Beedie School of Business News

A new mobile phone platform co-created by a Simon Fraser University MBA alumna is helping health organizations use their resources more efficiently.

Texts 4 Health can also help health care professionals provide better care.  Patients respond to automated text messages that are automatically categorized by the software and analytics platform, increasing efficiency in hospitals and clinics and allowing for greater patient load.

The technology recently won first place at SFU Venture Connection’s inaugural Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize competition.

“Winning this prize really helps validate our concept and provides useful feedback during this early-stage of our business,” says SFU Beedie School of Business grad Bella Hwang, who recently completed her MBA and co-founded the venture with Jesse Coleman, health project manager at the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Hwang has worked with start-up non-profit and private health clinics and developed public health promotion programs in Canada and developing countries. She also served as executive director of the Shanti Uganda Society, an NGO focused on women’s health and community development in Uganda.

Other Venture Prize winners from the Beedie School of Business include second-place VenueWize, a wireless events system that enables event organizers to capture analytics, measure team performance and build their guest database, created by student Arvand Alviri.

Third-place Ads on Naps specializes in printing and distributing high definition advertisements on high quality napkins, including QR codes directing users to online ad offers and websites, created by students Jag Manhas, Philip Chow and Raymond Dich. The winners shared $5,000 in prize fund.

The competition jury included Beedie student Milun Tesovic, founder of MetroLyrics.com, as well as representatives from program partner Coast Capital Savings, the SFU Innovation Office, and industry entrepreneurs.

Tags: Ads on Naps, ag Manhas, Arvand Alviri, Bella Hwang, Coast Capital Savings, Jesse Coleman, MBA, MetroLyrics, Milun Tesovic, Philip Chow, Raymond Dich, SFU Innovation Office, Texts 4 Health, VenueWize

by Joanne Leung

Both students and alumni from SFU’s Beedie School of Business have been selected to compete on February 11 for $5000 in cash prizes at the upcoming Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize Competition, which will take place at the Segal Graduate School of Business in downtown Vancouver.

The start-up competition is organized by SFU Venture Connection, recognizing excellence in business development among early-stage clients participating in the VentureSpark program.

Of the seven finalists—the list was narrowed down from an initial 17 applications—four are from Beedie:

• Texts 4 Health, Bella Hwang (MBA 2011)
• VenueWize, Arvand Alviri (BBA 2011)
• Winsphere, Gordon Swenson (BBA student)
• New Heights Creative (Adsonnaps), Raymond Dich (BBA 2008)

Among the jury panel for the competition will be Beedie student Milun Tesovic, co-founder of MetroLyrics.com—the most comprehensive database of music lyrics in the world that was recently integrated into CBS Interactive Music Group. He will also be the keynote speaker at the reception. In 2008, Tesovic’s MetroLeap Media Inc. — co-founded with EMBA alumnus Alan Juristovski — was the inaugural client in Venture Connection’s early-stage incubator, VentureLabs, and Tesovic continues to be an active supporter of SFU Venture Connection and the Beedie School of Business.

For more information about the Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize, visit http://ventureconnection.sfu.ca/index.php?/learn/coast_capital_savings_venture_prize_competition

To attend the SFU Venture Prize reception, please register at http://sfuventureprize.eventbrite.com

About Venture Connection

SFU Venture Connection provides support for student ventures from initial idea to business validation through provision of an early-stage business accelerator, mentorship, co-op terms, competitions, networking, speaker events, workshops & seminars, and other business resources.  Over 1800 students have participated since 2009 in its range of programs, with development services provided to over 175 student venture teams.  For more information, visit http://ventureconnection.sfu.ca

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The founder of a burgeoning online instant gift card company is Simon Fraser University’s newest Student Entrepreneur of the Year.

Matias Marquez, an undergraduate student in the Beedie School of Business, took the honour at the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) annual competition held on Nov. 19. His company, Buyatab.com, Canada’s leading digital gift card processor is a “software-as-a-service” digital gift card processing technology that becomes embedded onto its customers’ websites.

According to Marquez, thousands of merchant locations across North America have signed up with Buyatab.com’s services, including major retailers and restaurants such as The Keg Steakhouse and Bar, Boston Pizza, Milestones, Swiss Chalet and others.

Marquez says earning the business of top companies took substantial effort. “You also have to love what you do; we’re where we are now because of our passion and hard work,” says Marquez, who makes personal visits to companies a top priority. He continues the travel and runs his downtown office while at the same time, striving to finish off final courses for his business degree.

Meanwhile the second place SEY winner is fellow Beedie undergraduate Arvand Alviri, founder of VenueWize, a web and mobile-based application created for event organizers.

It lets event organizers collaborate on events, access live guest information during their events (via iPhone and iPad apps), track guest profitability and stay green.

Both Beedie winners are also clients of SFU’s Venture Connection (VC), which has helped numerous student and recent alumni companies through various stages and phases of development.

Tags: Arvand Alviri, Beedie, Boston Pizza, Buyatab, competition, entrepreneurship, gift card, HiretheWorld, Matias Marquez, School of Business, sfu, Simon Fraser University, student, Student Entrepreneur of the Year, Students in Free Enterprise, Swiss Chalet, The Keg, undergraduate, Venture Connection, VenueWize