ColdBlock Technologies

Principle/Founder name(s)

Nick Kuryluk, CEO

Ravi Kanipayor, Co-Founder

Ron Emburgh, Co-Founder

Year founded

2014

Business description

ColdBlock Technologies offers a novel and innovative technology for sample digestion – ColdBlock Digestion. ColdBlock Digestion dissolves solid matter into solution for multi-element analysis and is applicable to numerous industries including mining, environmental, agriculture and food. Currently ColdBlock Technologies is working with customers in the mining and environmental space, providing a safer, faster, effective and accurate means for sample digestion.

Milestones/Successes to date

• 6-channel system and 18-channel workstations launched, commercially available, and installed at client sites
• Awarded Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) Contract with Geological Survey of Canada (GSC); ColdBlock rated 9/10 by GSC
• Awarded funding from OCE (Market Readiness Program), MaRS (Embark; Embedded Executive Funding Program), IRAP (Market Research; 24+ Channel Project), NSERC (Lead in Drinking Water)
• Semifinalist in 43North Pitch Competition
• Five publications in peer-reviewed journals; 3 conference presentations with 2 ‘Best Technical Paper’ awards
• Named by Mining Magazine in 2015 as a ‘Top 10 Innovation to Watch’

How has Innovate Niagara / BioLinc helped you?

Innovate Niagara and BioLinc have been instrumental to our success. Biolinc has connected us with valuable resources and opportunities (ie, 43North Competition), facilitated networking and provided us with space to call home. Facilities are available to us to conduct our business. The office space and boardroom have allowed us to have potential clients and collaborators meet with us in ‘our space’ and advance our business. The wet lab space houses our Demonstration Lab, where we work with clients to demonstrate our technology with their real world samples. BioLinc staff have been very generous with their time, advice, and support in sharing our story, working to ensure our continued success.

Complete Grab

Principle/Founder name(s)

Dan Giddings

Year founded

2016

Business description

Complete Grab was founded in 2016 and aims to ease the use of consumer products through ergonomic design.

Milestones/Successes to date

October 2016: Design was approved by manufacturer

November 2016: Ready to apply for legal protection

How has Innovate Niagara / BioLinc helped you?

As a recipient of the Deborah E. Rosati Entrepreneurship Scholarship, I was fortunate to spend a summer term working on my business full time at BioLinc, the business incubator at Brock University. This work term was instrumental to the early success of my business. BioLinc provided me with mentorship, guidance, a collaborative work space and design software which enabled me to develop my idea into a reality. Through BioLinc I made valuable connections with numerous industry professionals who offeredinsight on the product manufacturing and retail buying process. Innovate Niagara connected me with a business analyst and a lawyer who were integral in the development of a comprehensive business plan and provided me with the necessary information and guidance to begin the patent process.

Curexe

Principle/Founder name(s)

Johnathan Holland

Year founded

2014

Business description

Curexe helps businesses send money to their suppliers, employees or partners in other countries, in different currencies, from any mobile device.

Milestones/Successes to date

Launched our product with 33 business customers sending money around the world from any mobile device. Banked $75,000 of our $1 million SEED round with a group of investors verbally stating they want to close the entire $1 million by end of year. Founder was the first Brock student to go through the Next 36 (now called NextCanada) and Curexe has secured office space at the DMZ, known as the #1 incubator in North America.

How has Innovate Niagara / BioLinc helped you?

BioLinc provided the office space for the founder to work until 3am every night in a motivating environment. They consistently were there to provide suggestions and make connections and gave an all around feeling that it is possible to build something from nothing. I owe the success of Curexe to BioLinc believing in us in the early days when we were just an idea.

Express Deliveries

Principle/Founder name(s)

Matt Clarke
Michael Jakuszewski
Dylan Moffatt
Derek Saundercock

Year founded

2015

Business description

We are a technology focused delivery company that provides alcohol, grocery, and restaurant deliveries to the Niagara region. We use our website to connect people to whatever restaurant they want to order food from and we then place the order and deliver the food. The delivery market is very
fragmented and we hope to centralize and streamline the delivery industry to make it more efficient and effective for both the customers and restaurants.

Milestones/Successes to date

Our milestones to date include having four permanent executives, four contract drivers, and one web designer contractor working for us. We have completed over 5,000 deliveries and over $150,000 in goods delivered. We have over 500 customer accounts on our website, and 6 areas served with 75 restaurants on our website. We have surpassed 200 deliveries a week and are formulating our plan to expand to a new city next year.

How has Innovate Niagara / BioLinc helped you?

Innovate Niagara and BioLinc have helped us succeed in many ways. Innovate Niagara helped us by providing the Mars series workshops for us to learn from. They also provided mentorship and guidance in preparing for and pitching at Ignite Niagara. BioLinc provided us with many learning sessions, pitch events, and networking opportunities in their Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship cohort program. Both Innovate Niagara and BioLinc provided support and encouragement as we started and grew our business by giving us constant advice and mentorship.