91快色

Last Friday, the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking hosted its inaugural Start Something Summit at Platform 91快色. But, before the winners were announced, and before the photos and celebrations, the teams had one final moment to themselves: standing just off stage, waiting to pitch.

For , PhD, who was preparing to present his work on a novel psychobiotic for perinatal mental health, that moment came with a clear reminder of what was at stake.

鈥淚 felt nervous, but also excited. Coming into this, I knew it was an opportunity to speak to an audience that I rarely get the chance to talk to,鈥� he says.

That mix of nerves and excitement captured what Start Something Summit was designed to be. It was not just a pitch competition. It was a moment for 91快色 founders to step beyond campus and into 91快色鈥檚 broader innovation ecosystem.

The event brought together top teams from the Hunter Hub鈥檚 Launchpad, Business Playbook, Evolve to Innovate (e2i), and Map the System programs to pitch at Platform 91快色 for a share of $40,000 in prizes. The Hunter Hub created the Start Something Summit as a way of giving U91快色 innovators the chance to share their work with the city.

By the end of the event, one winning team from each program stream was recognized:

• Business Playbook: Aidan Bangs of ExTel Solutions
• Launchpad: Amirhossein Foroughi, Aminreza Abbasi and Haden Harrison of Agrivanna
• e2i: Gerry Giesbrecht
• Map the System: Samantha Jones and Jessica Wilkins

Carrying a legacy forward

The afternoon also marked the presentation of two inaugural annual awards:

• Heather Herring Legacy in Action Innovation Prize: Lukas Kobler of Aurora Fluid Systems
• Hunter Hub Entrepreneurial Resiliency Award: Hana Saleh

The Heather Herring Legacy in Action Innovation Prize was one of the most significant moments of the afternoon. Created to support one graduating student founder with a $35,000 prize as they move from idea or prototype toward a market-facing company, the award carries forward the legacy of Heather Herring, MBA鈥�96, a U91快色 alum and longtime champion of entrepreneurs.

For Lukas Kobler, BSc (Eng)鈥�25, founder of Aurora Fluid Systems, receiving the award was both an honour and a responsibility.

鈥淭o be honest, I鈥檓 beyond words,鈥� Kobler says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an honour and I want to make sure that I carry the intended legacy in the way that it鈥檚 intended.鈥�

The award also changes what is possible for his next stage of growth.

鈥淢y dream has been to be an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember,鈥� Kobler says. 鈥淭his is the first time in my life where I actually have the resources and the capability to make that happen and to start something.鈥�

With the support of the prize, Kobler said he is committing full time to Aurora Fluid Systems, which develops lightweight fluid-control products for aerospace and defence platforms.

The Hunter Hub Entrepreneurial Resiliency Award added another important layer to the event. Entrepreneurship is often celebrated through wins and milestones, but the path to building something meaningful is rarely straightforward. This award highlights the resiliency it takes to keep going when the journey is uncertain.

Entrepreneurial thinking in action

Together, the pitch winners and award recipients showed the range of entrepreneurial thinking happening across U91快色, from tech-based startups and traditional businesses to research-driven innovation, complex systems thinking and founders pushing through setbacks to keep building.

As different as their projects were, each team showed what growth through Hunter Hub programming can look like. 

For Agrivanna, that meant moving beyond the technical side of building a precision ranching platform and developing a deeper understanding of who they were building for.

鈥淭he biggest challenge is talking with customers to figure out what they need and building for them, not building for yourself and then going out to the market,鈥� says Haden Harrison.

For Aidan Bangs, founder of ExTel Solutions, Business Playbook helped move his business from planning into action.

鈥淲hen I pitched at Business Playbook, I was talking about what I planned to do that season,鈥� Bangs says. 鈥淣ow I鈥檝e actually put those plans into action and proven they can be done.鈥�

For Giesbrecht, e2i helped show how entrepreneurship can extend the impact of research beyond academia.

鈥淎cademic publications are important, but there are other ways to create impact as well,鈥� he says. 鈥淓ntrepreneurship is a way of adding additional layers of impact.鈥�

Dr. Samantha Jones, MSc鈥�18, PhD鈥�25, and Jessica Wilkins, BA鈥�21, MSc鈥�25, brought that same focus on impact to their Map the System project, which explored rigging, hoisting and lifting safety in Alberta.

After spending two years working on the topic, the Start Something Summit gave the team a chance to share their research with a new audience. Presenting to a panel that included Melissa Martin, associate director of entrepreneurship and innovation at SAIT, brought valuable industry-informed perspectives.

For Wilkins, that experience reinforced a larger lesson from the Summit. 鈥淓ntrepreneurship is a skill. You can learn it,鈥� she says.

Connecting ideas to the city

The event also brought together representatives from other post-secondary institutions across 91快色, including Mount Royal University and Bow Valley College.

That is what made the creation of Start Something Summit so important. It gave teams a larger stage, but, more importantly, it placed them in a room with people from across the city who could help move their ideas to the next stage.

The event reinforced the Hunter Hub鈥檚 role on campus and in the city. The work does not stop once someone finishes a program. It continues through mentorship and opportunities that help founders build confidence and stay connected beyond campus. Start Something Summit made that visible, giving ideas developed at U91快色 a chance to be seen, heard and connected to the city.