Spotlight on Startups: Hybrid chew toy/robot wins Global Startup Battle for �山ǿ�� students

Chewable prototype beat out thousands of other projects

Published: February 19, 2014

They took top spot in a startup contest involving more than 20,000 entrepreneurs across 40 countries.

Now, one of the �山ǿ�� students who triumphed in explains how Pawly − an interactive robot built for the rough-and-tumble chomping of a rowdy dog − won the day.

A durable digital toy that lets owners interact remotely with their pets via smartphone, Pawly was first developed by third-year Civil Engineering student Gordon Dri, alumnus and Master of Engineering student Yunan Zhao, and their team of engineers, designers and strategists during an intense 54-hour contest called Startup Weekend: Maker Edition in Toronto.

events are held across the world in cities ranging from Cape Town and Islamabad to Melbourne and beyond. Finalists from each weekend move on to a championship round called the Global Startup Battle − dominated most recently by teams with members from �山ǿ��.

The series profiles the many entrepreneurial efforts growing from the hundreds of companies spun out from research and connections sparking every day at the University of Toronto:

�山ǿ�� hosts more than 50 enterprise-fostering courses, programs, labs, clubs, contests and speaker series across its faculties, departments and campuses — and then there are all the innovations developing in informal settings. �山ǿ�� ranks No. 1 in North America for number of startups launched. And its roster of spin-off companies driving innovation in Toronto and around the world continues to grow.

Pawly-- one such informally created project-- had placed second at its Startup Weekend behind Griflens, a team developing a set of interactive story beads for children. Griflens, whose roster included Helen Kula, librarian at University of Toronto Mississauga’s Institute of Management and Innovation, went on to take third place overall in the Global Startup Battle while Pawly won the championship.

“The Pawly team is perhaps the best example of what can be accomplished at a Startup Weekend when you combine great skill, motivation and impressive teamwork,” said Chris Eben, founding organizer of Startup Weekend Toronto.

“Their success in this significant annual competition demonstrates that Toronto’s startup community is an international powerhouse. The rest of the world should take note – Toronto is where you want to build your startup!”

Dri spoke with �山ǿ�� News about the Pawly team’s experience in the global competition.

Tell us about why and how you got involved with the Global Startup Battle…

My journey began at the beginning of third year when I was provided the choice to work for a year through the Professional Experience Year (PEY) program at �山ǿ��. I realized not one job seemed like the “perfect fit” and it was then I decided I would create my own job and work for myself. Coupled with the inspiration that past entrepreneurs (e.g., Andrew Mason, Reid Hoffman, Steve Jobs) provided me, I began my journey as an entrepreneur.

I realized that all great entrepreneurs in the past surrounded themselves with like-minded individuals and fed off their innovation and creativity. Therefore, I wanted to join a community of budding innovators and thus registered for Startup Weekend. I collaborated with a 10-person team for 54 hours to launch our startup, Pawly. We placed second in the competition for our concept and execution and qualified for the Global Startup Battle. We competed in this national competition amongst other teams across the globe and came out on top.

What was your experience like at Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend was a weekend-long, no sleep, high stress, yet exciting marathon. I had the opportunity to work with inspirational, creative, and budding entrepreneurs whom I had never met before.

The event was held at OCADU and the theme was ‘Maker Edition,’ stressing that startups launch a hardware-related product. We were given the support of all the resources at the university including woodworking labs, laser cutting as well as the donation of 10 3-D printers by General Electric.

The weekend focused not only on building a product but also market validation, customer development and practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies. We managed to receive over 100 responses to our Google Survey and received our first sources of revenue in just 54 hours.

What’s the most important thing you learned from being part of Startup Weekend?

The most important thing that I learned from the weekend is the power that entrepreneurs have to drive the world forward. All the great innovations in the past have derived from creative entrepreneurs with a common mission to change the world. Our future is in the hands of us as innovators and entrepreneurs.

What did winning the Global Startup Battle mean for you and your team?

Once my team and I won the Global Startup Battle we were both surprised and excited. The success in this competition validated our concept and we immediately knew Pawly was the start of something big.

As a team we have committed ourselves to an official startup with the goal of developing Pawly and bringing it to market. The success of this competition provided us visibility which is crucial in the beginning stages of any startup. We have the luxury of approaching media, investors and potential partners with the news that our concept won the largest startup competition in the world powered by Google for Entrepreneurs.

We are currently preparing for LAUNCH Conference in San Francisco, California held from February 24th to 26th where we will demo our prototype and hopefully attract the interests of investors and partners.

How have you found the ‘entrepreneurship’ environment at �山ǿ��?

The University of Toronto has an exceptional community for entrepreneurship from incubators like The Hatchery and Creative Destruction Labs to conferences such as Young Entrepreneurs Challenge. Although we have not engaged in the resources to date we hope to get involved and take advantage of them in the future.

What’s next for you as an entrepreneur?

I will continue working with my team to revolutionize the next generation of pet technology while completing my engineering degree. I hope to join the team full time through the Professional Experience Year program and again post-graduation. I enjoy learning about new startups and hearing about both successful and unsuccessful experiences of other entrepreneurs.

We did a story recently on a �山ǿ�� startup out of Computer Science called PetBot, which has some similarities to your product. How is Pawly distinct from PetBot—and have you interacted at all with the PetBot team? Any thoughts you’d like to share on the popularity of pets and robots?

Pawly is distinct from PetBot by one fundamental difference, that is our product is mobile. We have acknowledged that PetBot aims to solve the same void that is left when an owner must leave their pet. However, PetBot is a stationary robot that can be mounted on a wall or placed on a surface, similar to the rest of the competitors in our space. Conversely, we plan on taking pet-owner interaction to the next level by providing a mobile robot that can be controlled by the user from a remote location through their smartphone or on the web. This feature will allow the user to locate their pet wherever they might be. Moreover the user will not only be able to see their dog but also play with them.

We have not contacted the PetBot team but hope to in the future to learn about their success and failures during their prototype iterations and crowdfunding campaign. Like PetBot, we are excited with the opportunity of robotics being used in industries that were never before.

Brianna Goldberg is a writer with University Relations at the University of Toronto.

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