating with other students which he met at university to develop and implement business plans in various areas.

Samrat Dhillon

Samrat Dhillon graduated from the  Master in Technology Innovation Management Program at Carleton University. His research areas include open source software and service oriented architectures. Before coming to Canada, Samrat worked as a software developer for Tata Consultancy Services, Asia’s largest software company. He worked on telecommunications and data-warehousing technologies. Samrat holds a Computer Science and Engineering degree from G.N.D. University Amritsar, Punjab, India.

Team Kick.It
Pierfrancesco Cervellini, Vahid Sadr, Gagandeep Singh
Benbria

Pierfrancesco Cervellini

Piefrancesco Cervellini is currently studying Computer Science at Carleton University and graduated from the University of Ottawa with an honors degree in Molecular biology. Pierfrancesco’s involvement with TalentBridge took him to Fidus Systems: a high-tech company specializing in high speed electronic product development, where he was involved in international marketing and sales. Francesco is currently working on his own start up TwidleDee in the realm of social media. In the past he’s been involved in technology transfer and commercialization through the Foundry Program at Carleton University, and being president of AIESEC Carleton.

Vahid Dabbaghi Sadr

Vahid is a graduate of Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, where he did a Bachelor of Commerce with two distinct concentrations in International Business and Managing People and Organizations.  He has been consistently committed to developing effective analytical, problem-solving, business management and communication skills and he is always looking for opportunities to put these skills into practice. Vahid worked with Carleton University’s Foundry program in summer 2006 where he picked up the entrepreneurial bug and received invaluable training in the area of technology commercialization.

Gagandeep Singh

Gagandeep Singh is currently working as Business Process Analyst with Rogers Communication Inc.  In his previous roles he has worked as Service Control Analyst with Rogers Communication Inc. and as Project Analyst with the Ministry of Health & Longterm Care. Gagan has a passion for entrepreneurship and has worked in two startups. His first experience with a startup was with an ISP and his second was with a startup providing solutions in enterprise mobile solutions domain. In addition, he worked as a management trainee in one of the leading private sector banks in India. An alumnus of Master of Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology (MBET) program from the University of Waterloo, Gagan also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Computer Application (MCA) from Guru Nanak Dev University, India.