By Graham Cook
Opportunity Fest winners receive $1,000
Second Chance, a project started by fourth year business students Cindy Cheng, Celeste Jhala, and Melissa Maat, has taken a step forward following a win in the sustainable category of SFU Surrey’s Opportunity Fest. “Opportunity Fest gives SFU business undergrads the chance to showcase their class-produced ventures to judges from industry, academia and the wider business community,” according to an SFU press release. Inspired by the abundance of broken umbrellas and used rice bags in Vancouver, the team collects these items and turns them into backpacks.
Maat spoke with The Peak about their recent success and stated that the initiative began as a project for their new product development and design class during the Spring 2012 semester. It will be continued in Shawn Smith’s new ventures course this summer at the Beedie School of Business. She explained that each member of the team has a specialty, such as website design, which is used in the production process. Melissa Maat, who spends three hours hand-sewing each bag, claimed that they had been able to sell all 11 of the bags they have made this semester, mostly to SFU students. The backpacks, the majority of which are named after current or former partners and require one-and-a-half umbrellas and rice bags, are sold for $40 each and are created with the city of Vancouver’s 2020 Greenest City goals in mind. These goals include 10 targets consisting of green economy, buildings, and transportation, as well as climate leadership, zero waste, lighter footprints, access to nature, clean air, clean water, and local food.
Though the backpacks primarily use the broken umbrellas and rice bags, the project website advertises that they also accept donations of old belts, shoe laces, and zippers. The group’s Facebook page, which advertises their “aim to minimize the amount of solid waste going into landfills,” has generated just over 150 ‘likes’ as well as a collection of posts from supporters and those wishing to donate.
The group also received $1,000 in prize money from their victory. When asked what plans they had for this money, Maat replied that they have considered spending $600 on upgrading their sewing machine to increase productivity, or outsourcing the manufacturing entirely. She added that they would wait to receive input from Smith, a lecturer in innovation and entrepreneurship at the Beedie School, which Maat described as having extensive experience with start-up businesses.
Opportunity Fest also saw such innovations as a hot tub water care system and a wristband that monitors heart rates and sleep patterns.
