Pythons’ Pit finalists announced: presentations at DeGroote on Saturday.

By Staff

April 23, 2014

BURLINGTON, ON.

The Pythons are back.  This annual event created by the Rotary Clubs of Burlington is an occasion for entrepreneurs in the commercial world and students at high schools who think they have good commercial ideas to get some of the technical help they need as well as some capital to grow the business idea.

Pythons’ Pit provides an avenue for creative, entrepreneurial residents and students of Halton Region and beyond to pitch their business concepts and product ideas in front of a live audience and a panel of real business moguls from the community. Open Category applicants can win up to $150,000 in start-up capital and a package of in-kind professional services to help launch the business. High School applicants can win cash prizes up to $2,500 or a bursary of up to $5,000.

The Pythons look for that person will a bold idea and a vision; those that step forward and show initiative and drive. These are the people that keep an economy growing.

There are two categories Open and High school students.

The Open Category entries this year are:

GymChum – Aydin Betez

Country Basics – Ted & Lisa West

V.M. Enterprises – Vincent Marchese

Tetra Biologicals Inc. – Bruce Robinson & Thurkathipana Navaneethan

Ranggo – Noha Abdelaziz & Peter Basil

Finalists in the High School Category are:

NORSAF Technologies – Jack Greenburg, Garth Webb Secondary School

Smart Tasks – Jennifer Palfi: Bishop Reding High School

Smart Tap – Jessy Kang; Abbey Park Secondary School

Fashion on Wheels – Nita Stranaghan & Katie Henderson; Georgetown District High School

Cyclo-Charger – Mark Suan: Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School

Leading the event as Emcee this year is Connie  Smith, well know local television personality.  The program is brought to the community by McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business.  Presenting sponsors are: Royal Bank and the MNP Group

Students winners last year were:

Ryan Muil, a Grade 12 student at Christ the King Catholic Secondary School in Georgetown, won first place and $2,500 for his already successful company Muil-E’s Hot Sauce, that Ryan founded when he was just twelve years old.

Jasmine Mercer, a Grade 11 student at Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School in Burlington, won second place and $1,000 for her Mobilization of Restaurant Software – an application she developed, which offers solutions to problems Jasmine encountered while working in the restaurant industry.