February 14, 2012

Adsum Audio wins $20,000 in NAIT business plan competition


WHAT: Premier loudspeaker manufacturer and distributor Adsum Audio has won the 3rd annual Hatch business plan competition.

The $20,000 prize will allow Adsum Audio to further develop its business plan. The company will also receive one year of office space in NAIT’s business incubator with access to all the amenities and expertise the facility has to offer.

WHERE: NAIT
Bytes Cafeteria, hp Centre
11762 106 St.
Edmonton, AB

WHEN: Wed., Feb. 15, 2012
10 a.m.

WHO: Company President and CEO James Osualdini, who graduated from NAIT’s Electronics Engineering Technologist program in 2011, will be on hand to accept the award, talk about what makes his company’s two speaker models unique and provide a demonstration. Representatives of NAIT and Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures will make the presentation.

WHY: Osualdini’s interest in speakers began as a teenager, when he built his first set of speakers in shop class after reading a book called The Audiophile Loudspeaker Anyone Can Build. He’s been hooked on loudspeaker engineering ever since.

His company, Adsum Audio - which engineers, prototypes, manufactures, assembles and delivers loudspeakers to end users - was incorporated over two years ago and has five employees based in Edmonton.

The company’s two eye- and ear-catching speaker models are named The Detonator and The Ivan. The Detonator is a small speaker that packs a lot of power, while The Ivan – a powered subwoofer – stands for strength and power.

Come see a demonstration of Adsum Audio’s innovative loudspeakers designs. The company's website is www.adsumaudio.com.

ABOUT Hatch

Hatch is a NAIT business plan competition for budding entrepreneurs to “hatch” their business idea into a viable business. The competition is open to ideas with a technology, science or knowledge-based focus. The latest competition was open to full-time students, between 18 and 35 years of age, in their last year of study at NAIT in the 2011-2012 academic year or who graduated from NAIT in the 2010-2011 academic year. Hatch is run by novaNAIT in association with SIFE NAIT and Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures.
The winning entrant receives $20,000 in seed money to be used for expenses directly related to implementing the business plan and services from novaNAIT’s Duncan-McNeill Centre for Innovation. This also includes up to one year of incubation space.

ABOUT Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures

Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures is part of the Government of Alberta's research and innovation system and is helping build healthy, sustainable businesses in the province. Through a suite of programs and services for entrepreneurs, companies, researchers and investors, Tech Futures is a one-stop shop that provides technical services and funding support to facilitate the commercialization of technologies, to develop new-knowledge based industry clusters and to establish an entrepreneurial-based culture in Alberta.

For more information, please contact:

Deanna Emberg
NAIT Research Officer, Student Projects
P 780.378.6904 E deannae@nait.ca

Frank Landry
NAIT Media Relations Coordinator
P 780.471.8450 C 780.916.8307 E flandry@nait.ca