Media interested in covering Venture London, please contact:
Laurie Lashbrook
Lashbrook Marketing and Public Relations
p: 519.850.0115
e:
Virtual training creator and financial software developer take top prizes
LONDON, ON -- Venture London, the city’s premier business plan competition, announced the winners of more than $45,000 in cash and business-acceleration prizes at its awards presentation last night. The competition, established to encourage entrepreneurialism, recognizes new and proposed London-based businesses that have proven growth potential, marketability, profitability, viability and impact on the London economy.
The winner in the existing business (under two years) category, winning the grand prize of $30,000 in cash and business acceleration prizes, is Advisor Briefcase (Lifelines Financial Planning), a software development company, founded by Robert McCarter.
In the proposed business category, winning the grand prize of $18,000 in cash and prizes, is ENT Simulation Technologies Inc., founded by Dr. Hanif Ladak, Dr. Sumit Agrawal, and Jaipreet Bindra. The remaining finalists – The Ant Firm Inc., Green Energy Dynamics Corp., Gaming Union and London Documents – each received $500 honorariums.
"The competition has been an excellent opportunity to re-examine my original goals and refocus on the most important aspects of my business to ensure that it will continue to grow and be successful," says Robert McCarter, founder of Advisor Briefcase.
Jaipreet Bindra, member of the ENT Simulation Technologies team says, "Participating in Venture London has been instrumental in helping us achieve both our entrepreneurial and broader business goals. Through the workshops and judging process offered by Venture London, our team revised the business plan so that we have a better going-forward strategy and achieve our targets faster."
A record 38 business plans were submitted to this year's Venture London competition. The 2010 applicants represent a broad range of business ideation from fields including gaming, recycling, financial services, and document management.
"The opportunity to review the plans for three very different proposed businesses was indeed a privilege," explains Tania Goodine, Vice President - Brand at Libro Financial Group. "The quality of research and thorough planning undertaken for each submission was truly impressive. Based on what I saw, London has tremendous entrepreneurial talent across a broad range of industries, both key ingredients that will continue to strengthen the economy in our region."
Venture London Business Competition
The four-month, two-round Venture London business competition helps entrepreneurs and new businesses in London transform their business idea from a rough concept into a sound business plan. Supported by workshops and shaped by feedback from judges, entrepreneurs are exposed to a business development process that reinforces the notion that a solid business foundation is necessary to commercialize a great idea.
Venture London represents the collective effort of the London Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Centre, The Stiller Centre and TechAlliance. Gold sponsors include, Lovers AtWork, bizzmail, Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
About the Winners and Finalists
Proposed Business Category:
ENT Simulation Technologies Inc. (Winner): has developed one of the first computer-based training simulators for ear surgery. The simulator enables medial students and residents to practice diagnosis and surgery on a virtual, 3- Dimentional ear with realistic imaging and feedback.
The Ant Firm Inc.: is a quality assurance company providing testing services to developers and publishers of video games.
London Documents: facilitates the transfer of hard copy files into electronic formats for storage and easy retrieval, allowing businesses to retrieve, archive, distribute, track and audit documents in an electronic format.
Existing Business Category:
Advisor Briefcase (Lifelines Financial Planning) (Winner): has developed an interactive financial planning software tool for financial advisors. The software allows advisors to drag-and-drop information about major life events into the software which immediately provides visual results.
Green Energy Dynamics Corp.: a fluorescent lamp recycling company that operates Canada’s first and only courier-based fluorescent lamp recycling service.
Gaming Union: offers the latest news and reviews on video games to the video game world. The online website also interviews some of the biggest names in the video game industry.
For more information about Venture London, please visit www.venturelondon.ca
For more information, please contact:
Julie McDonald
Communications Coordinator
Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations
519.850.0115
or
Nancy Kopriva
Manager, Projects and Business Development Services
Small Business Centre
519-659-2882 ext. 234
Venture London will announce the winners of the 2010 Venture London Business Competition at an Awards Presentation on March 2.
The Venture London Awards Presentation is a recognition event designed to celebrate our city's entrepreneurial spirit as the winners of the Venture London Business Competition are announced.
Program highlights will include:
Proposed Business Category Winner
Finalists are: ENT Simulation Technologies Inc., The Ant Firm Inc. and London Documents.
