HEC Montréal students win support for innovative start-ups

The winners of the 2020 Pierre Péladeau Bursaries were announced on May 14, with honours going to two projects involving HEC Montréal students: Boomerang and Évéa.

Boomerang won the first prize of $100,000. The members of this workers’ co-operative project are Mathieu Gauthier and Tangui Conrad, of HEC Montréal, and Basile Thisse and Alexis Galand, of Polytechnique Montréal. Mathieu and Tangui are enrolled in the MSc in Management and Sustainable Development program, and have also taken courses on entrepreneurial projects and launching a business, part of the Specialized Graduate Diploma (DESS) in Entrepreneurship.

Boomerang repurposes spent grain from microbreweries, which is normally discarded, composted or used as animal feed. Once the highly nutritious grain is ground into flour instead, it can be used in food preparation.

Note that in November 2019, Boomerang also took the Environment Track award and the Business Challenge award from the City of Montréal in the Coopérathon competition. More recently, it won the Coup de cœur award from the Réseau d’investissement social du Québec.

Évéa, founded by MSc students Éva Roux (Corporate Strategy) and Eve Eilles (International Business), won a $15,000 bursary. The company applies circular and sharing economy principles, loaning out used clothing for children ages 0 to 4.

Mathieu Gauthier (HEC Montréal), Basile Thisse, Tangui Conrad (HEC Montréal) and Alexis Galand, at the Coopérathon competition in November 2019. Photo credit: Coopérathon