LavaGrip

David Porter and Ricardo Sestito, from North Vancouver and Langley, British Columbia, asked for $240,000 for 25% of LavaGrip, a traction aid made from volcanic ash mined from their own quarry, sold as an alternative to salt and de-icing chemicals. The product retails for about $20 at Home Hardware and Canadian Tire, costs around $400 per ton (about 25 cents per bag) to produce, with net margins of 35 to 40%, though transportation costs around $4,000 to rail from Quesnel to Ontario. The founders and a third partner had invested about $3 million total in the volcano and business, selling about 20,000 bags for around $200,000 in revenue the prior year, with 17 million metric tons of proven resource.

Joe Mimran, Michele Romanow, and Jim Treliving declined to invest, citing limited business scale, a steep customer learning curve, and early stage of development. Michael Wekerle offered $240,000 for 25% structured as an equity note, and Manjit Minhas offered $240,000 for 51% control citing her shipping expertise, but the founders declined both offers on Arlene Dickinson and Jim Treliving's advice to continue developing the business independently, resulting in no deal.

LavaGrip is still operating and sells through its website.