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Behind the Scenes: CODE 2015 Pitch Day
2015 Top 15 teams present and defend their submissions in front of a panel of industry experts
On March 6th, 2015 the Top 15 teams of the CODE 2015 competition were announced. These Top 15 teams were then invited to attend the CODE Pitch Day in Toronto where they presented their application for $40,000 in prizes in front of a panel of judges.
The event was hosted at the inspiring MaRS Discovery District, which cultivates high-impact ventures by providing expert advice and market research and making connections to talent, customers and capital: Just the right environment for the budding CODE entrepreneurs.
Representatives from each of the Top 15 team had 10 minutes to persuade the panel of the quality and potential of their applications and answer judges’ questions. The pitching stage was set up much like a TV set and a video crew recorded the pitches -- this was their Dragon’s Den moment.
When asked if they were nervous about presenting team IPPETAD replied: “We’re a little nervous. We’re fairly social, but we’re fairly social as far as engineers go so there’s definitely that little bit of nervousness, you know down in the pit of your stomach.”
At the other end of the spectrum was team Niew Labs who when asked if they were a bit nervous about presenting answered: “No. We’re not nervous,” and then began to sing the popular song “We will rock you” while making their way into the presentation room.
The judges were excited to see what Canada’s best and brightest developed in just 48 hours. “With over 1300 participants from cost to coast to coast there’s going to be some amazing submissions that will help demonstrate the value of open data in a way that’s understandable and accessible to all Canadians,” said Patti Mikula, CODE judge and VP, Marketing & Operations at XMG Studio Inc. “I’m excited to see what the teams have made.”
The CODE 2015 judging panel consisted of the industry experts:
“Every single person that walked into this room didn’t just create an application, they created a solution; a service to make the country a better place,” said Sameer Vasta, CODE judge and Manager Public Affairs at MaRS Discovery District. “It would have been really, really hard to leave the room not feeling inspired and not feeling really proud of my fellow Canadians while being surrounded by people who want to help make Canada a better place and do it by using open data.”
The event was hosted at the inspiring MaRS Discovery District, which cultivates high-impact ventures by providing expert advice and market research and making connections to talent, customers and capital: Just the right environment for the budding CODE entrepreneurs.
Representatives from each of the Top 15 team had 10 minutes to persuade the panel of the quality and potential of their applications and answer judges’ questions. The pitching stage was set up much like a TV set and a video crew recorded the pitches -- this was their Dragon’s Den moment.
When asked if they were nervous about presenting team IPPETAD replied: “We’re a little nervous. We’re fairly social, but we’re fairly social as far as engineers go so there’s definitely that little bit of nervousness, you know down in the pit of your stomach.”
At the other end of the spectrum was team Niew Labs who when asked if they were a bit nervous about presenting answered: “No. We’re not nervous,” and then began to sing the popular song “We will rock you” while making their way into the presentation room.
The judges were excited to see what Canada’s best and brightest developed in just 48 hours. “With over 1300 participants from cost to coast to coast there’s going to be some amazing submissions that will help demonstrate the value of open data in a way that’s understandable and accessible to all Canadians,” said Patti Mikula, CODE judge and VP, Marketing & Operations at XMG Studio Inc. “I’m excited to see what the teams have made.”
The CODE 2015 judging panel consisted of the industry experts:
- Stephen Walker, Executive Director, Information Management and Open Government, Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada
- Abdou Saouab, Manager, Employment and Social Development Canada
- Patti Mikula, VP, Marketing & Operations of XMG Studio Inc
- Devin Tu, Founder of MapYourProperty.ca
- Steven Pulver, Lawyer, Startups & New Ventures, Cognition LLP
- Nevil Knupp, Vice President Cloud IBM Canada Ltd.
- Kevin Tuer, VP Strategic Initiatives, Communitech, Managing Director, Open Data eXchange (ODX)
- Lisa Cashmore, Manager, Soft-Landing Program at Canadian Digital Media Network
- Ilias Benjelloun, Creative Director at MTL New Tech
- Carlos Saavedra, CODE 2014 Grand Champion, CEO and Co-Founder Imminy App
- Sameer Vasta, Manager Public Affairs at MaRS Discovery District & MaRS Data Catalyst
“Every single person that walked into this room didn’t just create an application, they created a solution; a service to make the country a better place,” said Sameer Vasta, CODE judge and Manager Public Affairs at MaRS Discovery District. “It would have been really, really hard to leave the room not feeling inspired and not feeling really proud of my fellow Canadians while being surrounded by people who want to help make Canada a better place and do it by using open data.”
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