The New Ventures BC seminars may be done for another year, but SFU is running another seminar series aimed at people on any side of a small or medium enterprise.

Early-stage? Need capital to finance your growth? This seminar is for you. It will provide you with a step-by-step approach to building a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) that will appeal to seasoned early-stage investors and magnetize their capital.

This seminar describes the qualities that make an SME attractive to seasoned early-stage investors and a strategy for building this compelling SME. The seminar’s core principle is that an SME’s appeal to seasoned early-stage investors is boosted enormously when it:

• targets certain early-stage milestones that are known to foretell commercial success
• targets these milestones in a specific sequence, and
• executes this SME-building strategy with sound project-management practices to achieve these milestones effectively.

This all-day seminar happens Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at the SFU Vancouver Campus for $99 (student discount available). The seminar will be lead by Roger Killen, who has 25 years of experience working with SMEs, and include sizeable takeaway materials. For more information or to register, visit the SFU Time Centre site.

New Ventures BC will be able to continue strong and expand it’s outreach thanks to new funding and resources from the BC Innovation Council (BCIC), the National Research Council (NRC) and Western Economic Diversification (WED). The funding is as follows:

• From BCIC: the funding of a half-time position in each of their regional offices to promote NVBC.
• From NRC: $55,000 for regional mentorship.
• From WED: $129,360 annually for three years.

This year has seen more competitors from outside the Lower Mainland than in any previous year. “We are absolutely delighted with the support we have received to more actively regionalize NVBC,” says NVBC chair Ernie Love. “Not only has it been validated by increased regional participation in this year’s competition, but we will spend time over the fall and winter working with the regional science councils to attract even more competitors from across BC.”

MovieSet, New Ventures BC competitor in 2006, continues to gain momenteum and financing. The idea behind MovieSet is to provide a platform to share movie content and information with fans throughout the production process. Combining news, pictures, and videos, movie producers can use MovieSet to engage viewers before a film is complete. Content is availible through the web or on mobile devices. In this video, watch MovieSet’s CEO Colleen Nystedt explain the service - “Like taking those behind the scenes extras that you get on a DVD, and putting them on the web.”

MovieSet has received fair recognition, including Backbone Magazine’s 2008 PICK20 list of Canadian Web 2.0 companies, RocketBuilders’ 2008 Emerging Rockets list, as a finalist in the 2007 Canadian New Media Awards, and on the 2008 OnHollywood 100 Top Private Companies list. They sent two employees to the Cannes Film Festival to promote the service, and posted pictures back to their Facebook page.

Earlier this summer, they closed an A-round of financing worth $5 Millon, with contributions from Rho Capital and the BC Discovery Fund. With a declining movie industry turning to the Internet to increase their exposure, MovieSet is primed to establish itself as a go-to property for movie fan engagement.

New Ventures BC presenter Basil Peters recently posted a meaty article titled “Startups - The Essential To Do List”.

My most recent post is dedicated to a team of promising young
entrepreneurs who asked me recently if they could all just “put some money
in a bank account” to launch their startup.

I wanted to say ‘yes’ because I know how much other work they have to do
to build a successful company. But instead I had to warn them that there
were several essential elements of their corporate structure they had to
get right now to maximize their probability of success.

This question comes up frequently, so I started a list to help other
entrepreneurs ensure they don’t miss one of the essential structural
components.

This is a must read for entrepreneurs; Basil really covers all the bases. The list is 52 items long and additions are solicited.

New Ventures BC Round 3 finalists are invited to come out to a media training workshop. It will take place Wednesday, September 3 at SFU Harbour Centre, Room HC 2050. Kelly Aldinger and Michelle Ward from National Public Relations will speak on proper messaging with the media, and take your questions.

Please RSVP for the event to aschick [at] newventuresbc [dot] com. If you’re unable to attend but would like a copy of the handouts, send Angie an address (at the previous email) and it can be passed along to you.

RFind, the 2006 BC Hydro first-prize winner, continues to innovate in the field of real time inventory tracking.

RFind uses active radio frequency identification (RFID) and patented software to create real-time locating systems for manufacturing and warehousing facilities and open yards. Instead of having to manually record inventory, an RFID reader can wirelessly scan all nearby tags instantly. It can also be used to determine the exact location of a single item within a warehouse. RFind produces unique RFID tags that are reuseable and capable of communicating between tags, reducing the need for reader infrastructure. RFID has been quickly adopted by many industries; Walmart, for one, in their constant pursuit of supply chain efficiency, is now requiring RFID tags in all it’s supplier shipments.

Rocket Builders listed RFind on 2007’s Ready to Rocket “Ones to Watch” list, which identifies companies positioned for future growth.

“I am thrilled with our participation in New Ventures BC,” said Barnes. “It has been one of the most satisfying relationships of RFind’s existence. We were able to derive a lot of value from the experience that has had a significant impact on the overall development of the organization.”

RFind is based in Kelowna, with a European office in Brussels.

Bootup Labs’ Boris Mann, who participated in a recent New Ventures mentor panel, summarizes the event and shares his impressions:

My brain is still a little melted today from participating in the New Ventures BC mentor panel yesterday. 9am to 5pm, 8 presentations, 30 minutes for lunch, and short breaks between presentations. Wow.

