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APEGGA members who want to take their entrepreneurial
ideas to the marketplace should take a close look at Economic
Development
Edmonton’s VenturePrize Business Plan Competition.
Last year’s grand prize winner, in fact, is an APEGGA
member.
The competition nurtures business ideas by providing seminars,
tools, templates and a mentorship program.
VenturePrize is designed for individuals, companies, and
faculty and students of post secondary institutions who have
high-growth business ideas.
There’s not much time left to get on board for the
second annual competition, however. Submission deadline is
Jan. 30.
The competition is the largest of its kind in Canada, with
more than $140,000 in prizes to be won. A grand prize winner
will receive $100,000 in cash and in-kind services. Two runners-up
will receive $20,000 in cash and in-kind services. And the
top six teams will have the opportunity to present their
plans to investment professionals.
To be eligible, teams must have a feasible, high-growth business
concept, at least one team member who lives, works, or attends
school in Greater Edmonton, and not have any member on the
team who has won cash or prizes as a finalist in a previous
VenturePrize competition.
The event launch on Oct. 29 was an opportunity to mix, mingle
and find out more about VenturePrize. A program overview
included speeches from Doug Horner, MLA for Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St.
Albert; Dr. Gary Kachanoski, vice-president (research), Research
Services Office, University of Alberta; Allan Scott, P.Eng.,
president and CEO, Economic Development Edmonton.
Also on-hand was VenturePrize 2002-03 grand prize winner
Steven Slupsky, P.Eng., CEO and chief technology officer
of Scanimetrics Inc. He and runner-up Adrian Banica, president
and CEO of Synodon Inc., provided insight into how VenturePrize
helped them develop an effective and successful business
plan.
A six-seminar series covered a number of topics, among them
marketing basics, finance, management, organization and selling.
A panel of blue-ribbon judges from business and finance
will evaluate the business plans. They’ll look for
high growth, feasible business concepts that articulate,
believable answers. The award ceremony will be held March
18.
To enter, all prospective teams and participants must complete
the registration form and agree to the terms and conditions
of the contest as outlined on the VenturePrize website at
www.ventureprize.com.
MORE INFO
Visit www.ventureprize.com
E-mail info@ventureprize.com
Phone (780) 401-7685
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