Sydney, Nova Scotia, April 20, 2006 – Cape Bretoners demonstrated their strong entrepreneurial spirit and business ideas with their response to InNOVAcorp’s I-3 technology start-up competition.
“We received more than 75 inquiries and 18 formal submissions,” said Dan MacDonald, president and CEO of InNOVAcorp. “Entries came from across Cape Breton Island and ranged from medical devices, to information and communications technologies, to industrial and energy innovations. We are very pleased with the response to this competition.”
The following I-3 participants have been invited to Round Two of the competition:
Allen McCormick - ADM Solutions – Dominion
Transcription of audio and video files giving consumers the multidimensional ability to search, read, see and hear the valuable content.
John Ouelette - Screens Entertainment - Port Hawkesbury
Using digital technology to reinvent and right-size the movie theatre business to bring family digital entertainment - movies, games, sporting events - to small towns.
Steve Manley - xtal design labs inc. (xdesignlabs.com) - Sydney
Design and sales of "mass customized" embedded control and data acquisition systems. The microcontroller products can be a platform that is sold directly to and customized by the client or can be the basis for custom product development. Of particular interest is low cost firmware that is GPS-enabled.
Chad Munro - Halifax Biomedical Devices - Mabou
A research and development company specializing in biomedical engineering. The first product under development is the Spinal Fusion Assessment System, a method for assessing fusion success following spinal fusion surgery.
Bobby MacLean - Post Boom Inc. - North Sydney
Commercialization of the existing Fire Services Information Management System product that was developed to address a number of business problems associated with managing distributed fire service operations.
Entrepreneurs moving on to Round Two are required to submit a full business plan. The Final Round shortlist will be announced on May 4, with the winner announced on June 1.
The winning entrepreneur will receive $100,000 in cash and in-kind contributions toward implementing their business plan. The contributions are to be used toward the establishment or further development of the start-up venture as outlined in the submitted business plan. The support includes $50,000 in cash and $30,000 in seed investment through InNOVAcorp's HPi early stage venture fund, to be used for business expenses.
The winner will also receive a $20,000 in-kind contribution of hands-on venture guidance and assistance from InNOVAcorp and business leaders in Cape Breton, including legal services from Rudderham Chernin Law Office, accounting services from Gary Jennings, CA, and marketing services from VMP Group.
The six-person judging committee was impressed with the quantity and quality of the first round submissions. In addition to the five invited to move on to Round Two, there are other strong submissions that InNOVAcorp and its partners are interested in further exploring, outside the 1-3 competition parameters, to help the entrepreneurs move forward with their plans.
For more information, visit www.innovacorp.ca/I-3.
For further information contact:
Bob Pelley
InNOVAcorp
902-564-2951
Cell: 902.577.2689
bpelley@innovacorp.ca
Dawn House
InNOVAcorp
902.424.8670 x 189
Cell: 902.456.9705
dhouse@innovacorp.ca
