Listen to Full Interview (mp3)
Program ID: Innovation Anthology #224
Program Date: 05/12/2009
Program Category: Information Technology
KennelSeek.com Wins Student VenturePrize
PROGRAM #224 INTERVIEW WITH GORDON MCKINLEY
MP3: 1.7 MB
Time: 1.57 Minutes
Intro: Gordon McKinley is an engineer, and is studying for a Masters of Engineering at the University of Calgary. His concept for an online kennel registration service earned him the 2009 TEC VenturePrize Student Business Plan Competition. Gordon McKinley
Gordon McKinley
CC: YOU ARE THE WINNER OF THE STUDENT VENTUREPRIZE COMPETITION. WHAT IS THE NAME OF YOUR COMPANY?
GM: It’s KennelSeek.com.
CC: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
GM: So it is an online reservation and managementsystem for pet care providers. It allows pet owners to book their pets into the pet care providers facilities online
CC: NOW WHERE DID THAT IDEA COME FROM?
GM: I travel a lot with my engineering business. I have dogs, so I have to put them into boarding kennels all the time. I find that it’s difficult to get hold of the pet care providers by telephone all the time. So it’s a lot more convenient to book online.
CC: NOW YOU ENTERED YOUR BUSINESS IDEA INTO THE VENTUREPRIZE STUDENT COMPETITION. WHY DID YOU DO THAT?
GM: I just had a business idea and I heard that it was running and I thought I might have a chance at winning it
CC: WHAT DID YOU GET OUT OF IT IN TERMS OF THE HELP THAT YOU GOT TO HELP BRING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN TO FRUITION?
GM: Well I got presentation training. We had a boot camp and had lots of training doing that. And business plan training. So yeah, without all that training, I definitely would not have won the competition.
CC: NOW FOR YOUR PRIZE, YOU’VE GOT $6000. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT? HOW IS THAT GOING TO HELP YOU?
GM: I think I’m going to put it into more research and development, more development for KennelSeek.com so we can put more features onto it and make a better product for our customers
CC: WHAT DO YOU SEE AS BEING THE GROWTH POTENTIAL FOR THIS?
GM: Well the online market is a $100 billion dollar market in US and Canada. So the growth is almost unlimited, really. And then the pet care provider market is $3.5 billion a year, so yeah, the sky’s the limit basically.
CC: CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
GM: Thank you very much.
Gordon McKinley is in a Masters of Engineering program at the University of Calgary. He won the 2009 TEC VenturePrize Student Business Plan Competition.