Existing Business Category Winner
Finalists are: Advisor Briefcase, Green Energy Dynamics Corp. and the Gaming Union.
Winners will not be announced until the Awards Presentation
4:15 p.m. Networking & Cocktails
5:00 p.m. Awards Ceremony
1150 Wellington Road South, London, ON.
All participants will be available for interviews following the event.
For additional information or to schedule an interview contact:
Julie McDonald
Communications Coordinator
Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations
519.850.0115
Nancy Kopriva
Manager, Projects & Business Development Services
Small Business Centre
519-659-2882 ext. 234
Six London emerging and established businesses are one step closer to winning over $45,000 in cash, prizes and business acceleration services.
LONDON, ONTARIO, 4 February 2010 –Finalists of the 2010 Venture London Business Competition were announced this morning. Three finalists in each category have been selected.
Proposed Business Category:
ENT Simulation Technologies Inc.
The Ant Firm Inc.
London Documents
Existing Business Category:
Advisor Briefcase (Lifelines Financial Planning)
Green Energy Dynamics Corp.
Gaming Union
The winners will be announced at an awards celebration on Tuesday, March 2, 2010.
“We are impressed with the 38 business plans that were submitted and pleased to have had the opportunity to work with many promising entrepreneurs throughout the application and education phase of the competition,” says Nancy Kopriva, Chair of the Venture London steering committee. “Our committee is looking forward to the final judges’ decisions and thank those who participated.”
Venture London is the city’s premier business competition, helping foster entrepreneurship in the London area. The competition features over $45,000 in cash, prizes and business acceleration services to be won.
The business plan competition represents the collective effort of the London Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Centre, The Stiller Centre and TechAlliance. Gold sponsors include, Lovers AtWork, bizzmail, Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
Media Contacts:
Julie McDonald
Communications Coordinator
Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations
519.850.0115
Nancy Kopriva
Manager, Projects & Business Development Services
Small Business Centre
519-659-2882 ext. 234
Business plans must be submitted by January 13, 2010 for a chance to win over 45,000 in cash, prizes and business acceleration services.
LONDON, ONTARIO, 31 December 2009 The deadline is fast approaching to submit your business plan to Venture London – London’s premier business plan competition. Submit your plan by January 13, 2010 before 4:00pm for a chance to win over $45,000 in cash, prizes and business accelerations services.
Venture London is open to existing London-based businesses in operation for less than two years and entrepreneurs wanting to launch a new business. There are two grand prizes awarded, including cash, office furniture, marketing and accounting services and web design, development and hosting service.
The business plan competition represents the collective effort of the London Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Centre, The Stiller Centre and TechAlliance. Gold sponsors include, Lovers AtWork, bizzmail, Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
Business plans can be mailed or dropped off to the Small Business Centre, 316 Rectory Street, 3rd floor, London, ON N5W 3V9 to the attention of Nancy Kopriva by January 13.
The winners will be announced at the Venture London awards celebration in March 2010.
For competition rules and eligibility guidelines, go to www.venturelondon.ca.
Free workshop offers entrepreneurs business plan advice
LONDON, ONTARIO, 1 December 2009 - Venture London – London's premier business plan competition – will provide entrepreneurs who register for the competition with a free workshop on how to develop a successful business plan, on the morning of Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at the Small Business Centre, 316 Rectory St.
Venture London is open to new London-based businesses in operation for less than two years and entrepreneurs wanting to launch a new business. The competition features over $45,000 in cash, prizes and business acceleration services to be won.
The free Business Plan Workshop is open to all Venture London registrants and will cover the fundamentals of how to write a successful business plan, including:
- The ins and outs of developing your company's roadmap;
- The four key areas of a business plan's foundation;
- What investors look for when reviewing a business plan.
Last year's winner, Fredrik Liliegren, CEO of Antic Entertainment, says that winning Venture London has not only provided valuable businesses resources, but has helped move his business forward.
"Venture London helped us to focus our ideas and create a business plan that could be reviewed and understood by other people, not just by our team at Antic Entertainment," Liliegren says. "As a result, we took a more focused approach and created a professional presentation that we can now use to demonstrate our long-term goals as well as our short-term goals."
