2018 McGill Dobson Cup winners, Entr, made an appearance on Dragon’s Den Quebec where they put their negotiating skills to the test.
Through a calm demeanor and thoughtful counteroffering, the duo, comprised of BCom student Marc-Antoine Bonin, was able to clinch a deal that will take their startup to the next level.
Taiga motor founders tapped into a burgeoning market for cleaner alternatives to snowmobiles at just the right time. The Dobson Cup winner sits down with McGill News to share the latest on their growing popularity and plans for rollout.
On the agenda is extending the snowmobile’s battery life, a product launch for the general public in 2020, and translating their technology to other power sport applications.
Jeff Speak, Chairman at Cimpl and long-time Dobson Cup judge, reflects on the people and formative moments in his life that led him to pursue a career in entrepreneurship.
In his present role, he is adamant about the importance of listening when making key decisions.
As he says, “You become wiser when you don’t talk. By listening, you can get more data points to help you make your decisions.”
On the 5th of April, the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship was once again alive and vibrant with the culmination of the McGill Dobson Cup 2018 powered by National Bank and the announcement of the year’s winners. This year, 84 teams competed in the Semi-Finals round with the top 40 teams moving forward into the Finals on March 28th 2018.
On the evening of March 21, 2018, McGill students and entrepreneurs from diverse horizons gathered at Esplanade, a collaborative space dedicated to entrepreneurship and social innovation in Montreal’s Mile-Ex neighbourhood.
Winner of the 2016 McGill Dobson Cup, Taiga Motors, is busier than ever these days. As they prepare to release the world's first electric snowmobile in 2019, their zero-emission product is sure to revolutionize the popular winter activity.
Taiga Motors co-founder, Samuel Bruneau is adamant that the tech will soon make it a perfect recreation tool, envisioning trailside chargers for tour operators and at warming huts and cabins.
A decade ago, McGill Dobson Cup participants Mohamed Hage and Lauren Rathmell set out to change the way that Montrealers get their fresh produce through their innovative venture, Lufa Farms.
Since then, they have grown to a 200-person operation and have attracted the attention of many, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who toured Lufa's newest greenhouse in the Montreal suburb of Anjou.
This year’s McGill Dobson Cup finals saw 40 teams from across the University competing for a portion of over $100,000 in seed funding.
As in the past, the startups were competing across four tracks: Social Enterprise, Health Sciences, Small & Medium Enterprise, and Innovation Driven Enterprise, which ensured a wide diversity of ideas.
For the winners, victory is sweet, but the road ahead remains arduous, as they prepare to take their startups to the next level.
Taiga Motors, founded by McGill Engineering grads and winners of the McGill Dobson Cup, is preparing to launch the very first electric snowmobile — a vehicle that can go from zero to 95 kilometers per hour in three seconds and boasts zero emissions.
The company has already collected a few hundred preorders, with hopes to reach 1,000 by the end of the summer.
Chic Marie - 3rd place winner of the McGill Dobson Cup 2015 - was on Dragon's Den last week!
If you want to learn how to negotiate like a boss and strike the perfect balance between conveying your story yet keeping it concise, look no further. Watch how Marie persuades the Dragons to give her what she wants.
For Tessa Battistin, founder of Asset Designs and former Dobson Cup semi-finalist, knowing how your clothes are made is just as important as knowing where your food is coming from.
This belief, coupled with her passion for design, is what prompted her to take her sustainable fashion business to the next level.
Battistin’s garments are made with materials that are 100 per cent fair wage and fair labor abroad, or from materials made in Canada.
A recent technology news roundup published by La Presse includes the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship’s ranking by UBI Global as a highlight worth noting among local university start-up programs.
Taiga Motors, founded by three McGill Engineering grads and winners of the McGill Dobson Cup, are gearing up to launch the first ever electric snowmobile, the Taiga TS2. They recently invited media to Mont-Tremblant to unveil their product prototype, which did not disappoint.
While Taiga continues to refine their design, the snowmobiles already have two major advantages over competitors: zero-emission and significantly less noise pollution.
The Dobson Chronicles interviews Daniel Van Acker, member of the Dobson Cup finalist startup CandyCutlery, about what motivated him to become an entrepreneur and what it takes to succeed. For Van Acker, the recipe for success includes a lot of hard work; “there are no shortcuts”, as he says.
