Earlier this week the New Ventures BC judges selected Solegear Bioplastics as one of the 10 Finalists for the the 2010 competition.

In June, Solegear announced its commercialization of Polysole and its biocomposite product, Traverse. Since that time, and exceeding initial projections, Solegear has attracted and delivered product to customers across North America. Solegear now has a pipeline of business worth over $4 Million in recurring business for 2011.

Solegear is nearing the end of raising Series A investment and has decided to immediately pursue further funding due to its rapid growth and recognized market position.

The study was supported by BC’s major technology associations – BCIC, BCTIA, ACETECH, DigiBC – and is based on surveys of 34 BC technology companies in ICT, Digital Media & Wireless.

The thrust of the report is that “the key difference between a successful technology product and an unsuccessful one is that a successful product is based on a deep understanding of customer needs and the market demand”.

Creekstone has partnered with the Angel Forum and on September 8th they’re delivering a Market Research Workshop for investors and entrepreneurs where key report findings will be discussed along with strategies to improve market research and customer validation.

The workshop will be led by Blanchard and includes a handful of other speakers that will share their expertise including John Hawkins of Telus Communications, Evi Mustel of Mustel Group Market Research, James Mazur of GoneFishing Consulting, Peter Payne of the BCTIA, and Selma Zafar of Open Road Communications.

• Catalyst oneMAR
• EnergyCzar Solutions
• Green Sense Innovations Inc.
• Hiretheworld.com
• Jostle Corporation
• MedVoxel
• Quadrogen Power Systems, Inc.
• Solegear Bioplastics Inc
• Tingle.com
• Weddingful

Congrats to the Top 10 Finalists!

Next up for these companies is the Round 4 Oral Presentations on September 9th and 10th followed by a media training workshop on September 15th.

This year’s competition wraps up on September 23rd at the Awards Ceremony at SFU Segal Centre where $300,000 in prize packages will be awarded.

NVBC judges will announce the 10 finalists on August 31st but in the meantime we’ll have a closer look at the Top 25.

This week we’re looking at five of the final 25 business ideas in contention every day. Here are Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV from earlier this week.

Hiretheworld.com makes it easy and inexpensive for new to mid-sized businesses to find, employ, manage and pay an on-demand geographically dispersed workforce. Employers can hire a single freelancer for a specific job or a crowd of competitive freelancers for a creative job.

StressMarq Biosciences is developing two new antibody array kits for two niche biomedical research markets: ion channels and cellular stress. The arrays, or platforms, contain specific antibodies that can identify molecules that researchers are interested in studying. StressMarq has created the widest portfolio of antibodies for targeting ion channels and cellular stress worldwide.

Tingle, from AppSocial Media Inc., is a mobile dating network for the iPhone that combines real-time messaging, flirting and anonymous voice calling with behavioural matching and location-based discovery. Singles connect based on the things they love and the places they go and can text, share photos, exchange e-mail and call each other without ever revealing their personal contact information.

VP Process designs and manufactures Internet-based environmental monitoring and management systems that can send an early warning via cellphone or e-mail about changes in temperature, humidity, toxic and combustible gas levels, and water leaks in industrial, commercial and residential locations.

Weddingful is a free online wedding marketplace that offers relevant search criteria for researching its directory of 18,000 wedding vendors in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary. Brides can refine their search for venues, photographers and more based on specific criteria such as price, location, styling and availability.

NVBC judges will announce the 10 finalists on August 31st but in the meantime we’ll have a closer look at the Top 25.

This week we’re looking at five of the final 25 business ideas in contention every day. Here are Part I, Part II, and Part III from earlier this week.

Purion’s affordable water purification technology will bring higher living standards to communities dependent on wells contaminated with dissolved salts, metals and pesticides. The technology’s scalability, low power consumption and high water recovery make it an ideal solution for developing countries with poor municipal service.

Quadrogen Power Systems’ new Integrated Biogas Clean-Up System (IBCS) removes the contaminants found in biogas, which is created from the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter such as sewage, manure and green waste. IBCS improves the life, reliability and financial returns of waste-to-energy plants while reducing their environmental impact.

