By Mobolade Ekujumi

It’s 7.00AM in Mississauga on Wednesday June 13^th. All the members of the Altitude Accelerator staff are setting up to host the Province of Ontario’s greatest Entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists, News Personalities and leading industry companies as they stroll into the Noel Ryan Auditorium. From the atmosphere and facial expressions, you can tell that everyone is excited for the 4^th Annual Innovator Idol.

The event officially kicks off at 8:45am as scheduled thanks to the Moderator James Sbrolla who is also one of RIC’s Entrepreneur-In-Residence coaches. In his calm, collected and witty fashion James welcomes everyone putting a smile on our faces with hilarious jokes about the Panelists. He however doesn’t fail to recognize their great achievements. James then introduces all 4 finalists. These innovators are the reason everyone is here. The audience are key members of the show’s outcome too as they are the ones to decide who wins the $35,000 grand prize.

• President of Emcara Gas development Eric Girouard was the first to pitch his innovation – Certified Pressure Release Devices (PRDs) for natural gas and hydrogen powered vehicles.
• Next up were SMARTeacher’s co-founders who have created an amazing new game designed to help children learn Math while having fun at the same time. SMARTeacher is the first game which uses biometrics and facial recognition to assess player’s emotional response.
• The third finalist was Openaxyz; a strategy mapping software. Openaxyz helps companies match their overall goal with their Objectives, strategy, tactics and resources needed.
• Last but definitely not least was CHAR Technologies. Andrew White the President stepped up confidently giving a concise, direct and easy to understand pitch. CHAR’s innovation is a technology called Activated Biochar, a filter which cleans biogas. It works pretty much the same way as a Brita filter that removes chlorine odour from tap water.

After all the contestants made their pitch, the audience voted for who they felt had the most innovative product. This year’s Innovator Idol is Andrew White – President of CHAR Technologies. Andrew was happy and grateful to the audience who voted for him, but did not seem fazed or overly excited. It seemed like he already knew he was going to win and he was not surprised by his excellence; the true nature of a Maverick.

Congratulations to all the finalists of Innovator Idol who are all winners in their own right. Innovator Idol 2012 has finally come and passed but the Altitude Accelerator is here every day. To meet with one of our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, call us at 289.373.3050 and remember: Stay Innovative because Strategic innovation is the key to great wealth. See you at Innovator Idol 2013.

Mo‘ is a final year Student at the University of Toronto working full time with the Altitude Accelerator as the Market Analyst and Assistant Communications Officer. He is currently enrolled in the CCIT program pursuing a specialist in Digital Enterprise Management. With a solid background & experience in Marketing, Digital Media, E-business strategies & Public Relations Mo brings a lot of expertise to the RIC team. He is also a versatile and multi-talented web designer, radio host & event promoter.

The RIC blog is designed as a showcase for entrepreneurs and innovation. Our guest bloggers provide a wealth of information based on their personal experiences. Visit Altitude Accelerator for more information on how RIC can accelerate your ideas to market.