• Competition deadline April 20
• 9-part business seminar series continues April 8 (free for students with ID cards)
• Register at www.newventuresbc.com


The New Ventures BC Competition is a technology business competition offering a unique mix of business education, networking, mentoring, and $300,000 in cash and prizes. It's designed to help very early stage entrepreneurs acquire the business basics they'll need to succeed.

Every year, several university student teams/companies are top thirty finalists in the New Ventures BC competition. This is a great opportunity for students to build their business idea from the ground up in a supportive environment.

The competition also features nine business education seminars, which continue April 8, ahead of the April 20 competition entry deadline. All seminars are webcast live for participants across the province.

The cost for all eight seminars is just $100 per team or individual, which also covers the competition entry fee for those teams or individuals interested in joining. The fee to attend any individual seminar is $20 per team or individual. Students with valid I.D. cards plus competition volunteers may attend seminars for free.

The competition is open to everyone in B.C. and entries are accepted from a person, team or business. We welcome technology ideas from all sectors.

2009 Prizes include:
$120,000 British Columbia Innovation Council First-prize package
$63,000 British Columbia Innovation Council Second-prize package
$37,000 British Columbia Innovation Council Third-prize package
BC Hydro Sustainability $40,000 prize
BC Bioenergy Network $20,000 prize
British Columbia Innovation Council Economic Impact $20,000 prize

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur with a new technology business idea, join us! For details and to register for the seminars or competition, visit http://www.newventuresbc.com or call 604-725-5740. Competition deadline is April 20th.

"Come learn more about the New Venture Design Course. There will be free refreshments and there will be an opportunity to network with current and past student entrepreneurs."

When: April 7th 5:30
Where: Kaiser 2020/2030

Course Description

The Faculties of Applied Science and the Sauder School of Business jointly offer a 2-term fourth year course in new venture design. The goal of the course is to provide students of both faculties with knowledge and experience related to the formation of entrepreneurial enterprises based on the development of a new product or process. Approximately 12-15 students who have completed 3rd year engineering in any Engineering Department or Program will be admitted, and an equal number will be admitted from the Sauder School of Business.

This course has been endowed with a financial gift from Dr. Ken Spencer that provides funds for student teams to develop their product or process and compete at business plan and engineering competitions. New Venture Design student teams have gained recognition and won prizes in each of the last several years. Teams have seen success in competitions including Enterprize, New Ventures BC, Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition in Singapore, and Queens University to name a few. In 07-08 three cash prizes were won, four in 08-09. The main benefit of the competitions however is to efficiently acquire experiences, mentoring and contacts.

Lecture/Lab times: Tuesday 6-9 pm both terms (attendance is mandatory)

Course Outline:
During the course, student teams will propose one or more products, then evaluate the products based on their potential market, their estimated manufacturing and distribution costs, and other factors. The output from the course will be the development of a business plan for a proposed new enterprise, and the demonstration of a prototype of the product. Students in Sauder School will primarily lead the business plan development, and students in engineering will primarily lead the prototype development. For example, the product can be a new physical device, a new software product, or a new engineering process. Lectures in the course will address creativity, market definition, financial projections, the design cycle, product marketing, manufacturing, distribution, support and repair.

Agenda for application:
- April 27, 2009: Deadline for student applications for entry to the course. See procedure below.
- May 1: Start of personal (or phone if necessary) interviews of selected candidates
- May 25: Notification of acceptance in this course, by email
- Tuesday September 8: Opening Event and Lectures begin

Application Procedure:
Students from all disciplines in both business and engineering are encouraged to apply! Please submit by email by April 27, 2009. Send applications from engineering students to Philippe Kruchten (pbk@ece.ubc.ca) and from commerce students to Paul Cubbon (paul.cubbon@sauder.ubc.ca).:

1. A personal résumé outlining any relevant experience your may have (e.g. any business activities and jobs, volunteer work, teamwork, leadership skills, product development activities previously undertaken personally or with others). Be sure to indicate how we can contact you.
2. A copy of your current transcript - unofficial copy from UBC website is fine.
3. A statement of why you want to take this course.
4. Your student ID number so that you can be registered when a decision is made.

Thanks to all of the teams that submitted their ideas, and congratulations to the top six teams that made it to the final round.

The final round will be the judging round !!!

It is open for EVERYONE to attend.

What: Bright Ideas Competition Final Judging Round
When: April 2, 2009 @ 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Where: Irving Public Library Room 182
Who: Anyone who is interested in watching the judging process, listening to great presentation, and/or supporting their friends.

NOTE: As an audience, you will decide who will receive The Audience Prize!!! After attending the presentations, the audience will be asked to vote for one of the six teams. The winning team will receive The Audience Prize... Come and support your friends...

