From Silicon Valley to New York City, angel investors are banding together and filling the gaps left by the venture capital industry shakeout. These ‘super angels’ (or micro-seed funds) eschew the traditional venture model and appear to be generating enviable returns in the process. But is this trend sustainable or are we headed for a super-sized seed crash? And what does this growing phenomenon mean for the entrepreneur?
Paul Kedrosky, investor, entrepreneur, writer and analyst for CNBC television, will lead the discussion with a panel of experienced angels including local investors Boris Wertz and Basil Peters, and Seattle based Geoff Entress.
Trade Commissioners in the San Jose and San Francisco Offices will bring up a delegation of investors, executives and consultants from the Silicon Valley and the Bay Area to interact with local technology companies and the community.
The high level Agenda for the day includes:
Morning Lecture Style Session with speakers
Afternoon Presentation Sessions (three parallel sessions with selected local companies presenting)
An Evening Networking Event
The full-day free bootcamp is free. In Vancouver it will be at the SFU Harbour Center and you can register online here. In Victoria, the bootcamp will be at the Vancouver Island Technology Park and you can register online here.
According to a new report supported by BCIC, BCTIA, ACETECH, DigiBC and written by Creekstone Consulting, understanding customer needs and the market, accounts for 70% of the top 20 factors separating success and failures of technology products.
Blanchard will be undoubtedly be sharing her observations at an upcoming Angel Forum Market Research Workshop on September 8th in downtown Vancouver.
The Workshop is designed to help the business community understand their customer needs and their markets and will focus on the application of various marketing research methods to specific decision areas. It will be a blend of presentations, case studies and panel discussions with lots of time for Q&A and networking.
Blanchard will lead the workshop which also includes six local speakers:
John Hawkins, Senior Product Project Manager, Telus Communications
Peter Payne, Director Business Intelligence, BC Technologies Industries Association
Selma Zafar Senior User Experience Designer with Open Road Communications
Whether you are an investor, CEO, CTO, market manager, product manager, you know that you need the right market information to make good and informed decisions. With the Internet, it is more of a daunting challenge to efficiently gather information and effectively analyze it.
Register online before August 31st with coupon code NewVentures and save 10% off the $275 registration fee.
2009 Top 30 Competitor Bet Smart Media has released WiseStats.com to the public after spending a month in private beta. WiseStats is an application that provides sports statistics, pick tracking, real-time odds monitoring, and bankroll management tools.
According to Christiansen Capital Advisors, online sports betting is expected to generate revenues of $6.4 Billion in 2010. Victoria-based Bet Smart Media believes these revenues largely represent losses from the average bettor and that WiseStats will reduce losses by applying sound fundamentals to picking strategy.
“Having access to the right statistics and timely information is key to developing an actual edge when making sports picks or bets”, says Bet Smart Media President & Co-founder, Jesse Learmonth. “Sportsbooks and professional handicappers have access to mountains of data that help them win far more than the average bettor. We wanted to create WiseStats.com to give everybody access to the same statistics in an insightful, easy-to-use format to help people reduce the number of losing picks they make.”
Whether users are making picks for fun or putting money on them, WiseStats.com allows them to conduct pregame statistical analysis, view real-time odds across 15 of the top odds markets, and track their picks to create reports and gain insights against a series of standard performance metrics.
WiseStats.com is currently focused on NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA Menʼs Football and Basketball. During this public beta period, accounts are free and allow users to track unlimited picks across these leagues.
The GROW 2010 Conference is just around the corner and promises to bring together leading entrepreneurs, thinkers, influencers and investors from Silicon Valley and Canada to inspire innovation and entrepreneurship.
Day one of the three day conference is called ENGAGE and it’s an invite-only program that will connect Canadian entrepreneurs with leading silicon valley founders, influencers, and investors to meet, discuss, and glean information for innovating in a web-fueled world.
Startups from across the country have applied and event organizers have shared a portion of that final list. On that list are a number of BC-based companies and even a few NVBC graduates:
In advance of the GROW Conference is Grow OP. Hosted by Capulet Communications, Grow OP is an informal pre-conference meetup for GROW conference attendees as well as local tech and social media folks – even if they’re not attending the conference.
Grow OP takes place on August 18th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the Century Bar & Restaurant at 432 Richards Street. Capulet is taking care of the venue and appetizers and you’re in charge of buying drinks.
New Ventures BC is hosting our first Networking Golf Tournament on Tuesday, August 31st at Northlands Golf Course in North Vancouver.
The Best Ball tournament gets underway at 11:30am and should be a casual and fun golf game for all levels. Golfers can choose their own foursome or let organizers match them up with a foursome to play and network with. There will be prizes for best & honest teams, longest drive, and closest to the pin.
Registration is $140 which includes your green fee, shared power cart, prizes, dinner & a drink. Space is limited to 48 players, so register early online to guarantee your spot. If you’re not a golfer, you can attend the dinner only for $30.
If you’re interested in sponsoring a hole, $50 for former NVBC participants and $100 for anyone else, be sure to contact Angie at angie@newventuresbc.com.
2009 Top 10 Finalist Rapid Electric Vehicles (REV) announced last week that they have partnered with Vancouver’s Viridian Power to deploy electric vehicles and charging stations in every major Canadian city by 2012.
REV, which refits gas-powered vehicles with electric drivetrains, and electrical contractor, Viridian Power, announced Tuesday that their new partnership will enable the electrification of vehicle fleets across Canada. Viridian will install and maintain California-based Coulomb Technologies Inc.’s chargepoints on behalf of reseller REV.
REV also announced it is in negotiations with municipalities, cities, utilities and commercial companies to launch pilot projects in almost every major city across Canada.
According to REV and Viridian, 1.1% of global vehicle sales are expected to be electric by 2015, with electric vehicle sales rising to more than $400 billion by 2030.
Bell has been quietly producing a film along with a team of digital designers from Vancouver Film School. The goal of the film is to serve as a centrepiece in promoting our city by highlighting some of the incredible technology companies that have flowered here and generated worldwide impact.
And now Bell needs your help.
As part of this film we’ll be representing the density of companies on an animated map… and that’s where you come in. We’d like to use your logo and plot your company’s location on that map along with your peers. This is an excellent way for you to promote your company to a worldwide business and investment audience, and to show your support for your peers and this community. We are looking not only for companies founded and/or based in the Vancouver Area, but also development centres for global companies.
GreenAngel Energy announced the appointment of Bob de Wit as Chief Executive Officer today. de Wit replaces legendary Vancouver Angel Michael Volker who was President and CEO of the Corporation. Volker remains on the Board of Directors as Chairman and President.
“We are pleased to welcome Bob as the new CEO of GreenAngel,” comments Michael Volker. “Bob’s strong operational background and his proven track record in commercializing new technologies will contribute to GreenAngel’s development as an emerging clean technology company.”
Following completion of his Masters degree from Simon Fraser University in 1995, de Wit began his career by successfully commercializing the V-Chip technology from SFU, and has since invested in, mentored, advised, or consulted to, many of BC’s most promising emerging technology companies. de Wit has previously served as a Director and Corporate Secretary of GreenAngel and will continue in those capacities. He is currently the Executive Director of New Ventures BC and sits on the board of the BC Ventures Society.
The Canadian Trade Commissioners Service is inviting BC’s tech companies to attend their Bootcamp to Access International Markets (AIM) event on
In advance of the GROW Conference is 
2009 Top 10 Finalist 