2020 marked New Ventures BC’s 20th anniversary of supporting tech innovation in BC. Amidst a global pandemic, we feel fortunate to have witnessed the strength, resiliency, and entrepreneurial spirit of the BC tech community.
Here are our 2020 highlights.
2020 New Ventures BC Competition, presented by Innovate BC
This year our Competition went virtual. We received a record number of applications, over 240 in fact! 1300 BC tech startups joined our educational webinars. And we awarded over $250,000 in cash and prizes at our Awards. Congratulations to the top placing ventures: aDolus Technology Inc, Daanaa Resolution Inc, and Fable. See the full competition results here.
Distance Venture Accelerator Program
This year, the Distance Venture Accelerator Program provided 1:1 mentorship with an Executive in Residence and Market Validation Training to 33 early-stage startups across the province.
ISI Grant Program
This year we provided 314 companies $1.2 million in wage subsidy grants to hire students with the Innovate BC ISI Grant Program. Since 2018, we have awarded $3 million in grants.
Sales Accelerator Pilot Program
In October, we launched a Sales Accelerator Pilot Program. The program features 1:1 sales and marketing mentorship, and free sales webinars. Want to be a part of it next time? Stay tuned, our upcoming sales webinars will be announced in the new year.
Meet the 10 startups in our Sales Accelerator.
Tech Resiliency Program: COVID-19 Support
Our new Tech Resiliency Program offers advisory services to help startups navigate the challenges of COVID-19.
Apply for a one-hour mentorship session. Thank you to the WD Canada and Innovate BC for funding our new program.
Hosting VEF’s Online Forums
To extend our network we partnered with VEF to deliver their Online Forums this year. We are looking forward to hosting their January Online Forum.
NVBC Competition Impact Study
In 2000, the New Ventures BC Competition was initiated to support early stage startups across the province. 20 years later, the Competition continues to be a rite of passage for BC tech startups who want to become “ones to watch”.
This year we partnered with Rocket Builders to learn more about the impact the Competition has had on the BC’s economy and tech ecosystem over the past 10 years.
Together we analyzed the Top 25 companies that participated in the Competition from 2009-2019.
Celebrating 20 years of impact
To celebrate our 20th anniversary and our community, we are excited to unveil our 20 years of impact page!
This page highlights the growth, relationships, and programs that have shaped NVBC. We’re proud of the impact we have achieved together.
NVBC Impact Page