The 2009 Tech Venture Challenge will be wrapping up, with the finalists presenting their final pitches tonight at Ben Franklin Place, Ottawa.  TVC is Ottawa’s most prestigious business plan competition and is a member of MIT’s Global Network of University Business Plan Competitions.  

35 business proposals were submitted this 2009 season, and the 3 finalists this year are :

1. Smart Rotor Systems
2. The SATESS Business Plan
3. VSM Technologies – Wireless Vital Signal Monitoring 

The finalists, who represent the best and brightest and most from both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, will present in front of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, business professionals, judges, and of course, family and friends.   The top prize is worth $10,000, second and third both get $5,000.  For more information on TVC, go to - http://www.techvc.org/.

The Carleton University Foundry Program (and therefor Luc Lalande) and Ontario Centers of Excellence are among the main sponsors at TVC.  The OCRI Entrepreneurship Centre (and consequently Manu Sharma) are strong supporters of the annual competition.

Stay tuned for our thoughts and impression of the event and the pitches on tbridge.ca.  Congratulations to all the semi-finalists.

Challenging times? Sure – but that hasn’t slowed down this program. The 12th annual Ottawa Venture and Technology Summit (OVTS) gets underway on Wednesday, October 8th at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, Ottawa. This two-day event is an excellent platform for technology start-ups to present their business cases for early- and middle-stage financing to an audience of over 200 debt and equity investors including merchant bankers, angel investors and corporate investors, venture capitalist and private equity partners, analysts, entrepreneurs and government representatives from Canada, the U.S., and Israel. The event also provides an excellent opportunity for investor networking and connecting on deal flow and investment opportunities.

Timely keynote speakers include The Honourable Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache, Counsel, Heenan Blaikie and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (Oct. 8 at 8:00 a.m.) who will speak about “Financial Markets Regulation – A Contrast of Nations” In light of the current U.S. financial markets turmoil, he’ll contrast risks and protections afforded by the regulatory and legal environments on either side of the border.  Stephen S. Poloz, Senior Vice-President, Financing, Export Development Canada (Oct. 9 at 12:00 noon) whose session entitled “The Impact of Global Economic and Financial Markets Upheaval on the Technology Sector” will trace out recent developments in global economic and financial markets and gauge their likely impact on the technology sector.

Insightful and interactive panel sessions include: Government led funds-of-funds programs; Crystal ball on Canadian venture capital; and Acquisitions and IPOs: Where will the next buck stop?

This is surely one of the best events of the year to mix and mingle investment with opportunity.  Could the timing be better? Absolutely – or maybe not.  In times like this, you can count on only the most serious players coming to the table.  

Best of luck to the presenting companies!

TalentBridge fills an essential gap in the development of young entrepreneurs in Ottawa. Its design as a business internship modelled on a technical co-op provides a unique learning opportunity for students – important especially since it is outside of your primary academic discipline. Without over generalizing, I would say that it is fairly typical of business placements for university student to be in data-processing, reception or other basic tasks. TalentBridge, in my opinion, differs and differs from that model in an unique way wherein it provided me with a high-level exposure to marketing, sales & business strategy to students that I would have had very limited opportunity to access otherwise.

So I was often asked over the course of summer about my thoughts about the program looking at it as a computer science student. I would say, TalentBridge recognizes that computer science students learn in co-op through coding, biomedical science students learn in co-op through research, so students with an interest in business should learn through active participation in business activity. TalentBridge’s position as a facilitator that is around to plan and manage the co-op student/employer relationship while ensuring that all parties goals are met helped ensure a better learning experience for myself and helped Rove Mobile (the enterprise) get more value out of my skill set. To have Manu Sharma, the program manager, as a sounding board on a regular basis (we spent one day a week with Manu at the Entrepreneurship Centre) was in my opinion a huge differentiator for the program. We had active mentoring at two levels, with Rove Mobile as well as with OCRI, and that was a huge learning opportunity in itself.

What else? I see TalentBridge stepping into the role of a key talent aggregator in the Ottawa community. SMEs often do not have the time to search for young talent that will only contribute for four months, universities do not have co-op programs for business students targeted at SMEs and students don’t have the time to apply at hundreds of small companies across Ottawa, many of which they could not have heard of unless they were already plugged in to the tech community. I believe that with time TalentBridge will emerge as the central location for students to look to gain a life experience, primarily because the structure of the program protects the interest and aspirations of the students without compromising on the degree of their engagement with the industry.

