Western students demonstrated their business savvy at two recent Ivey Business School competitions.
A group of seven second-year Western students won the prestigious Robert G. Siskind Entrepreneurial Award at the Business 2257 Feasibility Study Competition at Ivey on March 27 for offering a fun approach to a sad situation.
The students won for their idea for PlastiCast, a fiberglass casting tape in fun designs such as sports teams, camouflage and polka dots, to be used in casts for broken bones. The winning team includes Aidan Porter, Eric Schroder, Shruti Patel, Hawkar Rafiq, Christina Wang, Hunter Norwick and Tyler Gauthier.
Judges included Ivey Professor Eric Morse, Associate Dean, Programs; retired Ivey Professor Kathleen Slaughter, former Dean, Ivey Asia; and London-based entrepreneur Diana House, Co-founder of Cole & Parker sock company.
Past winners of the award have gone on to business success. Companies such as Grocery Checkout Inc., College Pro Painters, Eco-Shred Limited, and Creative Copy Centre were all initiated through the Business 2257 Feasibility Study Competition.
Another group of five first-year Western students won the Business 1220E Case Competition at Ivey on March 26. The team won for its analysis and plan for Snakes and Lattes, a Toronto-based board game café that was considering expansion. The winning team includes Wen Chang Pu, Li Hua Yu, Adrian Zee, Hanning Zhang and Chenghui Zhou. Judges included Ivey Lecturer Chris Sturby; Greg Smith, HBA ’09, Manager of Market Analysis for BMW Group Canada; and Ben Castanie, owner of Snakes and Lattes.
Winners of the Business 1220E Case Competition 2014: Margaret (Li Hau) Yu, Cynthia (Chenghui) Zhou, Wendy (Wen Chang) Pu, Hanning Zhang and Adrian Zee, with Ben Castanié, owner of Snakes and Lattes.
