Making the transition from engineer to entrepreneur is easier when you’re in the right ecosystem.
The Technology Innovation Management (TIM) program, a master’s program offered by the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, creates the environment for success for aspiring entrepreneurs, engineers seeking more senior leadership roles, and engineers building credentials and expertise for their next career move.
Add in Ottawa’s Young Entrepreneurs (OYE) program, a partnership between Carleton University, Algonquin College, La Cité collégiale and the University of Ottawa to support students and recent grads as they launch and grow companies, and the chance for success is multiplied.
For two graduate students who have launched businesses in the TIM program, OYE is providing essential funding, mentorship, and office space to help them succeed.
Connecting physical and virtual worlds
Michael Ayukawa enrolled in TIM after coming to a harsh realization about his recently founded company, Cornerportal. “We faced the cold reality shared by many of our fellow entrepreneurs starting up in a downturn: we would starve before this would turn into anything meaningful,” he says.
“Attracted to the TIM program for highly pragmatic reasons, I was soon introduced to, and became totally absorbed in, the theories of technology management, business ecosystems, and multi-sided platforms,” says Ayukawa. The result was a change in his mental model and a new direction for his company.
Ayukawa and his colleagues developed Scanzai, the first physical object-centric social network application. Using Scanzai tags or other Quick Response (QR) codes, Cornerportal users can create context-sensitive discussions around products, places and things by linking objects in the physical world to cloud-based services.
“We make it easy and productive for people who might not otherwise connect to share their perspectives about something they care about—all from their mobile device,” says Ayukawa.
Ayukawa pitched Cornerportal to the OYE program in a Dragon’s-Den-style presentation and received top marks and funding from the panel in September 2011.
“We will use the OYE support to fund three Carleton students to help with development work,” says Ayukawa, “It will also help us step outside the university environment and make stronger business connections.”
Helping cities give people a voice
Cities face tough decisions when trying to encourage economic development, whether it’s deciding how best to develop an old stadium site or weighing strategies to encourage new businesses on a declining main street. To make matters worse, decision-makers often hear too much from special interest groups and not enough from individual citizens, according to Robert Poole, an entrepreneur and TIM student.
Poole’s company, Freebird Connect, has developed an innovative online tool designed to help municipalities cut through conflicting data and give a voice to ordinary citizens. It brings together the data and documents about a particular issue and allows people to share their interpretations and opinions in a social networking environment.
While he’s no stranger to entrepreneurship—this is Poole’s fourth company—he enrolled in TIM to give him and his business a distinct advantage.
“Through the TIM program, we gain a comprehensive understanding of new business models and strategies for creating successful technology businesses, quickly and with little money,” says Poole, “Because of the program’s strong links to the business community, it gives our company a much better chance of success.”
As a Carleton student, Poole was eligible to pitch his opportunity to OYE. Like Ayukawa, he obtained top marks and OYE support.
“The money helps—there’s no question—but it’s also the rigorous process and the mentorship that comes with it that gives us a real advantage,” says Poole.
Freebird Connect has already landed its first customer, the City of Ottawa, and discussions are underway with other municipalities across Ontario.
(With files from Chris McPhee.)
