Launch Party Vancouver goes for the 7th time this Tuesday, June 2nd at 6pm and it looks like there are only a dozen tickets left.

As usual, we will have a great line-up of start-ups for you to check out. Come mix and mingle with other entrepreneurs, investors and social mediarati and show some love for the Vancouver tech scene.

7 companies have been selected to demo at LPV7, a crop of promising startups that includes locals and a few “guest stars” from out of town as well.

Among the seven chosen to demo at LPV7 is 2008 New Ventures BC competitor Protagonize.

If you’re interested in attending, you should still be able to use Techvibes promo code in able to grab a free ticket. Head over to the registration page and plug “LPV7TVIBES” in the discount code box.

nextMEDIA Banff is finished searching for the hottest emerging digital properties across Canada and has announced the finalists for their “Digital Hot List” for the nextMEDIA Banff Conference on June 5 – 7th.

The competition was open to content portals, social media groups, websites, newsletters, blogs or any digital media property that can demonstrate a loyal and growing fan base that provides a tantalizing vehicle for advertisers.

2008 New Ventures BC competitor Protagonize has been named one of five nominee finalists and could be named the Hottest Canadian Emerging Digital Brand

As as result, Protagonize’s Nick Bouton is receiving a half price pass to nextMEDIA Banff where he’ll get face-to-face time with advertisers actively looking for partners, as well as extensive promotional opportunities with nextMEDIA and the recognition as one of Canada’s hottest digital properties.

Congratulations to Protagonize!

Perfecting Your Pitch presentation slides.

Hello, once again it’s Victoria here at NVBC’s night for learning how to pitch.  David Shore from Stirling Mercantile and Jonathan Bixby from Strangeloop Networks will be taking the stage tonight.

What differentiates people who win? They have a focus. Have a thesis and they have greed around their focus. So, what is the structure of a business focused statement?

1. Thesis: Tell Me What You Do

We sell (blank) that helps (who, target market) and what does it do for them (save or make them money)

•    do not tell us what the technology does
•    it has to be simple and make sense
•    differentiate yourself

2. Communication: Are they going to remember you?

Example with Barack Obama–he is a gifted communicator.  He is going through a quick presentation about a. not including points you are speaking on a slide and to pause and b. to observe your audience, not just talk at them, lastly c. the judges will remember you, so show some excitement. Show the fact that you are excited about your business.

3. Presentation: Judges prefer graphical presentations. Colour, simple text, and go overboard.

1. Start with and include a title.
2. Include a snapshot of what you do, then include something about you, the team and those involves. Indicate who you are, CEO, CMO and indicate that you require the CTO or advisors.  Brief description of where you’ve worked and who you’ve worked with.
3. Industry Problem: will your customer make money, save money or what? It’s a financial issue. *Customers are leaving. Problem can be societal.
4. Identify the solution: Uses Flickr as an example. If you have software, use screenshots. If you have hardware, show diagrams and tell a story. How did you get involved, or determine that there was a need? Introduce a third-party validation with a quote with a person’s name with a target company. This slide will take longer to present. Show your pride, the route you took etc.
5. Product
6. Addressable Market: these slides you need to go over quickly, use a graph or chart, name important points and graph them and talk about where they’re going, show where we are going as opposed to our competition
7. Sales and Marketing: data on marketing # helps (1 minute to 30 seconds on this slide)
8. Road Map: do a graph, design to full launch about where you are with raising money (this slide’s length depends on how complicated your business is)
9. Projections: busy slide with a lot of numbers, 5 years shown, number of customers and price are the most valuable numbers on slide. If your number is less than $10 million in the fifth year, raise that number. If you’re going after a trillion dollar market, it’s not unreasonable to have a half- billion of that market.
10. Investment Opportunity: name three stages, raising money at this stage, raising money at launch and scale and ask (%) of $$.
11. Summary: leave up for question period, flavour the rest of your discussion
12. Appendix: no end to that so make them and you can email the investors a softcopy, each slide can have a Q and A, slide. So 12 in a presentation and then 30-40 to prepare

Things to avoid saying:

• Our projections are conservative
• We have no competition
• We have first mover advantage
• We only need to capture x% of the tiny piece of huge market

Would you have more than one person present?  Yes, but practice. Seemlessness is key.  The CEO should be the one giving the presentation.

