Tradies smartphone app wins ZEN eChallenge

ZEN eChallenge 2011 winner, MyTime
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The MyTime smartphone app
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Monday, 7 November 2011

A smartphone app and web interface to efficiently link tradespeople with builders and contractors has won this year's University of Adelaide ZEN eChallenge competition.

MyTime, with members PhD student Luke Holtham, David Holtham, Leon Whitehead, Dean Calvert, Adam Basheer and Daniel Wilson, won the $10,000 first prize at an Awards dinner at the National Wine Centre on Friday night.

MyTime also won the People's Choice Award, voted for on the night, and the Best Technology Commercialisation Award.

The MyTime application helps tradespeople source work and builders find tradespeople, and provides easy recording of hours, billing of services, verification of work tickets and future work.

The annual ZEN eChallenge competition is run by the University of Adelaide's Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC). ZEN Home Energy Systems is the naming sponsor of the 2011 ZEN eChallenge.

Teams of up to six people develop a business plan for a new, previously unfunded business concept and each team must have at least one student member from any tertiary institution in South Australia. Semi-finalists are paired with an experienced mentor from the business community.

"ZEN eChallenge takes raw entrepreneurial talent and channels it into investment-ready, early stage companies with the guidance of top business mentors," said ECIC Director Professor Noel Lindsay.

"Entrepreneurship is essential to the future growth of Australia. ZEN eChallenge fosters innovation and speeds up the learning process towards a viable business model and past finalists have gone on to develop successful and thriving businesses."

Second prize went to Twist and Shake (Gabriel Domenzain, Laura Cavazos, Vishal Jodhani) for the development of a smart combination of a normal baby bottle and powdered milk dispenser for easier baby feeding.

Third prize went to VPDoc (Victoria Wade, Jeremy Hamlyn, Pratiban Parthiban, Madhan Balasubramanian, Debbie McKenzie) who are developing a virtual private doctor service by secure video network.

Foodcloud won the Innovate SA Venture Capital Ready Award for their meal planning Facebook application; Viewsoft won the Vroom Award for their 3D online education tool; and Zero won the Best Solutions International Diamond in the Rough Award for their system for secure online shopping and delivery.

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