DemoCamp Vancouver 10 is this coming week and picks up where Edition #9 left off with a duplicate format that includes longer featured presentations, 6 minute company/code/demo presentations, and lightning pitches in between to keep things moving.

This time around the theme is Geo and the two featured presentations will be:

• Matt Galligan (@mg), cofounder of Boulder, CO-based SimpleGeo, will be talking about the SimpleGeo platform. In the process of writing a location based app, Matt and his cofounder found that they were figuring out everything from scratch. It was hard and painful coming up with a storage engine for millions of geo points, and it was slow and difficult to run giant database queries against those points. And thus, SimpleGeo was born – infrastructure to power the geo layer of your app so you don’t have to build it all from scratch.
• Parveen Kaler (@kaler), founder of Smartful Studios, will be speaking about the business of Geo Location and Location Based Services. Currently, the Geo technology stack is fractured into disparate slices of functionality. We will look at who owns the data and what functionality currently exists. We will look at where data and functionality gaps exist within the stack. This will motivate the types of applications and services that can be built today. It doesn’t make sense for a viable business to build a product without a revenue model. We will enumerate different methods to monetize Geo Location services and how to build a revenue strategy.

DemoCamp Vancouver 10 is on Thursday, March 4th at Ceili’s Pub and starts at 6:30pm. The event is free but be sure to register online.

Between research and commercialization lie the critical stages of development and demonstration: the points at which technologies leave the laboratory and undergo conclusive real-world testing.  Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) supports clean-technology projects through these critical stages – without taking an equity stake, without requiring ownership of intellectual property or any repayment of funds.

The British Columbia Technology Industry Association is hosting their Xcelerate program in partnership with ACETECH this Spring and have announced their panel of judges.

What is Xcelerate?

On Tuesday April 13th, the folks behind Angel Forum are hosting a work shop in Vancouver titled Term Sheets and Due Diligence for Investors, Entrepreneurs and Advisors.

Why attend? If you are planning to invest in or raise private equity in the next 12 months, ask yourself:

• Do you know what investors look for in fundable deals? Learn how investors think.
• What key business functions should investors focus their due diligence on to finalize their funding decision?
• Do you have a good overview of the language and post-investment ramifications of a term sheet?
• Do you want to network with private equity experts and other fellow investors and entrepreneurs?

This all day practical Due Diligence and Term Sheet workshop will be a blend of presentations and panel discussions with local experts, with lots of time for Q&A and networking.

The workshop will be led by Bob Okabe, Founder of Prairie Angels and Managing Director of RPX Group in Chicago where he leads the firm’s efforts to assist universities, research institutions and corporations create startups from their innovative technologies. He has made a lucky thirteen investments in startups as an angel investor with one major liquidity event and three other positive returns of capital.  Bob is involved with his portfolio companies, serving on advisory boards, management teams and boards of directors. He has been a lead instructor since 2006 for the US Angel Capital Education Foundation and Board Director.

As they are still finalizing panelists and sponsors, there is a “special” discount available. The first 20 seats are $285 each (~$50 off).  To directly register click here.

Vancouver technology entrepreneur and angel investor Bob de Wit has been appointed as the first Executive Director of the New Ventures BC competition.

Now in our tenth year, the technology business idea competition has grown to the point where it needs full-time leadership, says board chair Steven Lukas.  “Last year we had 180 competitors vying for $300,000 in prizes. We want to continue to build on our past success and reach more regional entrepreneurs.”

de Wit previously was an NVBC director and served as jury chair and mentor ‘wrangler’ for the competition’s 100-plus business mentors. As executive director he will oversee and implement the organization’s future vision as it moves into its second decade.

A founder and director of Greenangel Energy Corp., de Wit also runs the SFU Venture Connection entrepreneur-in-residence program. He is an SFU alumnus with an MA in economics. de Wit’s executive experience includes corporate development, corporate finance and competitive market intelligence. He is an active member of the VANTEC angel network and the WUTIF angel fund.

“Bob is an ideal choice to lead New Ventures BC into the next decade,” says Lukas. “With his entrepreneurial background, he truly understands the dedication, sacrifice and persistence that aspiring entrepreneurs bring to our competition.”

The provinces of Ontario and British Columbia have agreed to implement the harmonized sales tax (HST), which would replace existing provincial sales taxes and the federal goods and services tax in those provinces beginning July 1, 2010 and would be administered by the Canada Revenue Agency. The Canada Revenue Agency is offering a number of informative seminars to help ensure that businesses receive the information they need for the transition to the federal administration of the harmonized sales tax in Ontario and British Columbia.

Seminars are being conducted in downtown Vancouver through Small Business BC at 601 West Cordova Street at the following times:

• Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Thursday, March 4, 2010 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Friday, March 26, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

For a full list of seminars across British Columbia, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website. There is no charge for any of the harmonized sales tax seminars.

Are you an investor or entrepreneur looking for an exit strategy from  a private technology company?

Be sure to check out the Angel Forum’s Exit Strategies workshop in Vancouver on March 29th but first ask yourself:

1. What is my exit strategy and why do I need one before or after I invest or look for investors?
2. What type of investor or company best matches my exit strategy and capital/investment requirements?
3. What are the four major steps I should be taking now to plan for a successful exit?
4. What about the timeline, valuation and legal process?

Vancouver’s best experts on exits including: Basil Peters,  Axel Christiansen, Steven Lukas, and Thane Stenner will lead this practical real world workshop.

Register online – the first 20 seats are $285 – a savings of $50 of the regular price.

GreenAngel Energy Corporation announced today that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with 2009 NVBC Top 10 Finalist Rapid Electric Vehicles Inc. (REV) to raise up to $5 Million in several tranches during 2010.

Under the terms of the MOU, GreenAngel will raise capital for REV using a special purpose Venture Capital Corporation as defined under the B.C. Small Business Venture Capital Act, namely REV Technologies (VCC) Inc. B.C. investors can receive a 30% refundable tax credit and also hold their shares within an RRSP or TFSA account for further tax deductions.

According to GreenAngel CEO Michael Volker, using a VCC to offer shares will allow REV to attract a much broader base of investors rather than limiting itself to angel investors as it has in the past (REV CEO Jay Giraud presented last week at the Canadian Financing Forum). In additon, the use of the 30% Provincial Tax credits and the Federal RRSP deduction will give investors substantial leverage and reduce their at-risk capital outlay.

REV will be hosting a number of investor presentations over the coming weeks, just in time for the 2009 RRSP contribution deadline.

REV will use the proceeds to continue the development and commercialization of its MDS technology – modular drive and energy storage systems – that transform a wide variety of automotive platforms into zero-emission, 100% electric vehicles. Its initial market thrust is the electrification of SUV and half-ton pickup trucks typically used in commercial fleet operations.