Spring Loaded Technology Wins BDC Young Entrepreneur Award
The Business Development Bank of Canada today announced that the turning point project Bionic Boost, submitted by cofounders Chris Cowper-Smith and Bob Garrish of Spring Loaded Technology in Halifax, is the winner of the 2015 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award and the $100,000 Grand Prize.
This will accelerate Spring Loaded Technology’s capacity to bring to market the world’s first bionic knee-brace technology. The company’s compact and lightweight product stores the users’ own kinetic energy, and releases it when it’s most needed to enhance strength, reduce fatigue, and increase stability.
“It feels great to win the $100,000 grand prize and it will certainly help us execute on our launch plan,” says Cowper-Smith. “We doubled the size of our lead list during the contest – this is a fantastic validation of what we’re doing.”
“We believe that participating in the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest is an invaluable experience for any entrepreneur and I congratulate Chris and Bob on their win,” says Michel Bergeron, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Public Affairs at BDC. “His company is a compelling example of how Canadian entrepreneurs can create world-class and exportable products in the healthcare space and improve quality of life for an ageing population.”
“We’ll use the $100,000 grand prize for new rapid carbon-fibre and composites manufacturing equipment to boost production and cut our costs so we can bring to market an affordable and accessible bionic knee brace this fall,” says Cowper-Smith.
The contest runner-up, who will receive $25,000 in consulting services from BDC, is the project Farm to Table, submitted by Melissa Butler, owner of the Real Food Market in Saint John’s.
