St. Catharines native Alex Peters tests Bruce Croxon, star of the business pitch reality show Dragon's Den, how his math software works while pitching an investment opportunity to some of Canada's top business minds. Peters and business partner Rohan Mahimker walked away without a business deal.

Two entrepreneurs had their feet held to the fire Wednesday on the business pitch reality show Dragon’s Den.

St. Catharines native Alex Peters and Rohan Mahimker walked away without a deal for their math software called Prodigy, developed with the help of a quartet of Brock computer sciences students and Prof. Beatrice Ombuki-Berman.

Peters and Mahimker, University of Waterloo engineering graduates running the tech startup SMARTeacher, asked the dragon’s – some of Canada’s top business minds – for $120,000 for 12 per cent equity in their business, which they valued at $1 million.

Four of the dragon’s, Bruce Croxon, Arlene Dickinson, David Chilton and Jim Treliving offered $120,000 for 50 per cent equity, arguing that while they saw potential in the game, which takes its cues from a players emotions, there have been no sales yet.

Peters and Mahimker countered with a proposal for $200,000 and 30 per cent equity but were turned down.

Peters and Mahimker received $50,000 from the federal government’s Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative (ARC) last year to collaborate with Ombuki-Berman and students Alex Bailey, Kyle Harrison, Ethan Jackson and Chris Stinson to bring to life their idea for a children’s math game that uses technology similar to a lie detector test to determine a player’s reaction to the questions being asked and adjusts the level of difficulty accordingly.

Brock is one of ARC’s administering bodies in south-central Ontario.

Watch the episode online.