Chris Spoke, Alex Smith, Jean-Benoit Lesage On February 10, 2012, Alex Smith, Chris Spoke, and Jean-Benoit Lesage travelled to Vancouver for the semi-finals of the Enterprize Canada National Business Plan Competition.  They are the founders of Liaise - a start-up focused on creating a new channel for world-renowned experts and people-of-interest to connect with their target audiences. 

The three moved onto the semi-final round after a regional round held at Guelph University and competed with 11 other teams from across Canada.  The Liaise team was one of the 6 teams that advanced to the final round the following day.  The final presentation was delivered to a panel of experienced VC’s and entrepreneurs, as well as 120 students from the University of British Columbia and Sir Sanford Fleming.  The Liaise team, representing the Telfer School of Management of the University of Ottawa, placed in the top 6 teams in Canada and went home with an invaluable experience and wealth of feedback.

About the Students

Chris Spoke is a third year Economics and Public Policy student, minoring in Business Administration. He is also studying for his CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) designation.

Alex Smith is a fifth year Bachelor of Commerce student, specializing in Marketing.  He has had over 9 years of experience in web development, specifically project management, consultative selling and online brand development.

Jean-Benoit Lesage is a recent graduate of the Telfer School of Management receiving his Bachelors of Commerce no option.  He is now Vice President of the online news source ipolitics.ca and has had over 10 years of experience coding several different languages.