Newmarket's Cachet Supper Club is a finalist in a York Region ventureLAB competition to find the best business idea for adapting to the challenges of operating in the age of COVID-19.
The competition, which will award the best pitch $50,000, is just one event at the Made in York Region: Navigating the New Reality, a three-day virtual conference hosted by ventureLAB that kicks off today, Dec. 1.
The pitch competition will take up all of the conference's third day on Thursday, Dec. 3. The restaurant's pitch is for a project called Delivereh!, which is a delivery service that supports and encourages business continuity for local small businesses digitally.
"We can deliver anything, not just food, but food too. It is GPS trackable, app-based and we have local community drivers. Since we started this in the last month, we have onboarded multiple businesses of all kinds locally, we have hired, unemployed servers for several restaurants in town, Uber drivers, school teachers and are looking to bring this solution to all of York Region businesses at the beginning of the New Year," said Jennifer McLachlan, owner of Cachet Supper Club.
"We are passionate about these businesses. Curbside pickup just isn't going to be a good enough solution this winter for survival ... The process of this competition has been educational and amazing. It's a win just being included," she said.
The Newmarket business will be up against several other ideas, such as Hotspot's pitch of heated outdoor furniture to extend the patio season and Gradient Ascent Inc.'s greeter A.I. that automates the job of door screeners enforcing health protocols.
Other events at the conference include networking sessions, showcases, and panel discussions with CEOs, strategists and policy experts on the following topics:
- How Investing in Canada's Hardware Will Drive Economic Recovery
- Canada's Lifeline: The Intersection of Health and Hardware
- Rebuilding a More Equitable Country: Lessons From Lockdown
"This conference will critically examine the roles that hardware, health-care technology, and inclusivity will play in rebuilding a stronger, more inclusive Canadian economy," said Justine Kintanar, ventureLAB spokesperson.
"This year’s event also showcases our inspiring Tech Undivided inaugural cohort, who will effortlessly demonstrate the progress that their company has made and how their technology will contribute to a more effective Canadian economy."
Tickets for the conference are free, and attendees can register by clicking here.