2003 New Ventures BC competitor Genologics was profiled on Xconomy Seattle today.

National Biotechnology Editor Luke Timmerman got an update on Genologics progress from CEO Michael Ball and was impressed by what he heard.

A little company on Vancouver Island has its sights set on one of the big challenges of the day in healthcare software. It is trying to piece together the vast puzzle of data on human health—everything from patient medical records, tissue or blood sample readings from the lab, and genomic data—and package it all in a coherent way so biologists see patterns they might otherwise never see.

The company, Victoria, BC-based GenoLogics, has been on my list to check on since February, when it raised $5 million in venture capital from Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners and a pair of Vancouver, BC-based firms—GrowthWorks Capital and Yaletown Venture Partners. I got an update on the company’s progress over the phone from CEO Michael Ball.

Be sure to read the whole post.

Number eight in the New Ventures BC 10-week seminar series is this Wednesday and it’s a topic that is very important to any new venture looking to raise some start-up capital. Perfecting Your Pitch takes place next Wednesday, May 27th with David Shore of Stirling Mercantile & Jonathan Bixby of Strangeloop Networks sharing their expertise.

While it’s too late to enter the competition, the seminar series is still open to the public. Register online now and head on over to the SFU Segal Graduate School of Business to network starting at 6:30pm and then grab a seat for the 7:00pm seminar start. The cost to attend any individual seminar is $20 and students with valid I.D. cards may attend for free.

The 2009 VIATeC Technology Awards gala took place last week and the Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Council handed out awards across twelve categories. Congratulations to New Ventures BC 2008 competitor Dark Matter Labs.

They took home the award for Innovative Excellence which recognizes a company that has researched and designed an innovative service, process or product that is expected to revolutionize a sector, method of business or way of life.

Presentation slides for Roger Killen.

Presentation slides for Tanner Philp.

Hello, it’s Victoria here blogging from one of the most important topics (I think) in the series and it’s about funding.

Up first is Roger Killen tell us everything we need to know.

Become a worthy investment opportunity.  This is how you raise money. What is a WIO?  How do you become that?  8 steps in the chain.  You can’t leave anything out.  Day 1: Build an SME that is a Home Run in the making:

Start at the right fit: expectations and lifestyle need to fit, self-discipline needs to marry, then the right skills, the right market, the right product, the right exit strategy, the right startup people, the right legal structure, the right infrastructure

When we have achieved these milestones, this is what we have. A culture of self-discipline, confidence and attitude.  This is achievable by the second Quarter (Q2).  You can only do this if you follow this approach.  Day 2: Leverage you home run potential into serious capital:

Start with the right money: 2 types
Equity–ownership, advantages is that it does not impair monthly cash flow, disadvantages are dilution
Debt-legally owing, minimizes dilution but it increases risk and turnoff to major investors (angels don’t like to follow debt)

Rule of Thumb: all business should be financed with Equity until they are producing revenue

Amounts of money: refer to financial model, understand you burn rate, runway length>6 months, raise capital in multiple rounds, need for cash trumps avoidance of dilution, Then the right investors: Early Stage is 4 stages (Seed, (Business Plan) startup, first stage, second stage, Expansion Stage is 3 stages (Third, Mezzanine, Bridge) Which business are you running?

1. Lifestyle Business: finances a lifestyle, subscribe enough seed capital, can be debt or equity, don’t issue many founders’ shares
2. Centred Business: subscribe enough seed capital, can be equity only, don’t issue many founders’ shares, design a vesting plan,

Definitions:

Founders’ Shares: this is how a company settles accounts, they’re common and inexpensive common shares, 1 founder = 4 million shares at .01 is $40,000, you can look into SR&ED and pay yourself

Vesting Formula: initially place the Founders’ Shares into Escrow, use a linear vesting approach 50% over 3 years, the remaining 50% becomes vested at liquidity, avoid milestone based vesting
the right valuation:

Commercial Banks: operating loan, line of credit, term loan, mortgage, credit card, cost and government programs, don’t live your life through government programs

Love Money has problems.  It’s awkward and has many problems, but it has the potential to be top quality

How do we raise up to $2,000,000 of top quality Seed and Startup Canada?

