Spexi Geospatial takes of over $35K in SFU Venture Prize
Using drone technology to deliver aerial intelligence at scale, Spexi Geospatial wins the 2019 Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize.
A start-up that uses drone technology to make geospatial data more accessible has won SFU’s largest entrepreneurship competition.
Spexi Geospatial emerged from a slate of promising early-stage SFU entrepreneurs to win SFU’s eighth annual Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize competition, claiming the title of ‘top venture’ and taking home a cash and in-kind prize package worth $35,000.
The start-up aims to empower organizations by using drone technology to deliver aerial intelligence at scale. The firm's cloud-based platform provides a streamlined end-to-end solution that automates drone flights, photogrammetric data processing, and geospatial data analysis.
Co-founders Bill Lakeland and Peter Szymczak met while completing the Management of Technology MBA program at SFU’s Beedie School of Business. Lakeland’s geospatial background and Szymczak’s technical background made them a great pairing for this venture.
Presented by Coast Capital Savings Venture Connection at SFU, the Venture Prize is SFU’s largest entrepreneurship competition. Competitors endured two intensive rounds of pitches to a panel of industry judges and a public audience. Open to SFU staff, faculty, students and recent alumni, this year’s applicants represented a diverse array of ventures – from IoT to services to pharmaceuticals, all vying for a piece of the $75,000 prize pot.
Notably, this year’s competition saw more female-led companies competing as finalists than in any previous years and finalists were representative of seven of SFU’s eight faculties, reflecting the Coast Capital Savings Venture Connection’s broad and inclusive approach to early ventures and innovation.
OTHER AWARD WINNERS:
Idea Prize award: Labora
Top Digital Internet award: Anonymous Chat
Top Small Business award: Employ to Empower
Female Founder award: Aplica!
SFU Alumni Founder award: CareCrew and Streamline Athletes
Social Impact award: Davos
Penguin Pivot Prize: BuzzIt
The Venture Prize has been recognizing entrepreneurial excellence at SFU for almost a decade, and is supported by Coast Capital Savings – a key partner for Venture Connection since 2008.
See the full story at SFU News. This story was also featured in BetaKit, Vancouver Tech Journal, T-Net Direct, Education News Canada and Canadian Tech News.