5 ways DemoCamp at U of T’s Creative Destruction Lab moved startup, ChargeSpot, into the fast lane

 

Mobile phones can sometimes feel like our lifeline to the world – making a dead battery at the wrong time seem nothing short of a modern emergency.

 

ChargeSpot, a startup from U of T alumnus Mark Goh and his co-founder Pat Laureano, is looking to liberate the mobile-phone-toting masses from their power cables. Their venture offers wireless charging panels that can be built into desks and tables in restaurants, coffee shops and office spaces. (Read more about ChargeSpot)

 

“Years ago, when I imagined the future of food service, wireless charging was an integral part of that vision,” said Daniel Bader in a feature on ChargeSpot in MobileSyrup, a Canadian mobile tech blog. (Read MobileSyrup feature)

 

Bader wrote about the “subtly buried charging pads,” installed in a Second Cup location at the corner of King and John streets in Toronto. And while customers like him are tweeting about and reviewing ChargeSpot products now, Goh says the concept was still just an early stage idea a year ago.

 

Goh presented ChargeSpot at an event called DemoCamp, hosted at U of T’s Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) last spring. The venture went on to join the full accelerator and is one of the few startups remaining in the competitive program. (Read more about the vast network of startups and entrepreneurship supports hosted by U of T’s Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship)

 

“It’s been absolutely incredible,” he said. “The people they put us in touch with, the advice we get from mentors, all the support from the Creative Destruction Lab team has been so valuable in helping us get where we are today.”

 

The Lab itself is an elite program for massively-scalable tech-focused startups, where selected companies earn face time with venture capitalists by achieving aggressive development milestones. It’s already churned out ventures on the radar for international business media, including Thalmic Labs, Nymi and OTI Lumionics.

 

But as a bit of a taste-test and a community-building event, the Lab also hosts DemoCamp: a day where CDL brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and technology thought-leaders to display innovations, network and exchange ideas for an afternoon.

 

The event helps startups get exposure to investors and other founders but it’s also the Creative Destruction Lab team’s first look at potential applicants to the program – a chance to see how they fare in front of a well-informed crowd.

 

Goh says taking part in DemoCamp helped get his startup on track for acceptance into the Creative Destruction Lab. (Read more about applying to showcase or present at DemoCamp)

 

Here are a few ways Goh says DemoCamp helped set up ChargeSpot for success…

 

DemoCamp started a conversation with an interested audience

“It was a chance to test out reception to our messaging. We were able to get exposure to other ventures and a lot of other people. It went a long way to helping us socialize the idea prior to acceptance to Creative Destruction Lab,” said Goh.

 

DemoCamp made the ChargeSpot team more excited about its own product

“I felt good afterwards, really energized,” Goh explained. “There was a really big crowd, there were a lot of interested people. It helped reinforce the idea of what we’re doing being valid. People were excited, people understood it.”

 

DemoCamp showed the startup they wanted to apply to the accelerator

“We had a prototype and that was it. We knew we were going to pursue the venture, the question was just whether we could pursue it successfully,” said Goh. “After DemoCamp, we knew we would apply to CDL.”

 

DemoCamp led to ChargeSpot joining the Creative Destruction Lab summer program

“I think it really helped socialize the idea amongst people around the CDL,” said Goh, describing his experience in the CDL summer program. “It gave them a chance to know us and see that we were really serious about it. Some of the specific information was useful and helped prepare us going forward.”

 

“Democamp is a great first point of contact; it is where we get to meet guys like Chargespot,” said Tom Lowden, associate director of CDL. “The summer program, though, is where we really get to understand what's behind Chargespot, awesome founders like Mark and Pat. We see how coachable they are and we start to get a sense of how fast they can grow.  It helps us identify ventures that are really going to succeed in our program.” 

 

Only upside for startups applying to demo or pitch at DemoCamp

“There’s no cost. If you run a startup and don’t apply, it’s stupid,” says Goh. “People might feel like they’re swamped with everything else, but I can’t imagine it not being worth the investment of time –  why not just try?”

 

DemoCamp on May 12 will feature a startup expo of more than two dozen promising companies, pitches by select venture founders, opportunities for networking, and a panel discussion of how the Creative Destruction Lab helps fledgling startups succeed. (Read more about DemoCamp)