MOT MBA Grads Win Big in New Ventures BC Competition
Sep 25, 2008
Ben Sparrow and Joshua Zoshi, both MOT MBA graduates (’05) have won $180,000 in cash and prizes in the 2008 New Ventures BC technology business idea competition.
Their new Vancouver-based company, Saltworks Technologies Inc., won for its innovative solar process for desalinating seawater. The process can reduce electricity requirements by up to 80% and has the potential to cut the cost of desalinated water in half.
The pair took home the BC Hydro $60,000 First-prize package, the British Columbia Innovation Council’s $100,000 Proof-of-Concept prize and the $20,000 BC Hydro Sustainability prize. Sparrow and Zoshi will use the funds to grow the company and commence work on a mobile demonstration plant.
Sparrow is a professional engineer and inventor of the process. Zoshi is a project manager with an electrical engineering background. Their patent-pending technology has been proof-tested by Powertech Labs Inc., a subsidiary of BC Hydro.
“Our technology can desalinate seawater to potable standards using solar energy and dramatically reduces input electricity requirements,” says Sparrow, Saltworks’ CEO. A key point, he notes, is that they can build desalination plants using commercially available components, saving both money and time.
Sparrow says the Global Water Institute’s 2006 desalination market-growth estimate of $56 billion over the next seven years is already being surpassed. “In a world facing increasingly volatile energy prices and concerns over carbon footprints, energy-efficient desalination technology is very much in demand.”
The annual New Ventures BC competition begins again in April 2009. It takes place over four rounds and includes business-education seminars and networking events. Round-three competitors are paired with industry mentors. Round-four competitors must make oral presentations before a final jury of industry experts, financiers and angel investors who determine four winners of prizes totaling $335,000.
“The competition was a tremendously worthwhile experience,” says Zoshi, president of Saltworks. “We refined our business plan, received sound mentorship, and met excellent people that will help propel our venture. The New Ventures team is focused, organized, and puts together a series of very valuable events. I encourage all entrepreneurs to seriously consider participating.”