Start-up Village backed Flip Technologies' team to visit Canada

A group of six student entrepreneurs from the start-up village will fly to Canada next month to interact with innovation experts, investors and mentors after earning global acclaim for their smart phone app designed to improve the skills of skateboarders, as reported by PTI.

The team from start-up firm 'Flip Technologies' won an all-expenses paid trip to Toronto after their innovative product "The Smart Riser" (Skateboard tracker) was ranked among the top five in the Next Big Idea Contest 2014 organized jointly by the Bombay Stock Exchange Institute, the Government of Ontario, Canada, IBM Global and Ryerson Futures Inc.

The Smart Riser has also been rated as one of the most interesting products by Intel, which will provide its latest Edison Board to the students for prototyping and for development support.

Jibin Jose, Abimanyu Nair, Jishnu Vijayan, Balagovind Girish, Rohith Samuel and Abraham Alexander will attend a two-week bespoke programme at Toronto's Discovery District - a hotbed of innovation responsible for more than USD one billion of R&D annually.

They will meet sector experts, mentors, investors, experts in innovation ecosystem and scout for business development opportunities and networking, the release said.

Startup Village Chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar told PTI, "This is exactly the message we want to send out to youngsters in India. These student entrepreneurs are proof that if you have the idea, the enthusiasm and the drive, there is a world of opportunity awaiting you.”

The Smart Riser is designed for skateboarders to enhance their ability to perform and analyse tricks whether he is an amateur or professional.

"The device is connected to the truck of the skateboard and it tracks the dynamics of the board and the data is sent to a smart phone app via bluetooth. The app can determine the trick performed and help the skateboarders to improve their skills. It is like a personalised trainer," added, Abimanyu Nair, Co-founder of Flip.

The PTI report further stated that the students were also felicitated by Ed Fast, Canadian Minister for International Trade at an event held on Oct 14 at the Bombay Stock Exchange.