MAKO @Ryerson Invention Awards

This past Monday, MAKO Invent and the Design Fabrication Zone @ Ryerson University had the pleasure of hosting the 2^nd annual MAKO @Ryerson Invention Awards. The event took place at the Bell Trinity Centre in Downtown, Toronto. With 26 finalists, the team at MAKO were inspired and impressed with each team’s presentations, which displayed ground-breaking creativity and innovation. The event kicked off with the Vice President of Business Development from Lang Marketing, Laura Richard, addressing the importance of partnerships in business. Following Ms. Richard, both Filiz Klassen, Co-Director of the DFZ and MAKO’s Vice President of Strategy, James Chalmers, welcomed the 26 finalists and the executive judging panel.

The teams arranged their projects creatively, and presented to each of our eight judges, as they walked around eager to learn more about the magnificent exhibitions displayed. Our panel of judges included Chris Bass, Founder and CEO @ Angry Bass Fishing, Danny Gibson, Co-Founder and CEO @ Inkster, and Jason Yu, Co-Founder and CMO @ PetBot—all from some of Toronto’s biggest up-coming start-ups. We also had the honor of having one of our own Industrial Designers, Harm Huibers, work alongside some of the most influential people in the start-up communities, Laura Richard, Filiz Klassen & Vincent Hui, Co-Director @ DFZ, and Tom Bessai, Technical Coordinator @ DFZ.

The Winners

The judges had a slightly difficult time selecting a winner. The votes were too close, and the presentations were all simply outstanding. With a narrow victory, the judges selected team Swash as 1^st place winners, closely followed by PARALLEL and P’brush who were ultimately tied in points.

The event was an incredible learning experience for everyone involved. The contestants were given the opportunity to individually network with extremely influential members of the Toronto Community. They were challenged with question during their presentations and performed tremendously well in targeting these challenges. Although the MAKO Team is constantly introduced to various innovative ideas from our clients, this was a refreshing event for us to see a wide range of exquisite presentations that all have the potential to be extremely successful. We can’t wait to work with the winning teams from the MAKO @Ryerson Invention Awards and help them achieve the success they desire!

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!