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.
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.
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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.
SFU is looking for companies interested in mentoring design students in a course where they design and implement an interactive technology project. A great opportunity to meet young talent.
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:
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.
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?
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.
“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.
Some things in life can’t be learned in textbooks, and being a company director or accredited investor is one of them. These things can best be learned through experience and communication with peers. The upcoming Angel Forum workshop “Being a Director in the 21st Century” promises to let you channel the experience of experienced investors Basil Peters, Mike Volker (both New Ventures BC speakers from this season), and Bob Chaworth-Musters. It will take place September 29, 2008, 8am to 4pm, at SFU Harbour Centre, Room #7000, 515 West Hastings St. The format will be a blend of presentitions, stories, and panel discussions, with time for Q&A and networks. The workshop will be confidential so that real world examples can be discussed, and participants will be required to sign a non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement.
For more information, or to register, visit Angel Forum.
2007 Finalist and 2008 competitor Razor Technology has gained the attention of not only clients, but of the market strategy firm and NVBC presenter Rocket Builders, making their 2008 “Emerging Rockets” list. Their FireTonic platform offers a unique distribution method for mobile content such as ringtones, wallpaper, games, video, songs, and applications. Distributing content to a phone over the internet or through a cellular provider can be expensive, slow, and cumbersome. FireTonic provides kiosks that transfer content to phones via Bluetooth for free or fee, bypassing high mobile data rates. Their target clients are stores, coffee shops, restaurants, theatres, conventions, and street promotions.
Razor’s direct distribution model has attracted big name clients such as Nintendo, Microsoft, and Dairy Queen, in addition to Vancouver game companies like Playful Entertainment, Nerd Corps, and Hothead Games. The platform saw use at this year’s Vancouver International Game Summit and Vancouver International Digital Festival. Razor claims that the amount of content they distributed during these two events would have cost over $40,000 in mobile data charges.
Watch Razor’s CEO Ray Walia give his pitch on Fundfindr:
It’s three founders were fresh out of the University of Victoria when they entered the 2007 New Ventures BC competition, but such was no limitation for Mike Tan, Jonathan Kerr and Adam Palmblad of TeamPages. Beating out over 80 competitors, TeamPages snatched the Enbridge second place prize of $38,000. In the less than a year since their win, they’ve built on that momentum.
TeamPages provides online community sites for coaches, parents, and players that serve as a central point for team communication and scheduling. Last November, they completed a Series A round of financing, and last month, they moved to Vancouver into new office space and brought on three new employees. Today, they launched a significant upgrade to the site, improving the interface, adding customization options, and simplifying the sign-up process. A premium version of the service is planned for the near future.
New Ventures BC Finalist Adhack has been named one of the top 10 Canadian Web 2.0 Companies to Watch by IDC Canada. Companies were judged on vision, partnership opportunity, sustainability and growth, and strategy.
“To succeed in the long term, companies will need to transition from providing ‘cool’ Web-based solutions that users want to try, to ‘critical’ tools they need to have… Adhack has the potential to offer unique, affordable advertising through its community of creators to big brands and advertisers, including media companies that see AdHack as an on-demand outsourced service they can use to facilitate services requested by their customers (advertisers)” said Krista Collins, Analyst, Canadian ICT Innovation Export at IDC Canada.
AdHack’s James Sherrett was a runner up in the recent Fundfindr Pitchies Warmup competition, clearly those pitch skills have impressed the folks at IDC as well. I remember watching Sherrett’s pitch at the first DemoCamp Vancouver over a year ago and being impressed by the novelty and potential of the idea. At the same time, the implementation of the concept has evolved since that early pitch.
You can give pre-release AdHack a try at the Adhack beta site. (Note that to use the site, you may have to turn off any ad blocking software =)