Snowmobilers looking for the ultimate in snowmobiling will find it with Ripcharger, the world’s first two-stroke supercharger system for snowmobiles. This new supercharger increases horsepower and torque to deliver instant, raw power and improved maneuverability, without increasing weight.

SchedulePanda is online employee-scheduling software that can be customized for unionized companies that have collective agreements with large numbers of employees. Using a private password, both employers and employees can manage schedules. Employees, for example, can submit availability, request days off, trade shifts or give away shifts. Scheduling changes are transmitted automatically via e-mail or text messages.

SOLEGEAR Bioplastics Inc. is revolutionizing the plastics industry with two new high-performance bioplastics: Polysole and Traverse. Polysole is a 100 per cent natural, non-toxic and biodegradable plastic for making products ranging from sippy cups to medical equipment to toys. Traverse, made of recycled or virgin plastic combined with natural fibers such as wood, rice husks, hemp or bamboo, can be used in a variety of injection-molded products such as deck chairs, automotive parts and electronics.

“We recognize that aspiring entrepreneurs may need some guidance as they enter today’s competitive business environment. That’s why we’ve always supported the NVBC competition,” says Steven Lukas, a partner at Fasken Martineau. “It prepares them for the challenges of entering today’s competitive business environment.

Fasken Martineau is a leading international business law and litigation firm with more than 650 lawyers in Canada, the United Kingdom, France and South Africa.  The firm works with business clients ranging from solo inventors and entrepreneurs, to small and medium-sized enterprises to multinational companies.  It is also has a reputation as one of Canada’s leading law firms in Information Technology, including Internet and e-commerce, software implementation, development, licensing, hosting and/or support, outsourcing, joint ventures, technology-related financings and reorganizations.

“We can guide any start-up through the legal challenges of setting up shop, so to speak,” says Lukas.  “From negotiating and drafting technology license agreements to funding, to advising on mergers and acquisitions, we can help.”

Lukas has been a BC Ventures Society director for more than three years and currently chairs the society.  He describes his involvement with NVBC as “very rewarding”.

“It’s exciting and inspiring to see the new business ideas that are presented at this competition each year,” says Lukas. “It’s equally as exciting to see the runner-ups that resurface, fine-tuned, in the marketplace years later.”

For more information on Fasken Martineau, please visit the website.

NVBC judges will announce the 10 finalists on August 31st but in the meantime we’ll have a closer look at the Top 25.

This week we’re looking at five of the final 25 business ideas in contention every day. Here are Part I and Part II from earlier this week.

New eye-tracking technology from Locarna Systems is helping marketers discover what is capturing people’s attention. Locarna’s wearable eye-tracker and software accurately measure the eye’s pupil movement and record what is capturing a person’s visual attention. Using Locarna’s technology, marketers can ensure that their packaging and labeling are truly eye-catching.

Solar power systems that require a sunlight concentrator now have an inexpensive new option from Lumira Technologies that is perfect for attaching to roofs and walls. Unlike standard sunlight concentrators, which are large dish-shaped mirrors rotating in two axes to track the sun, Lumira’s SunShaper conforms to walls and rooflines because it is thin, flat and stationary.

With new web-based diagnostic tools from MedVoxel Systems Inc., physicians and clinicians can now use magnetic resonance images (MRIs) to more quickly and accurately diagnose cardiovascular disease. MedVoxel’s tools are clinically proven to accurately measure blood flow, heart-chamber volume and muscle stress in less than a minute from MRIs.

MineSense Technologies Ltd. has developed the mining industry’s first mineral-specific sensor technology to accurately detect and reject barren waste rock from low-grade nickel/copper ores. Mining companies can use this technology to monitor ore grades as well as reject waste rock ahead of the mill. This reduces downstream energy, water and reagent requirements while significantly reducing costs and increasing revenue and profits.

Snoget.com from Pug Pharm Productions Inc. is a next-generation social networking game where players can collect and interact with items and brands that define their interests, then share those with other players to get to know them better.

