Students Take on Entrepreneurship at UTM

Given the ever-increasing demands we place on our planet, it can’t be underestimated how important it is to increase our awareness for and demand solutions and products that reduce our impact. Thinking GREEN isn’t enough. We need to put our money where our mouth is. At MAKO Design + Invent we are constantly keeping this in mind when developing products and innovations. Whether it is the materials we select or ensuring a product is as electronically efficient as we can make it, designing green often means a better product that can reduce one’s costs and carbon footprint over the long term.

This weekend, UTMUCS (Undergraduate Commerce Society at the University of Toronto, Mississauga) hosted their annual ‘Show Me the Green’ Conference at UofT’s modern Mississauga campus to encourage students from numerous universities across Ontario, to present their environmentally sustainable business ideas. The case competition included 25 teams aiming to improve businesses and organizations bottom line by implementing various eco-friendly concepts. After attending the event on Saturday, MAKO’s Vice President, James Chalmers said, “I’m always humbled when asked to be a part of and judge events such as SMG 2015. The students impressed with the level of the business cases and innovations they presented and it could not have been more fitting that on International Women’s Day, the top 2 teams were comprised exclusively of remarkable young women.” Although only three teams received prizes, MAKO would like to congratulate all 25 teams for taking the time to prepare and present such strong cases. We would also like to thank and congratulate the dedicated individuals that made SMG2015, such a success. Co-Chairs Caroline Brennan and Thomas Abadir lead a team of volunteers that truly ran a world class event.

The event found tremendous support from influential figures such as Deep Saini (UTM Vice President and Principal) and Mississauga mayor, Bonnie Crombie. In the past couple of years, the University of Toronto, Mississauga has come to the forefront of innovation in our region. With their recent Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) opening this academic year, UTM aims to provide space for students and local influential figures to come together and develop the necessary entrepreneurial and leadership skills. Already, IMI has built I-CUBE—an accelerator helping young inventors and innovations at UTM develop at the early stages and has become a champion behind such events as SMG 2015.

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!