The national winners of the 2024 OSEntreprendre Challenge were recently unveiled at the Desjardins Grand Prix OSEntreprendre Challenge Gala. This event, which marked Videotron Business' eleventh consecutive sponsorship of two prestigious awards, took place on June 12, 2024 at Palais Montcalm in Québec City. We are proud to shine the spotlight on Adajou, SonoMed Innovations, and Ecotime, which won the People’s Choice Provincial Prize and the top two prizes in the Technological and Technical Innovation category, respectively. Without further ado, allow us to introduce...
SonoMed Innovations 1st prize: Technological and technical innovation category
SonoMed was born as part of the "Introduction to Technological Entrepreneurship" course at Université Laval. Two mechanical engineering students, Jérémy Guillaume Roy and Bianka Huot, had a good idea: to make life easier for dentists and dental hygienists, who have to participate in the sterilization of instruments due to the shortage of qualified personnel.
Coincidence or not, last year's winner—start-up company Virtuose Technologies—also wants to optimize the performance of the health sector by focusing on high-tech medical technology. SonoMed, on the other hand, is developing a comprehensive solution, capable of automatically managing the main steps of the sterilization process of medical instruments.
For Jérémy, the major challenge of the past year was to maintain the usual pace of innovation, while ensuring regulatory compliance for their new medical technologies. "The next step in our business plan is to expand our presence in the Canadian market, establish strategic partnerships, and adapt our solutions to the different needs of global healthcare systems," he explains.
As for their participation in the OSEntreprendre Challenge, three words sum up the experience: perseverance, perseverance, and perseverance! "We’ve developed our spirit of initiative, honed our creativity, and overcome several challenges. We’ve acquired management skills, expanded our network, and gained confidence," he sums up, satisfied. The budding company is ready for what comes next!
Ecotime 2nd prize: Technological and technical innovation category
Anne-Claire Le Moguédec, communication and marketing manager for Ecotime, reminds us that the company was launched to respond to the depletion of our resources and fight against energy waste. "The two co-founders, Timothé Roy-Bouchard and Eddy Dureuil, are passionate about the environmental transition.
When they became parents, they had the desire to make an even greater commitment to future generations," she explains.
The team's efforts are currently directed at municipalities. They have three pillars to help Ecotime in its mission. "The first is to reduce drinking water consumption by installing our systems in city buildings. Cities will save money, since the majority of the real cost of water is their responsibility," summarizes Anne-Claire Le Moguédec.
The possibility of changing the regulations within their territory for all future construction projects, public or private, and raising citizens' awareness of the preservation of resources are the two other issues that the team intends to focus on with cities. And now’s the time to act! "Québec is home to 3% of the world's freshwater resources, but we manage it inadequately. We consume 325 litres of water per day per person, twice as much as the rest of Canada and three times as much as in Europe."
Adajou People’s Choice Provincial Prize
Adajou, directed by Sarah Carpentier, succeeds Alcyon sel de mer as this year's winner of the People’s Choice Provincial Prize. So where does the idea behind this business project come from? "I work in mental health with young people. It’s in this professional context that I’ve seen the alarming increase in young people’s anxiety and the growing distress of their parents in the face of this challenge. And that's not to mention the glaring lack of available resources," explains the psychoeducator.
Looking for a way to help young people, she noticed that there were many books, but few educational games available on the market. And that's how the concept of La jungle du stress, an educational stress and anxiety management game designed for children aged 6 to 12, took shape. "Young people learn through play. It's easier for them to open up about what they're experiencing in a fun, laidback context," she adds.
As for her participation in the OSEntreprendre Challenge, it not only allowed her to take a break to reflect on the development of her company, but also to make Adajou known to the public. "Embarking on such an entrepreneurial adventure comes with risks and doubts, but feeling like you have public support makes all the difference," she says.
Sarah Carpentier's work is far from over. "Having an excellent product is not enough—you also have to get it seen by the public," she says. She must, therefore, ramp up her marketing efforts. "In the next year, I want to distribute more La jungle du stress games to be able to help as many children as possible, and to continue to develop a second educational game that I plan to launch in 2025," she concludes.
OSEntreprendre: it's your turn!
Of course, many other companies stood out during this year’s event. The 2024 winners are certainly happy with their journey. Maybe you'll be the next to take the leap and unleash your entrepreneurial ideas? Keep an eye out for registrations for the 27th edition of the OSEntreprendre Challenge starting next fall!
August 2024, By Videotron Business
