CREDIT: LORNE DEVARAJAN
Amol Pai was awarded a $1,000 cheque from Leap Junction for his on-campus food delivery business idea.

Fanshawe’s Amol Pai won $1,000 at Trampoline: Launch Your Leap, a 60-second business pitch competition conducted by Leap Junction.

Leap Junction is a start-up business consulting office located at Fanshawe College. They organized a pitch competition for students in order for them to get experience pitching their business ideas in a short amount of time. The students were supposed to deliver their best business pitch in 60 seconds to articulate their business ideas. The competition was held on Jan. 27 in the Welcome Lounge at Fanshawe College.

“In today’s society, 60 seconds is all the time people will give you to grab their attention. If you cannot get them interested in 60 seconds, they are not going to be interested later,” said Annette Markvoort, entrepreneurial animator at Leap Junction.

There were 12 participants in the competition with different business ideas and pitches.

Two Fanshawe College professors, Kerry Hendricks and Andre Vashist, and a Tech Alliance entrepreneurship consultant, Blake Farquharson, judged the participants.

Pai, the winner of the competition, is studying Public Relations and Corporate Communications at Fanshawe College. He along with his two colleagues, Romik Vadhvana and Aman Preet Singh came up with a start-up idea where they designed a website called dbegins.com that would allow Fanshawe students to order coffee or food from on campus restaurants, and get it delivered in class. The free delivery is made by students.

“Students spend about two to three hours every week standing in line to get a cup of coffee. This time can be utilized in a better way,” said Pai.

Pai and his colleagues got inspired from the famous saying, “A stitch in time, saves nine” and built a website that conveys it. They moved past the hurdle of not being able to work due to limitation laws for international students and created more employment opportunities for themselves as well as other students.

Leap Junction rewarded Pai with a no strings attached $1,000 cheque for winning the competition.