Tom Scopf

This Wedgie is winning awards.

Tom Schopf of Stoney Creek has developed an aerodynamic water bottle and tool kit for cyclists and triathletes made of composite carbon.

He said the questions came so fast during his pitch last month that he didn’t have time to be nervous in front of the Dragons.

He initially thought he would pitch for $50,000 but tripled that in exchange for a 30 percent stake.

“If I’m just asking for $50,000, I can get that from a commercial lender without giving up any equity. Go big or go home was my philosophy.”

He made his pitch with co-presenter Eileen McMahon, dressed in triathlete gear with a bike between them. He says the questions aimed at him have given him lots of ideas about moving forward.

The Wedgie, so named because it wedgies in the frame of a bike, recently won an entrepreneurial contest called The Coliseum, hosted by the Strategic Leadership Forum.

Schopf’s invention came out of a friendly rivalry with local triathlete Mark Collis.

Schopf says he can’t outrun Collis, so he figured he’d better find a way to bike faster.