I have only two more weeks left with the program, and when I leave I will carry with me a strong message in support of the program. I see TalentBridge as the missing bridge between students and the tech community in Ottawa that will allow students to get their foot in the door with an SME, on the basis of their merit and their merit alone. As the core messaging of the program lays it out, it is a pathway to training the next generation of business leaders by letting them get a head start within the ecosystem and start contributing and building a reputation for themselves. It is great to spend time on the deep end.

Passion Drives Success
 
“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position”
–John Maxwell
 
What do you do when you have an idea for something new? What support is there for you? How can you develop your inspiration before you lose it?
 
As I am spending time with OCRI’s Talent Bridge program immersed in the world of Business Development, Business Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Innovation etc, I am surrounded by individuals who are constantly striving to find answers to some of these questions. In parallel, I am also rethinking and developing my own thoughts around these topics.
 
The idea of innovation today is so convoluted that the word itself seems to have lost meaning. The misconception consists of people believing that you can stick a creative individual in a room and expect new ideas and thoughts to flow out like clockwork. Let us remember for a moment the creation of Post-It© Notes. The adhesive was not designed for the purpose of removable notes but instead a result of research into a super adhesive. This accidental discovery has led to more than 600 Post-It© Products selling in over 100 countries. The Post-It© story was a success because the idea and use of the adhesive was supported by one person who persevered with the notion that it would be marketable. This was a story I heard during our meeting with Luc Lalande in his office at Carleton University when we met him as a part of our Talent Bridge meetings with supporters and champions of entrepreneurship and innovation in Ottawa. The story left an immediate impression and put into context the message that Luc was trying to convey – innovation best thrives in open supportive environments.
 
Luc Lalande is the Director of the Innovation Transfer Office at Carleton University. During our meeting, Luc spoke of innovation and Carleton’s efforts towards supporting and nurturing innovation on its campus as also in the Ottawa community. Here are some of his thoughts that I was able to capture in our meeting.
 
What is innovation?
 
Luc mentioned that he faces constant challenges with support for young entrepreneurs that have new and interesting ideas. He explains that innovation is not about having a creative individual in a lab researching the next upcoming great idea. Innovation is finding the one in a hundred reason that an idea will work and building on that.
 
How can we support innovation?
 
Luc explained that innovation is not a linear model where steps can be mapped out and a set timeline can be planned. But, when the idea strikes, Luc is there to provide support where he can. Currently at Carleton University, there are four programs that provide help to innovative ideas: Technology Venture Challenge, Social Innovation Challenge, Open Source Talent First Program and the Foundry Program.
 
These contests and programs provide the chance for students with ideas to meet and network with others that have similar or complimentary ideas as well as those that can support them. Luc has the passion to see success in the ideas that are brought to him and helps with the process of working it out into a business without making a judgment call on the individual. The programs have their up’s and down’s (successful start-ups as well as not so successful endeavors), however, the support will always be there.
 
How should we approach innovation?
 
The key to seeing where an idea may lead, is realizing that one idea leads to another. Luc uses the example of Crocs©. The company started by designing a boating and outdoor shoe with material that is slip-resistant with a non-marking sole. Since then, the brand has become a fashion trend styling from the original product to rain boots to canvas shoes and even 3-inch heels. The idea essentially moved away from what it was initially pitched as, and since then it has taken different shapes of its own. An openness towards and belief in the potential in unseen and unexplored opportunities has evidently worked well for Crocs, and that’s precisely how most innovation should be looked at.
 
Final Thoughts on innovation?
 
Luc Lalande believes in nurturing the ideas that are presented to him and developing them into something bigger without worrying about formulas and established practices around traditional technology transfer and innovation support. Innovation at Carleton University provides support to students that want to go after it – even if it may not work for them initially. The support system Luc has created firmly establishes that Ottawa is still a great city for innovation. 
 
Our meeting with Luc established a need for more programs like Talent Bridge. How else would I have gotten such an opportunity to have a candid interaction with someone like Luc for a conversation that has added a new perspective to my understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation? Together with my experience in Rove Mobile, where I am working closely with the management and the sales and marketing team, the Talent Bridge meetings and visits are a great source of new information and experience for me.
 
More stories to come.
 
