For all those entrepreneurs in the Okanagan – New Ventures BC’s Selling Distinctive Value seminar is coming your way at the end of July.

In partnership with the Okanagan Science & Technology Council, New Ventures BC is hitting the road and Don Linder will be delivering an interactive seminar focused on acquiring revenue from customers.

Building on his original engineering background and 30 years of business experience, Linder has successfully created the concepts & structured tools that ensure complex sales are achieved profitably. He specializes in providing executive expertise and business development training to companies that sell complex products and services. Linder has over 20 years of practical executive/line management experience including being an executive with profit and loss responsibility for leading operations including sales, marketing, service, consulting, finance and administration.

This free seminar is at the Coast Capri Hotel (1171 Harvey Avenue) in Kelowna on July 28th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. Register online or contact OSTEC by phone at 250-712-3340 or by email if you have any questions.

For all those entrepreneurs in the Okanagan – today is the last day to register for tomorrow’s ‘All about Funding: Dialing for Dollars’ seminar at the Coast Capri Hotel in Kelowna.

In partnership with the Okanagan Science & Technology Council, New Ventures BC is hitting the road and Tanner Philp will deliver a crash course in everything you need to know to approach Angel and Venture Capital investors to fund your early stage venture.

Philp, CFO and Partner of the BC Advantage Fund will cover where to find investors, how to approach investors to maximize success, what investors are looking for, terms and valuations, and generally how to navigate the financing minefield. Practical advice will be augmented by candid, real world examples.

This free seminar is at the Coast Capri Hotel (1171 Harvey Avenue) in Kelowna on June 30th from 2:00pm to 4:30pm.  Register online or contact OSTEC by phone at 250-712-3340 or by email if you have any questions.

New Ventures BC is going on the road with their seminar series.

In partnership with the Okanagan Science & Technology Council (OSTEC), Rocket Builders’ Dave Thomas will be presenting Market Readiness and Product Marketing 101 on April 16th from 11:30am – 2:00pm at the Coast Capri Hotel in Kelowna. Interested?  You can register online.

In partnership with VIATeC, BC Advantage Funds’ Tanner Philp  will be presenting All about Funding on April 16th from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at the VITP Conference Centre in Victoria. Register online.

And in partnership with Mid-Island Science Technology & Innovation Council (MISTIC), Basil Peters will be presenting Planning your Exit on April 28th from 8:30am to 11:00am at the MISTIC office in Nanaimo.  Register online.

This year, New Ventures BC is expanding its educational outreach throughout British Columbia. Starting in February, New Ventures BC will be visiting several regional science councils throughout the province to kick off the competition and present the first session of the NVBC seminar series.

Details are below – we’ll keep you updated as we confirm additional seminars.

Seminar Schedule:

KAST – Kootenay Association for Science & Technology: March 11, 2009, 1pm-4pm
KRIC - Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council: March 12, 2pm
OSTEC - Okanagan Science & Technology Council: February 5th, 1:30-4:30
ISIC – Interior Science Innovation Council, Kamloops: March 31, 10:00am
VIATEC - Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre: March 18, 1-4pm
MISTIC - Mid Island Science, Technology & Innovation Council: March 19, 8:30-11:30am
IRC – Innovation Resource Centre, Prince George: March 13, 11am-2:30pm
NSIS - Northwest Science and Innovation Society: March 23, 1pm

Seminar Synopsis: Assessing the Opportunity

Got a better mouse-trap? What to do next? Commercializing new technologies and building companies around them starts by measuring whether you have the right stuff and then crafting your story so that people will buy into your venture. Come join this interactive event that will review what it means to be a technology entrepreneur and help you develop a business opportunity statement that can be used to take your idea or business to the next level.

Speaker Bio
Bob de Wit is a mentor, advisor, investor and consultant to growth-stage technology companies. Bob has executive experience in corporate development (M&A strategy and execution), corporate finance (raising equity capital) and competitive market intelligence. Bob has been a co-founder, advisor or angel investor to Canadian V-Chip Design, Axonwave Software, TechBC Corporation, Flintbox.com, the Fraser Valley Technology Network, RIP.TV, Energy Aware Technology and ClearVision Technologies. In addition to his involvement with technology companies, he has consulted to the technology transfer offices of Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia and the University of California at Los Angeles where he has worked with university faculty members to develop effective technology commercialization strategies. Bob has undergraduate (BBA, ‘91) and graduate (MA, Economics, ‘94) degrees from Simon Fraser University.

About New Ventures BC
Turn your idea into a profitable company by entering the New Ventures BC competition.

The competition will give you the opportunity to:
* Join in-depth seminars, and network with business, legal, government, and marketing professionals.
* Meet experts, mentors, and innovators who can help you take your idea from germination to fruition.
* Refine your idea for a technology product or service and develop a business plan to attract financing.
* Win the first place prize package worth over $100,000

2009 Entry Deadline is April 20, 2009