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there is an increasing societal focus on health and wellness-related businesses - especially as baby boomers continue to age and invest heavily in their well-being.

“Today, there is a strong emphasis on healthy lifestyles,” says Chris. “We are looking for new ideas and new businesses to address the needs of this growing sector.”

This focus also fits nicely with the multitude of health-related programming at Seneca - Nursing, Therapeutic Recreation, Infant Mental Health, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering and Gerontology, to name a few. Attracting business minded students and graduates from these programs will be critical to guarantee HELIX's sustainability.

“HELIX has been an invaluable experience. A no holds barred introduction into what it really takes to be an entrepreneur. The workshops and talks with the mentors are extremely useful. I have gained a comprehensive understanding of the current and most useful frameworks for starting up, running and scaling a new business.”

- Zina Alobaydi, International Business Management degree student and founding partner of the HELIX-incubated venture Freshly Boxed

Imagine a pen that tells you if you're allergic to your food

In a short timeframe, the return on investment for HELIX-incubated companies has been strong, and Seneca alumni like Travis Clements-Khan are coming up with some extraordinary business concepts. Travis studied Bioinformatics, and through his company, NextGen Labs, he is developing a pen-like diagnostic tool called Aller (tec), which would allow individuals with life-threatening allergies to test their food for allergens in as little as five minutes. Currently, these kinds of tests take much longer and require large, complex laboratory equipment.

“Individuals with severe food allergies run the daily risk of experiencing a potentially fatal reaction or serious illness by consuming contaminated foods,” says Travis. “We are working on a preventative measure to protect people from experiencing such reaction in the first place.”

Travis's work is garnering a lot of attention. He spent July in Nice, France at the European Innovation Academy (EIA) along with 700 other student entrepreneurs from schools like Stanford and Harvard. This three-week entrepreneurship education program connected Travis with mentors and venture capitalists from 65 countries. He was selected as Seneca's representative for the EIA after winning a competition among six HELIX-based companies. This was also the first time that a student from a Canadian college participated at this conference - another testament to HELIX's growing impact. At the conference, Travis pitched an idea complimentary to Aller (tec): a social platform for food allergy sufferers to connect. His idea was selected as one of 80 concepts to be developed during the academy and placed in the top 15.

Sustainability is critical. So are partnerships

Chris Dudley contends that “it takes an ecosphere to raise an entrepreneur,” and at HELIX's foundation is a collection of partnerships designed to open development and networking avenues for HELIXers. Supporters currently include the Ontario Centres of Excellence (a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs), the McConnell Foundation (RECODE), York Region and the City of Toronto. These partners provide funding, as well as opportunities for HELIXers to showcase their work to investors and industry experts.

The next phase of HELIX's development will include broader marketing appeals to entice entrepreneurs from outside the College and bring more advisory and funding partners into the fold. Speaking engagements across the GTA with mentors like Greg Twinney will help attract attention and inspire those with innovative ideas waiting to be hatched. The end game for HELIX -and Chris's goal - is that more HELIXers can receive the expertise and seed funding to launch successfully and build sustainable enterprises: each one bringing badly needed home-grown innovation into the Canadian marketplace.

“Who knows?” says Chris. “It might just be a HELIXer who comes up with the next big thing in the healthcare or healthy living sectors.”

Are you a Seneca alumnus or alumna with a great business concept? Consider exploring your idea at HELIX. Contact Chris Dudley (chris.dudley@senecacollege.ca) to get started.

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