Over the past two days the University of Manitoba undergrad team of Evgeny Gotfrid, Joshua Zaporzan, Marlee McMillan, and Derek Solman (Team MedicHero) competed and WON 1st PLACE at the BMO Apex Business Planning Competition in Fredericton, New Brunswick. They also won the People’s Choice Award (given to top presentation overall including both undergrad and graduate teams). For the two wins, the team won $6,000.

The BMO Apex event is a very prestigious graduate and undergrad competition held annually in Fredericton and attended by VCs, entrepreneurs and a special presentation by Mayor Mike O’Brien. Teams teams had to go through a pre-screening process to reach the semi-final round in Fredericton, with Manitoba making it along with teams from Carlton, Dalhousie, Waterloo, UNB and India. The U of M MedicHero team was hand-picked based on their exceptional performance in the ENTR 4100 class this Fall based on their strong work ethic, their leadership and presentation abilities, and strong team approach to their own ideas. The entry to this event was made possible by the donation from the Asper Foundation.

MediHero worked closely with local entrepreneur and recent U of M/Asper graduate Luc Bohunicky to develop an app for Paramedics to more quickly (by 80%) reassess patients in emergency situations. This app has the ability to save time, save money, and most importantly save lives as over 2,700 lives are lost in North America per year due to paramedic medical errors. MedicHero strategy was aggressive, with a growing 7-person sales team covering North America in 4 years and increasing revenue to $4.2 million and providing a 644% return to investors.

The team did an incredible job in 3 weeks putting together a thorough business plan and an MBA-level slide deck that literally dazzled the other teams and the audience. Special thanks to Luc Bohunicky and Darren Fast for their direction, support and assistance along the way. Congratulations to Team MedicHero on their impressive win and representing U of Manitoba and Asper professionally throughout the competition.

Click here to read the related story at the Winnipeg Free Press.