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The My Best Helper Team

A panel of local entrepreneurs and investors awarded first place to My Best Helper at Vancouver Startup Weekend’s closing event. The judges’ award was based on the product’s large addressable market, business case, and the fact that the idea was developed based on personal experience.

My Best Helper is a web-based service that matches caregivers with people who need their services.  Nannys, baby sitters, eldercare givers, and pet sitters are matched with clients based on their skills, interests, location and recommendations.

The team will go on to compete against winners from thirty-seven other cities in the Global Startup Battle. Winners of that event will take home an assortment of cash and prizes and some one-on-one time with a celebrity venture capitalist or angel investor.

My Best Helper team includes:

Developers:

• Francois Deschenes – a web-application developer with 16 years of experience in the industry who loves nothing more than a challenge to bring both his creative thinking and rational perspective to the solution – download his iPhone app Phone Helper
• George Oleinikov – currently doing a PhD at UBC in Computer Science
• Peter Gao –currently doing a B.Sc at SFU, Producer and Programmer at Mr. Five Studios, Web Developer at MadRenegade
• Rauza Zhenissova – completing a B. Sc. UBC, has worked for on-line magazines
• Tom Ng –B.Sc. from SFU, implemented websites such as Whistlerblackcomb.com &Monttremblant.ca and intranet for TransLink and GoldCorp.

Designer:

• Estella Lum – Emily Carr University of Art + Design – Estella is an awarding-winning creative and brand strategist who is passionate about communicating the beauty of impact-focused brands to help them prosper. She is the founder of Possum Umbrellas.

Business:

• Alexandra T.  Greenhill – MD University of Montreal, family physician and mother of three, nationally recognized health care leader, received the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada 2005 Award
• Cory LePage –graduated from BCIT – mechanical design engineering – Investor and Entrepreneur,  Business Development Consulting/Coaching,  Real Estate Investor and Coach
• Rob Attwell – BA University of Victoria, MBA from Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, a serial entrepreneur, has extensive online media experience including a role as Director of Development for Stockgoup Media Inc. and consulting work for Associate Press AP Digital service

Second place went to Bag Tag a social media based ecommerce solution, and third place to Juke Nuke a product that allows users to vote up or down music selections played at a bar, café or other venue.  Honorable mentions went to  the Smart City and Trust Me teams.

Congratulations to the winners and all participants, sponsors, mentors, and volunteers that helped make this event a success!