There will be FREE food and a FREE networking session.

1. Register by submitting application form below as well as paying the $10 entry fee.
2. Submit the application form by March 25, 2009.
3. Top 6 teams present their ideas at the April 2, 2009 event (Irving K. Barber Learning Center 182 @ 5pm) in front of a panel of judges of venture capitalists and experienced entrepreneurs.
   
   Top 3 teams win great prizes and get one-on-one consulting. All the top 6 teams get feedback for their ideas and presentations.
   • 1st place: $400
   • 2nd place: $200
   • 3rd place: $100

The application form can be found here.

Applications will only be reviewed once payment has been made.
IMPORTANT: Please specify the team leader when you pay.

Event poster here.

Contact Information:
BrightIdeasCompetition@gmail.com

This year, the elections for club executive positions will be held on March 18 at the AGM. If you would like to nominate yourself for the position, please follow the following instructions:

Please submit your completed application to Anna at anna9042@gmail.com.

Application Deadline: March 15, 2009 at 11:59pm

You can download the application here.
A list of positions is available here.

The webserver was down between 6am and 9pm on Friday - Februrary 13, 2009. Access has now been restored.

All payment records are not affected. However, the database has been rolled back and some registration information was lost. The individuals affected will receive an email within the week.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

We are pleased to announce that Stalla will be coming to campus to give a talk on what the CFA designation is. Come join us on January 28 at 5:30pm in HENN 201 for this unique opportunity.

Your passport to professional success

Achieving your CFA® (Chartered Financial Analyst®) charter can place you among the elite in the investment management profession. It's the most respected and valued credential in the global finance community and your passport to advancement within the investment management profession.

Virtually every major financial services firm, consultancy, bank, brokerage, and insurance company worldwide employs CFA charterholders. Their positions include equity and fixed-income analysts, investment bankers, portfolio and hedge fund managers, and investment advisors to name only a few. These firms know that the charter signifies not only subject area competence, but also a dedication to knowledge, professional competence, and high ethical standards.

For more information on the CFA or Stalla, please visit their websites at http://www.stalla.com and http://www.cfainstitute.org/

Here is TEC's submission for the Imagine It competition held by Stanford University. The website can be found here.

TEC is proud to inform you that we are officially an AMS Club. Starting in Term 2, TEC will be offering memberships at $3 for UBC students and $5 for everyone else.

Membership benefits includes:

• Exclusive email newsletters about the latest news and events in the entrepreneurial community at UBC and in Vancouver, profiles of start-up businesses, and interesting tips and facts about entrepreneurship
• Free pizza and free admission to TEC seminars and movie nights
• Exclusive discount on tickets for Bright Ideas Competition and for TEC Young Entrepreneurs Dinner
• Special deal on TEC Business Plan Workshops
• Invitation to info sessions and visit sessions hosted by sponsoring companies
• Participation in resume and business plan portfolios for sponsoring companies
• Valuable connections with professionals in the industry

Detailed membership benefits are listed here. TEC values your continuous support and hopes to bring you better learning opportunities in the upcoming term.

Come join us for a movie! Popcorn and soft drinks will be provided.

Pirates of Silicon Valley is a 1999 film based on the book Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine. It is an unauthorized made-for-television docudrama written and directed by Martyn Burke which documents the rise of the home computer (personal computer) through the rivalry between Apple Computer and Microsoft.

Please visit the site to see all the events planned during this year's Global Entrepreneurship Week Canada.

Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity. The Week will bring together thousands of students across the University of British Columbia through online and local activities and encourage them to think innovatively and unleash their ideas. Through a coordinated effort with many different campus organizations, during one week every year, UBC students will celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in hopes of inspiring a new generation of young entrepreneurs.

Our second speaker of the year has been confirmed. Please join us for an inspirational talk about taking your idea and making it a reality. Pizza and pop will be provided.

Jenny Yang, most recently a Venture Capitalist at the Business Development Bank of Canada, will share her experience on what she looks for when funding a start-up. During her time as a VC, Jenny has seen thousands of business plans, heard hundreds of pitches, invested in nine technology startups, and had three successful exits. Jenny will talk about some of the key elements you need to get a company off the ground at the seed stage and the common traits shared by those companies that were successful in raising money.

Here is the presentation from the seminar.

The speaker for our first seminar of the year has been confirmed. Pizza and pop will be provided.

Alex Read, founder and CEO of "The Entrepreneurial Growth Hub" will be speaking. As a seasoned entrepreneur, and recipient of the Business In Vancouver "40 Under 40" award for 2007, Alex owns several successful businesses across North America. These include a number of hyper-growth franchises with 1-800-GOT-JUNK? in the New Jersey area and the fast growing entrepreneurial success toolkit "Make Anything Work".