For starters, let me say that this highlights the activity that is going on in Vancouver. Regardless of the specifics of the particular business model or idea, I was impressed by the way all the founders presented their companies and discussed their ideas.

…

NVBC is definitely a great event that provides real value to the local entrepreneurial community. I myself participated in it 4 years ago when I came back to Vancouver, not to launch a company, but to go to the various seminars and meet the local community. NVBC should be on every entrepreneur’s list to attend.

Thanks Boris for coming out!

If you’ve never heard of Bootup Labs, read about their startup accelerator model and how they work with founders and funders to cultivate startups.

Simon Fraser University is seeking professionals in new media design and

marketing who would be willing to provide advice to student teams working on

4th-year projects in the School of Interactive Art and Design.  Over two

semesters students build on the skills and knowledge gained in their

previous studies to design and implement an interactive technology product

or experience.  The students work in interdisciplinary teams which mix

varying strengths in information design, graphics, animation, game design,

storytelling, user design, tangible interfaces, project management, and

informatics.  Design projects are iterated through concept, prototype,

implementation, and user testing throughout the two-semester period.  A full

course outline can be viewed at the school’s website:

http://www.siat.sfu.ca/undergrad/courses/2008/3/IAT-402-403/

By mentoring a team, professionals and their companies gain an opportunity

to build relationships with a group of highly talented young people.

To register your interest in becoming a mentor, or to get more information,

please contact Professor Thecla Schiphorst, thecla [at] sfu [dot] ca.

Via Fundfindr, video of PeerFX, a 2008 NVBC competitor, on the CBC VC/Business Plan show Dragon’s Den. Florence Leung and Robert Dunlop appear on the show and offer $200k for 25%. The Dragons show reluctance and counter-offered 51%, which PeerFX accept, though my understanding is that they ended up not accepting it afterwards.

I’d personally never watched Dragon’s Den, but after seeing this, perhaps I should give it a chance. Do VCs always meet in dark, grimey warehouses? You can watch Season 2 on CBC’s site, and Season 3 premieres September 29.

This seminar was for round 3 finalists only, but we’re happy to share notes.

Canadian Scientific Research and Experimental Development Program (SR&ED) - Jacqueline Gustafson, KPMG

SR&ED (pronounced “shred”) is a federal program supporting industrial research and development. It is administered by the Canadian Revenue Agency. Over $2 Billion in tax credits granted annually. 70% claimed by small and medium business. 500 CRA employees supporting it.

Claim Package:

• T661 form
• Technical Report
• T666 (in BC)
• Schedule 31

What qualifies? Salaries and wages for employees directed engaged in R&D (specified employees must have a 10% interest). Materials consumed for R&D. Contract payments, third part payments, and lease costs. Capital expenditures and overhead expenditures.

Q: Lets say you create a machine as a prototype, but then it goes on into production use?

A: You may have to pay some of the money back for the capital expenditures of the equipment.

Q: Can it included office space or land space?

A: Yes, in some cases.

What does KPMG do? Identify eligible activities and costs. Preparation of technical and financial information. Assistance in CRA audits; audits are not uncommon as they basically just want to ensure you exist and are legitimate. KPMG also has lines with industry and technical specialists. Fees are on a contingency basis.

Three criteria must be met to be eligible: scientific uncertainty, technical content, technological advancement. There are various guidelines that are unclear.

Q: Can you claim past expenses?

A: Yes. You have 18 months to claim after your last fiscal year end.

Q: Can you charge for a prototype or beta product and still qualify?

A: Yes.

Q: Can overseas work count?

A: No, only work done in Canada.

Q: Partner in Boston, wants to set up R&D shop in Vancouver, can that qualify?

A: Yes, it can qualify but at a lower rate.

Webnames Experience with SR&ED - Stephen Smith

In your first year, you very likely will be audited. First, identify projects that may be eligible up front. Have developers keep rigourous time sheets. You may not realize that a project is eligible at first. “More upfront work is better than less.”

They describe the work in about one page per project: description, objectives, tech or knowledge level, scientific advancement, description of work undertaken, and supporting information.

NRC-IRAP, National Industrial Research Assistance Program - Julia Rylands

“We don’t have any month left his year” Keep in mind for next April. There’s a huge demand across the country for funding. Although known for giving money, about 70% of their time is spent giving advice. 

Q: How are funding decisions made?

A: Generally, first come, first serve, but in cases of having a limited pool, 

Q: When is the best time to apply?

A: The earlier the better. Preparation work takes time. You can submit now, and be ready for next year.

Unlike SR&ED, they don’t fund retroactively. Contributions are targeted towards companies that: demonstrate a technology oppourtunity, have a clear business case, have a desire and potential for growth, demonstrate financial and managerial capacity to bring the concept to market. Project types: R&D (up to $500K), market assessments (up to $15K), diagnostic (up to $15K), and youth hire (up to $15K). Company must be providing at least 50%. “Not a grant program, but a contribution program”. Requires the same amount of record keeping as SR&ED.

Q: What is your definition of a startup and a small project?

A: Between 0-20 employees, $10,000 - $25,000 and up.