Carleton student entrepreneur competes for $25,000 in Queen's Entrepreneurship Competition
Carleton student entrepreneur Shannon Conheady is competing against undergraduate students from around the world for a top prize of $25,000 at the Queen’s Entrepreneurship Competition, which takes place this weekend in Kingston, ON.
Shannon, who is a third year Psychology and Minor in Entrepreneurship student, is one of 15 finalists selected to make venture capital pitches to a panel of judges. The judges will narrow the selection to six ventures. The entrepreneurs will make a final presentation to the judges who will award the top three prizes, totaling over $43,000.
“It’s pretty cool to be the top 15 in the world,” says Shannon who heard about the competition in one of his entrepreneurship courses, BUSI 3810 Business Development, taught by Professor Diane Isabelle. “It’s a great opportunity for a new entrepreneur.”
Shannon’s venture, RepairQuote, is a web-based service that allows consumers to request, receive and review quotes for auto repair from a pool of pre-screened repair shops. There is no cost to consumers to use the service, but repair shops pay a fee.
The idea for RepairQuote came to Shannon a few months ago when he took his car in for service at a dealership. They found a problem that needed to be fixed and quoted the cost of the repair at $4,000. When he mentioned the problem to his regular mechanic, he was quoted $1,000.
“I thought there has to be a better way of finding a fair price without risk,” says Shannon.
Shannon has moved quickly on the development of RepairQuote and currently has over 20 repair shops on board. His business partner is third year computer science student Jordan Amos, who he met in his entrepreneurship courses.
“The classes I’ve taken so far have been great,” says Shannon. “They actually teach you how to be an entrepreneur. They teach you how to validate your ideas and walk you through what you need to do through assignment-based work.
“The professors are awesome. They are always there to offer advice. Diane is fantastic.”
In addition to being enrolled in the Minor in Entrepreneurship, Shannon is a member of the Carleton Accelerator and Hatch, Carleton’s student-run entrepreneurship program.
If RepairQuote wins the Queen’s Entrepreneurship Competition, the money will go toward a marketing campaign to grow the business.
“If we don’t win, it’s still a huge achievement being top 15 in the world,” says Shannon. “We’ll keep pushing along. There’s always another opportunity for funding. We’re confident.”
Visit RepairQuote’s website to learn more about the service. They are currently giving away a coupon for a $19.99 oil change for anyone who registers for the service.
UPDATE: RepairQuote placed 6th overall in the Queen’s Global Entrepreneurship Competition.