Well, obviously it would make front-page right?

Here’s the link to the article and a snapshot of the article on the front-page:

University of Waterloo Covering Velocity

Peter Kao

I Just saw this on Rajesh’s Twitter account - UW Bookstore Linelook. You can now see how busy (or not busy) the UW Bookstore is! This is perfect for the beginning of the term when the bookstore is usually completely packed. Now you can reduce a few hours of waiting in line.

PS: Now you know that you are being watched when you are sitting on those benches. Be warned! Don’t pick your nose or ass there!
Peter Kao

Yes, I've arrived

Just moved into Velocity, Canada’s first (that I know of) student incubator residence. I first wrote about it in January (see Velocity - The UW Student Residence for Undergraduate Entrepreneurs) and now I’m living in it.

At first glance, the Velocity building doesn’t look like a student residence at all, rather it looks like an University staff building, but upon entering you are presented with a nice slab of glass that lists impressive sounding areas of the residence. You also get a top-view glimpse of the Rogers Wireless Device Lab which, sadly, is still in construction. I can already imagine it looking stunning though.

Entrance Slab

Device Lab in Construction

The residence will have several rooms that are completely at our disposal. Rooms such as the Device Lab, Great Hall and Conference Room will help entrepreneurial students like me collaborate on projects without having to worry about space or technical limitations.

My only peeve are the old-fashioned rooms and how everything is laid out. Don’t get me wrong, the rooms look nice and habitable. It’s decently sized as well. It’s only the old wooden cabinents and tables and the un-usable layout of the plugs that bother me. First off, the ethernet jack is at least 2 meters away from the today, so you’ll need an extra long ethernet cable to access the LAN line. The other thing is that when sitting down at the table, you irresistibly feel like you’re in a prison cell. There are no windows visible. Maybe it’s just the layout of my room, so let me know if yours is fine, but from what I’ve seen from my friends a lot of the rooms feel very secluded. These problems are small and won’t be a bother once you get used to the room, but I thought I would lay it out for those interested in joining us next term.

My Room! MH-225a

My Room (again)! MH-225a

Door Room Vanity

Here are some more pictures:

My Cheesy Looking Room Door

Sexiest Looking Kitchen I've seen on Rez

And here’s a video showcasing the world’s most advance window at Velocity! It’s a rod attached to a window…

The people are nice, the facilities look nice (though some are still in construction) and the energy is superb. Can’t wait till we have our first Velocity meeting tonight!

PS: News is that we’ll be hooking up an XBOX 360, PS3 and Wii on the big screen TV in the lounge! Man, how are we going to get work done in this place?

Peter Kao

I have been putting off this blog entry for a while now (over 2 weeks…) and I was going to put it off for tomorrow…but it’ll just end up never being done.

About a month ago, I received an email asking for my appearance on a video about Velocity for UW President David Johnston’s presentation at the Canadian Telecom Summit. As the director of Velocity told me, “The Summit is the highest profile telecom conference in the
country.”

Naturally, I was pretty excited since it’s the first video interview I’ve had relating to my online advertising startup - Influenza Media.

Peter Kao

Today, I did a 40+ min presentation in front of a panel of 4 judges for the Enterprise co-op option, which assists UW students with their startups. The option was started in 1999 and only around 50 applicants has been approved.

Now, I’m one of them

The presentation went really smoothly and I felt like I’ve expressed my passion and enthusiasm for my venture pretty well. Two of the judges are also involved with the Start Your Own Business Summer Program, so I think I have a pretty good chance on getting a government grant for my business in the summer as well!

The judges were also very helpful in informing me how big transactions in the marketing world are made. There are several challenges that they have brought up that I must think thoroughly over, but what a great experience it was presenting my business!

W00t!!!

- Peter Kao