Golden Connections and RecAbility win 2024 Slaight New Venture Competition

An online platform designed to combat loneliness among seniors and a company that helps people with disabilities participate in physical activity and sports are the two winners in the 22nd annual Slaight New Venture Competition at the Ted Rogers School of Management.

For over two decades, the Slaight New Venture Competition (external link)  at the Ted Rogers School, generously supported by The Slaight Family Foundation, has fostered student entrepreneurship by awarding a $25,000 prize of startup seed money to a Ted Rogers School student. This increased over time to two $25,000 prizes – one for a startup led by a student founder who identifies as female and one for a student founder who identifies as male – to encourage more females to participate.

The competition is hosted by Enactus TMU (external link)  and Dr. Sean Wise (Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship & Strategy, Ted Rogers School). The six finalists (three male-led and three female-led ventures) made their presentations to judges on November 20, 2024 at TMU’s Student Learning Centre.

"Year after year, the Slaight New Venture Competition is transformative. This year's competition had more than 30 applicants, an all-time high, but the increased quantity didn't lead to decreased quality," says Dr. Wise.

"The 2024 winners are as inspiring as they are tendentious," he adds. "I can’t thank the Slaight Family enough for their unwavering support of student entrepreneurship."

The 2024 Slaight New Venture Competition winners are Viona Chang (Global Management Studies) for Golden Connections, an online platform designed to combat loneliness and foster genuine community engagement among seniors, and Swaraj Bhomick (Marketing Management) for RecAbility, a company that aims to create products that enable individuals with disabilities to participate in physical activity, sports and recreation.

Golden Connections

Golden Connections is an online platform, available as both a website and mobile app, specifically designed for individuals aged 55+. It is dedicated to empowering seniors to build meaningful relationships, from friendship to romance to community engagement.

The platform includes features such as interest-based discussion threads, location-based groups and a user-friendly interface tailored for accessibility, with options like voice-to-text and simplified navigation. Users can easily connect with others nearby, join local events or engage in conversations from the comfort of their homes.

Golden Connections is inspired by Viona Chang’s personal experiences witnessing social isolation among seniors. She aims to create a lasting impact by fostering real connections and building vibrant communities through accessible and inclusive technology.

“As someone who has navigated through challenges with my own mental health, I’ve come to recognize how isolation impacts older adults and how limited their access to social and mental health resources can be,” she explains. “While younger generations rely on dating and social apps, seniors often find these platforms intimidating or inaccessible. That’s why Golden Connections prioritizes accessibility, featuring an intuitive interface and a safe, welcoming environment where seniors feel seen, heard and valued.”

Chang says that winning the Slaight New Venture Competition is more than creating an app — it’s about addressing a deeply rooted societal challenge.

“This opportunity allows me to turn technology into a solution rather than a barrier, empowering seniors to connect, engage and thrive in ways they may have never thought possible,” Chang explains.

“Thank you to The Slaight Family Foundation for creating this incredible opportunity every year. It’s competitions like this that inspire individuals like me to take the leap — from identifying problems we care about to gaining the tools and confidence to address them through entrepreneurship,” she adds.

RecAbility

Swaraj Bhowmick is an entrepreneur who is passionate about fulfilling the need for inclusive physical activity and recreation for those with limited dexterity and mobility. His startup, RecAbility, aims to solve a gap in the sports market by creating physical activity and recreational products for those with limited-strength disabilities.

Growing up, Bhowmick played adaptive floor hockey during school recess with lightweight sticks and pucks. “Not only do I not see those products on the market anymore, but as an adult I've realized the opportunities to get physical activity, recreation and exercise are so rare if you have a disability and do not have the strength to play parasports,” he explains. “There are no products out there for this large segment of the disability market.”

The goal of RecAbility is to drive inclusion, health and happiness for the disability community through innovative sport-related products for everyday recreational use. One of the products his company is working on is an Accessible Ball Thrower for people with disabilities to play fetch with their dogs. Many don't have the strength to throw the ball far or at all, and the current ball throwers on the market are too hard to use based on their target customer feedback.

“The Accessible Ball Thrower is a solution we're excited for, and an example of one of many innovations we hope to work on at RecAbility, with a vision to make sports and recreation accessible to all,” says Bhowmick.

“I'm incredibly humbled and honoured to have won the Slaight New Venture Competition because our organization requires a fair amount of research and development to reach our goals,” Bhowmick explains. “Having $25,000 to support business expenses will help us create our first initial products and provide proof of traction. It was also great to see our vision resonate with the audience and the panel of judges.”

“I would like to give a big thank you to The Slaight Family Foundation for this opportunity,” he adds. “This competition has a long history, having a major impact on entrepreneurs year in and year out. I am grateful to have been a part of it this year and hope to create a big impact with this startup.”

Judging panel and other finalists

The judges for this year’s competition were Dr. Kimberly Bates (Chair, Entrepreneurship & Strategy, Associate Professor, Ted Rogers School), Michelle Fedorowich (Business Mentor, Futurpreneur and Project Administrator, Ted Rogers School), JP Silva (Associate Director at the Office of Zone Learning and Strategic Initiatives) and Aakash Sayal (Founder, ThePitstopFund).

Other finalists who competed in the 2024 Slaight New Venture Competition included Joseph Al-Atrach (Seamplies), Abhay Partap Singh Kang (NWZUP), Kathy Hau (Eclipse House) and Ava Maria Peck (Purley You).

"We are incredibly proud to have supported the entrepreneurial spirit at the Ted Rogers School of Management through the Slaight New Venture Competition for over two decades. Each year, we are inspired by the passion, creativity, and determination of the student entrepreneurs who participate, and this year’s winners are no exception," says Gary Slaight, President & CEO, The Slaight Family Foundation.

"Congratulations to Swaraj and Viona for winning this year’s competition. Your innovative ideas and dedication give us great confidence in the future of entrepreneurship. We are excited to see how your ventures—and those of future participants—will continue to shape industries and create lasting impact."