Emily Chan
Talent Bridge – Summer 2008

From Mentor to Protégé and back…

How often does one see or hear of a brilliant and creative business idea and say “why didn’t I think of that?” Much too often for most and yet for many- it is a trigger that begins a journey as an entrepreneur.

As a founder of a small start-up, I have often required a helping hand from someone who has ‘been there, done that’.  And being a start-up there was always a bit of baggage – minimal cash on hand! What I needed was a mentor – a volunteer mentor.

Mentors are the unsung heroes of many a fledgling business as they provide guidance, advice, networks, and in many instance the most important need that a lone entrepreneur requires to make it through another day- a sounding board. (the back and forth conversations over how to get your product to market – at no cost yet with Frank your pet dog- just doesn’t cut it, …… after a few weeks).

To be frank (intended), each day that goes by without any bit of progress in the lonesome world of many a start-up entrepreneur, often creates a circle of doubt and leaves the drive, creativity and positive thought process to the dogs. (enough!)

The role of a mentor is to offer expertise in the development and growth of a business by helping prioritize plans, strategies, and if needed- hard hitting realities of the situation at hand. All should be captured and relished by the ‘protégé’.

 We are in the midst of launching a new version of the typical mentor-protégé relationship at the OCRI Entrepreneurship Centre in Ottawa. With the soon to be launch of a new web site offering clients ease of use and more interactivity in their small business research, the iProfit model of mentoring and advisory services will integrate Web 2.0  into an effective, time is of the essence, portal privy only to mentor, protégé and the OCRI Entrepreneurship Centre business advisor.

Crucial to the success of a small business is the ability to draw on expertise today and not tomorrow. iProfit provides the mentoring parties to immediately connect and respond to time sensitive issues which arise in the development and growth of any business. If required and convenient, online can take the place of face to face;  iProfit is also a model of e-mentoring built around the needs and concerns of the business.

But a blended approach to this mentoring service is what we believe will work best. You cannot replace the nuances gained by sitting down and sharing experiences –face to face.

September will see the launch of iProfit. Back to you then to share first experiences…..

Michael Burnatowski

First Five Weeks in Rove Mobile
So, I have been in OCRI’s Talent Bridge program for almost five weeks now. I thought I will take a few moments to speak about my experience with the program during this period. As an introduction, my name is Steven Robins and I am a student at University of Western Ontario where I am doing my undergraduate degree with a joint concentration in Business and Computer Science. I am an Ottawa native, having lived all my life in the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven before I moved to London, Ontario, for my studies. TalentBridge happened at the opportune time for me. I was out looking for a challenging summer assignment which will have a flavor of something different, but would open my eyes to some new facets previously unknown to me. So what is it about TalentBridge that got me all excited and had me commit to spending 14 weeks of my summer with OCRI’s Entrepreneurship Centre and Rove Mobile in a program that I had not heard of before.
TalentBridge, for me, is an unique opportunity to apply what I’ve learned in the classroom, to the “real world.” I will share some of my thoughts/learnings from my first five weeks in the program. It has been very enlightening to see which parts of my business education are actually put into practice in the SME environment – and what pieces aren’t, either for lack of resources, or it simply doesn’t work. The most noticeable difference between the classroom and the SME is the time crunch.  In the classroom, before making a decision, you take the time to collect all the information, analyze the alternatives, design an action plan, as well as a variety of exit strategies.  At Rove, we simply don’t have the time to do all that.  Working at Rove is teaching me that there isn’t always the time, or resources to work through that complete process, that in small business a company routinely stakes its future on the outcome of a single event – a tradeshow, a customer, a new hire.
The considerations that take place in making decisions are also different from those we experience or work with in the classroom.  In the classroom, we make our decisions based on ROI, the fit between elements in the marketing plan, the fiscal ratios of the company, but we never think about the intricacies of people’s personalities – how you can get people to buy into a decision, and actually implement it in an effective way.  Building an organizational culture is talked about in a classroom, but the numbers is what matters.  I am increasingly finding out that in business it’s about developing your people. Through these few insights I thought I will highlight the best part of TalentBridge – as it applies to me in this moment of my own personal learning.  We get to see every day the way that people with lots of experience in business make decisions, what they pay attention to, and how the carry themselves.  It’s a chance to learn not just the what of business, but the how.
Stay tuned. I will be back with more Talent Bridge stories.
 
Steven Robins
Talent Bridge – Summer 2008

A New Begining

This post is also published under “Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support” at www.ManuSharma.Info