UBC Reports Extras | Oct. 17, 2007
Florence Leung and Robert Dunlop graduated from UBC’s Sauder School of Business in May this year, each with a Bachelor of Commerce, and one month later had secured $200,000 to invest in their business. These young entrepreneurs, along with two fellow UBC engineering students — Grant Ringham and Parham Yaghoobi — secured financing when they pitched their business idea PeerFX on CBC TV’s venture capital reality television program Dragons’ Den.
The format of Dragons’ Den is for entrepreneurs to pitch business concepts or products to a panel of five Canadian business moguls. Leung and Dunlop were so successful that three of the five judges chose to put their own money behind this fledgling idea in return for a 51 per cent share of the business.
The idea behind PeerFX is people sharing a common need, in this case currency exchange. Working from the premise that at any point in time someone wants Canadian dollars and someone wants US dollars, these young UBC entrepreneurs created a online system that allows buyers and sellers to exchange currency at the same rate online and eliminate hefty bank transaction fees. Their idea is currently subject to provisional patent.
PeerFX grew from an innovative UBC interdisciplinary fourth-year course called New Venture Design.
“We had lots of entrepreneurs come to speak to us during class,” said Dunlop in an interview with UBC Public Affairs. “The energy and spirit in class was amazing.” A valuable part of the course was pitching their business ideas against hundreds of others across North America, gaining feedback and real world experience.
Established in 2005, the New Venture Design course aims to build practical skills for those with entrepreneurial spirit and acts as a catalyst to bring together outstanding students from business and engineering. Working in teams, students are asked to produce viable prototypes accompanied by business plans that will lead to marketplace success. The course is run by Assoc. Prof. Darren Dahl (UBC Sauder School of Business) and Prof. Peter Lawrence (UBC Engineering).
“I always wanted to start my own business and was really fortunate that this opportunity crossed my path,” said Leung.
When asked by the CBC how they felt about being in business with the Dragons’ Den panelists Dunlops’ response showed a healthy respect for more experienced entrepreneurs, “You’ve got to learn from them … sometimes you need someone to get in there and fight for you.”
Dragons’ Den airs on CBC Television on Mondays at 8pm.
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