1. the right offering: 16 valuations methods, the right presentation,  the right financing campaign: 12-step sequential system for attracting several Financing Rounds of Seed and Startup Capital, contact financing does for Early Stage business financing does for selling a house

12 Step Program:
1.    Build a positive image
2.    Build a financing sales team
3.    Recruit a financial team leader
4.    Build a contact list
5.    Convert contacts into invitations
6.    Convert invitees into attendees
7.    Host  a series of seminars
8.    Cater to investors
9.    Understand RRSP
10.    Understand trustees
11.    Follow up and enroll
12.    Repeat 3X

This will give us 25 people investing at $12,000 $400,000 3X= $1, 200,000. SME at Q4 is success.  Success is knowing what to do and to act on that knowledge. If it is to be, it’s up to me.

Up next is Tanner Philp of Lions Capital. He is discussing BC Advantage Funds. What is a VCC? Get to know it.
-    30% refundable tax credit
-    cash back to investors
-    GOOGLE investment capital branch
-    less than a 100 employees
-    operating in BC and developing a technology

Financing Strategy: CEO’s job, fund to milestones, leave a cushion, 4-9 months, expertise required, directors and advisors needed, bankers, investors

What you need in a financing process is to make deadlines.  What are sources of capital? Banks, angels and VC’s. Friends and family and angels answer to themselves. VC’s work in teams. Discusses government programs (SRED, **IRAP, government funds, VCC program, innovation grants, EDC, Non Dilutive) banks, angels (relationships are important), VC’s

What are investor motivations?

1. Banks, 2. Angels, 3. VCs
Getting paid: 1. interest, 2. exit value, 3. exit value
Fee Structure: 1. Interests, 2. exit value, 3. 2%-20%
Liquidity Horizon:( (how long do you hold an investment ) 1. 1-3 yrs., 2. 5-7 yrs., 3. 5-7 yrs.
Portfolio Approach: (multiple early stage investments) 1. Yes, 2. No, 3. Yes
Fiduciary Responsibility: 1. corporate, 2. self, 3. investors,

Who to call and how do you get to these people? There are only 6 VCs in BC. www. cvca.ca.  G to the VCs web Site and see if your business fits into the portfolio. Learn who the major players are in your industry and have them on a list and learn who you will be working with.

How do you contact investors?  Direct introduction or mutual contact…the least effective is the most successful.

1. Go for a coffee, first 30 minutes you talk about how you make money

2. Second 30 minutes 50% LISTEN and 50% TALK (bring a second person who does not talk)

3. Follow up that day, suggest another meeting and answer any questions you couldn’t

Presentation Etiquette:  It’s chaotic and non-linear.  It’s critical that you ask what the people are investing in and the investment process. What is the time frame, what does it look like?
1 Hour, 12 sides: Sell the business, not the technology, Know your audience, Don’t contradict, Contents: Product, Addressable Market, Team, Competition, Financial

What are investors looking for?  Do you have a quality team? Addressable large market, competitive advantages, clear and scalable, market validating, credible vision of success

Take away investors’ reasons to say no, they won’t tell you what is wrong.  A maybe is no.
Can’t get money? It’s an ugly world out there in VC landscape.  What investors don’t want to invest in? LOTS. U.S. investors invested less in Canada by 50%.  What other words mean no?  Maybe, no, it’s too early, later, doesn’t fit our mandate, we have no money, we want to follow a lead.

What are you looking for in an investor?
- experience, people you like, experienced management, contacts, domain knowledge, confidence
Deal Terms and Structure: after a lot of discussion
Valuation: If you’re raising less than a million, you should be doing common shares.  What is valuation?  You can’t value startups. You have no cash flow or historical revenues. Tanner says the most single important thing you have is your team.  Tanner ran out of time, so he is summarizing definitions of preferred shares. Goes over negotiating terms and closing the investment. Do not take your eye off the ball.