The business plan competition represents the collective effort of the London Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Centre, The Stiller Centre and TechAlliance. Gold sponsors include, Lovers AtWork, bizzmail, Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
"Venture London business competition celebrates our city’s entrepreneurial culture and recognizes the role that independent businesses play in our economy," says Nancy Kopriva, Venture London’s Steering Committee Chair. "The competition may open doors for a company that could have a tremendous impact on our community."
Completed business plans must be submitted by January 13, 2010. The winners will be announced at the Venture London awards celebration in March 2010.
Application forms, complete rules and further details can be found at here.
LONDON, ONTARIO, 11 February 2009 – The winners of more than $45,000 in cash and prizes in the 2009 VenturePrize London Business Plan Competition were announced on February 10th at a celebration at the London Convention Centre.
First prize consisting of $30,000 in cash and in-kind prizes was awarded to Antic Entertainment, a video game creation company, founded by Fredrik Liliegren, Jeff Evans, and Mark Mikulec. Second prize consisting of $15,000 in cash and in-kind prizes went to Fortress Data Vaulting, founded by Sean Sweeney. The company specializes in providing business continuity consulting and associated support services. Remaining finalists, Braise Food and Wine, Kosuma Healthy Stuff, and Vinestein each received $500 honorariums.
Antic Entertainment founder, Fredrik Liliegren said, “Participating in this competition was really great because it forced us to focus on our business goals and revenue model in a way that we hadn’t done previously.”
VenturePrize London represents the collective effort of the London Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Centre, The Stiller Centre and TechAlliance. “The competition celebrates our city’s entrepreneurial culture and recognizes the role that independent businesses play in our economy.” says Nancy Kopriva, VenturePrize London Steering Committee Chair. “Congratulations to this year’s winners, they’re certainly assets to the London business community”
Prizes for the competition included cash and product contributions from sponsors, Scotiabank, Lovers AtWork Office Furniture and bizzmail. Open to London-based businesses in operation less than two years, judging for the competition took place in two rounds. First round consisted of a comprehensive review of the business plans, resulting in 5 finalists. Finalists then presented their businesses before a panel of 3 judges who chose the 2 winners.
LONDON, ONTARIO, 16 January 2009 - The five finalists for VenturePrize London, the city’s premier business plan competition, have been selected by the first round of judges. The selections are (in alphabetical order):
- Antic Entertainment
- Braise Food & Wine
- Fortress Data Vaulting
- Kosuma Healthy Stuff
- Vinestein
business plan competition
LONDON, ONTARIO, 08 September 2008 - On September 9th, four of London's economic and business development organizations are launching VenturePrize London, a business plan competition targeting new and emerging enterprises throughout the city.
VenturePrize London represents the collective effort of the London Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Centre, The Stiller Centre and TechAlliance. "This is a fantastic opportunity for the four organizations to work together on an initiative of this calibre," says Nancy Kopriva, VenturePrize London Steering Committee Chair. "VenturePrize London celebrates our city's entrepreneurial culture and recognizes the role that independent businesses play in our economy."
Open to new London-based ventures and businesses in operation for less than two years, VenturePrize London features over $45,000 in cash and in-kind prizes to be won, including products from Lovers at Work and BizzMail. The prizes are divvied into two packages, and are based around business acceleration services and products. All finalists, save for the two winning plans, will receive honorariums for their efforts.
Kevin Proctor, Scotiabank Manager, Small Business Division adds, "Scotiabank is thrilled to partner with VenturePrize London. Entrepreneurship is a cornerstone of economic growth, and the competition will open doors for a company that could have a tremendous impact on our community."
The business plan competition will be formally announced at a media launch September 9th, coinciding with the VenturePrize London website launch. Applications and completed plans are accepted for submission until 4:00pm December 12, 2008.
Note to editors:
2008 marks the inaugural year for VenturePrize London, the city's premier business plan competition. VenturePrize London is the product of four economic and business development organizations: London Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Centre, The Stiller Centre and TechAlliance. Open to new and emerging businesses (less than two years in operation), the competition honours entrepreneurial spirit and helps enterprise, creativity and innovation to flourish.
For media inquiries, please contact Nancy Kopriva, Business Advisor with the Small Business Centre, at 519.659.2882 ext.234 or .
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