Vancouver’s Rapid Electric Vehicles has started production of four converted electric bi-directional charging Ancillary Power vehicles that will form part of the US Army Tank Automotive Research Development Engineering Centre Micro-Grid Project at Wheeler Air Base in Hawaii. These are light duty fleet vehicles that use power management, mobile communication technologies and proprietary propulsion developed by Rapid Electric Vehicles. They are each propelled by a 125kW permanent magnet AC motor and deliver 300lb-ft of torque.

An order has been made for three Rapid Electric Vehicles 300ACX and one Rapid Electric Vehicle 300AZX. The vehicles are based on the Ford Escape and the Ford F-150 platforms respectively.

Rapid Electric Vehicles was a Top 1o Finalist in 2009.

NVBC judges will announce the 10 finalists on August 31st but in the meantime we’ll have a closer look at the Top 25.

This week we’re looking at five of the final 25 business ideas in contention every day. Yesterday was Part I and this is Part II.

EcoMeter, by EnviroSpeak Media, helps consumers to make an informed decision about purchasing green products. The free online service aggregates and analyzes green-product ratings from across the web to deliver an on-demand environmental score for consumer products. Users can search the online directory or install an EcoMeter mobile application, complete with a built-in bar code scanner, to gather ratings on products as they shop.

GreenScene AgriTek Inc. is cleaning up waste horse bedding with a new technology that recovers the bedding’s wood component so that it can be reused as dry animal bedding free from pathogens, mold spores and odors. It is the first processing system of its kind in North America.

Power utilities and gas companies will find that Green Sense Innovations’ wireless monitoring system can precisely gauge both temperature and stress in such critical infrastructures as power lines and gas lines. The patented, recyclable metal sensors contain no electronics to interfere with other electronic or magnetic systems and are cheaper and easier to install than other sensors. They are also maintenance-free.

Cyclists will soon be spinning more easily with Grin Technologies’ electric conversion kit for bicycles. The Vancouver company has developed the ultimate motor-assist package for North American bikes—one that is more compatible with modern suspension forks and is lighter, more powerful, more customizable and more reliable than anything currently available. Grin plans to begin manufacturing and selling the kits this fall through bike stores.

Jostle, from Jostle Corp., is web-based software that captures and visualizes how employees are connected, whether through the organization’s hierarchy, ad hoc teams, departmental activities or more. With its employee profiles, team memberships and activities, and up-to-date information about who is where, Jostle engages employees, helping them contribute their most and find hidden expertise.

NVBC judges will announce the 10 finalists on August 31st but in the meantime we’ll have a closer look at the Top 25. Over the next five days we’ll look at five of the final 25 business ideas in contention each day.

Antic Wireless is tackling the rapidly increasing problem of interference in wireless networks with a new series of interference-canceling wireless antennas.  Its system of multiple antenna elements combined with adaptive digital-signal processing electronics dramatically reduces interference and extends the networks’ range, reliability and capacity.

The CarrotLines iPhone application from PortaLife Solutions Inc. takes the guesswork out of grocery shopping. Simply scan the barcode on your product selection and CarrotLines will tell you about its nutritional content and allergens or whether it’s a suitable vegan, kosher, organic or local food choice.

Catalyst Software has a better way for nurses in residential care facilities to ensure they’re accurately administering medication to residents. Catalyst’s web-based medication safety and workflow software links the pharmacy and residential care facility. When nurses scan a bar code on medication packages, the patient’s profile and photo pop up on a computer screen for verification. The system also streamlines complex monthly reporting for medication-administration records.

echoecho mobile ltd. has developed a simple, privacy-oriented location-sharing application for smart phones that lets users quickly map the whereabouts of friends and colleagues — if they’re willing to share. Users simply send an echo with a single click and the other party can then respond with a single click that shares their location.

New server software from EnergyCzar helps to reduce power consumption in data centers, where it is estimated that over 75 per cent of servers are used only to support peak volumes. EnergyCzar monitors incoming requests, analyzes server capacity and adjusts usage accordingly, powering on only enough servers to address current needs. The system also includes reporting tools to help with administration.