Vancouver, BC. March 2, 2007. On February 16-17, 2007, 10 student teams from across Canada gathered at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, BC for the national finals of BDC Enterprize 2007. The teams competed for a prize pool of $240,000 in business grants provided by BDC.BDC Enterprize 2007, Canada's largest business plan competition, was open to all students completing an undergraduate or graduate degree at an accredited Canadian university. It started in November 2006 with 97 student teams submitting their business plans. Over 50 of them competed in regional competitions throughout January 2007 in five regions across Canada 10 of which proceeded to the national finals in Vancouver. The team that placed first in the competition was Divisio Technologies Inc., from Dalhousie University. NeoSpectra Technologies Inc., from Simon Fraser University, finished second, and Effiventa Corporation, from the University of Manitoba, placed third. The three teams received business grants of $75,000, $20,000, and $10,000 respectively to help start their business. The three winning business plans are summarized below."What makes this competition truly exciting is how it changes the professional lives of the students involved," said Na'im Merchant, Chairperson of BDC Enterprize 2007 and undergraduate student at the Sauder School of Business. "Winning teams have the unique opportunity to leave with an executable business plan in one hand, and the capital they need to make it a reality in the other." "BDC is dedicated to entrepreneurship, so supporting a student-led entrepreneurial initiative such as this business plan competition was a natural for us," said Michel Bergeron, BDC's Vice President, Corporate Relations. "Like true entrepreneurs, the close to 100 participating teams worked hard to find market opportunities and try to turn them into reality. We congratulate the participating teams for the quality of their plans as well as the competition organizers for the terrific learning experience they have created for hundreds of students nation-wide."BDC Enterprize 2007's national conference, which coincided with the Business Plan Competition, was also extremely successful. 460 student delegates from across Canada gathered at the Hotel Vancouver from February 15-18, 2007, and took part in interactive workshops and speaker sessions covering everything from finding capital to start a business to generating revenue-building marketing plans. Speakers included Roger Skubowius from Google and Terry McBride, Founder of Nettwerk Productions and BC success story and entrepreneur John Seminerio."The quality of the ideas and the professionalism displayed by the student competitors was evident from the presentations made at the gala dinner", noted Cam Lund, Senior Manager Human Capital with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Lund went on to say, "The PwC partners involved in judging the competition commented that the entrepreneurial spirit shown by the teams was outstanding".In its 6th year, BDC Enterprize 2007 has expanded to a nation-wide competition, as well as a 3-day national conference produced by students from the Sauder School of Business. This student initiative is looking forward to continue in its 7th year.About BDCBDC is a financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Canada. BDC actively supports the development and growth of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses through its complementary financial, investment and consulting solutions. BDC is one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for 2007. About PricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers is a progressive organization with high standards that will take you to a higher level. We challenge you to innovate and to bring new ideas to the table everyday. We offer you a career that is above and beyond a 9-to-5 desk job. We offer you the opportunity to experience working with top level clients and to travel around the world. We provide you with the tools to achieve a healthy balance between your work commitments and your personal life. This is PwC Business Class*
Top 3 business plans1st PlaceDivisio Technologies, Inc. - Dalhousie UniversityDivisio Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2006 by Ashley Blackman, Reagan J. Davidson, Sydney Davidson, and R. Tayze MacKenzie. This company exploits novel chemical compounds known as "catalysts" designed and developed by Dr. Mark Stradiotto in order to provide a chiral switching service (separating the 'good' from the 'bad') to drug companies currently manufacturing drug mixtures. Separating these drugs results in a safe alternative that not only has reduced side effects, but also meets the FDA's strict new standards, increases the drug's effectiveness, and most importantly extends the patent life. The strong management team at Divisio includes scientists with specialties of chemistry, neuroscience, and pharmacy working alongside accomplished entrepreneurs. In addition, the team is supported by a highly qualified board of directors bringing many years of industry experience.
2nd PlaceNeoSpectra Technologies - Simon Fraser UniversityNeoSpectra Technologies Inc. is headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. and is a promising start-up in the child safety field. NeoSpectra's initial launch product is the ChromaTap, an innovative faucet add-on device which will help prevent children from suffering burns in the home. It does so by lighting the stream of water different intensities of red for hot, or blue for cold, depending on water temperature. The ChromaTap aims to be safe, easy to use and install, and affordable, and the NeoSpectra team are confident that children and adults alike will enjoy this product and its safety benefits.
3rd PlaceEffiventa Corporation - University of Manitoba Effiventa Corporation is a drug delivery company specializing in nanotechnology. Effiventa's flagship technology is NutraleaseTM, a drug delivery technology used to improve the solubility - the ability of a substance to dissolve - and the bioavailability - the amount of a compound absorbed given the volume ingested - of drugs within the body. These improvements add commercial and clinical value to pharmaceutical companies through product differentiation, reduced side effects, increased safety, convenience, and consumer compliance. It also helps overcome insolubility and toxicity problems, leading to shortened development times, saving time and money.
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For more information:
Karen ChanCommunications DirectorEnterprize(604) 782-9234karen@enterprize2007.com
Eva Boucher-HartlingMedia Relations Manager(514) 283-7929Contact by email
