Sydney, Nova Scotia, May 5, 2006 – The competition intensifies for three Cape Breton entrepreneurs with last night’s announcement of the finalists in InNOVAcorp’s I-3 technology start-up challenge.
“Selecting the semi-finalists was difficult, so narrowing it down further to three finalists was extremely challenging,” said Dan MacDonald, president and CEO of InNOVAcorp and an I-3 judge. “We had to choose from several strong innovations, with solid business plans and capable entrepreneurs behind them.”
The three I-3 competition finalists are:
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. An example of the product is a customizable digital tachometer for use in Formula race cars and able to withstand the extreme vibration of the cockpit. Also of particular interest to xtal is development of 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.
The three entrepreneurs were chosen from among five semi-finalists selected from the 18 original submissions from across Cape Breton Island. This round’s decision was based on a detailed business plan submission. Plans were evaluated for market feasibility, commercialization potential, ability to attract future investment, and the entrepreneurs’ management strengths.
The finalists will each give an oral pitch of their innovations and business plans to judges later this month. The entrepreneurs will receive training and one-on-one business guidance on their pitches before they are made. The winner will be announced on June 1.
“This type of pitch under pressure is often instrumental in starting a business and getting the financial and other support it needs to grow. So that makes this part of the competition a real test of the entrepreneurs’ savvy and an incredible learning opportunity,” said Mr. MacDonald.
The winning entrepreneur will receive $100,000 in cash and in-kind contributions toward implementing their 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 18 first round submissions. In addition to finalists, there are other strong submissions that InNOVAcorp and its partners are interested in further exploring, outside the I-3 competition parameters, to help the entrepreneurs move forward with their plans.
For more information, visit www.innovacorp.ca/I-3.
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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