Recent speakers, VEF Sponsors and Board Members are invited to play Bocce, with the help of the people at Bocce.ca. The Bocce.ca team will teach us the rules and show us the basics of how to play as well as keep the tournament running. The event is open to invited guests as well as a small number of 'wild-card' places available to VEF members on a first-come, first-served basis. If you're interested contact Nick Tattersall.

Recent speakers, VEF Sponsors and Board Members are invited to play Bocce, with the help of the people at Bocce.ca. The Bocce.ca team will teach us the rules and show us the basics of how to play as well as keep the tournament running. The event is open to invited guests as well as a small number of 'wild-card' places available to VEF members on a first-come, first-served basis. If you're interested contact Nick Tattersall.

**NOTE: NEW START TIMES**
Bar opens at 5:30 pm
Presentation first at 6:00 pm sharp
Networking and Supper to follow at 7:00 pm
For May, the Vancouver Enterprise Forum switches to a panel discussion format in which four technology experts/entrepreneurs — Paul Kedrosky of Ventures West and an analyst for CNBC, serial tech entrepreneur Dick Hardt of Sxip, industry analyst Duncan Stewart from Deloitte and Dr. Paul Terry of Magellan Angel Partners — discuss the topic of “What’s Hot in the Tech Sector.” They’ll give their thoughts on emerging technology innovations, investment trends and highlights in the local as well as global technology sectors through 2009. How will the U.S. recession affect local markets? Which tech sectors will outperform others in 2009? Where will we see growth over the next 18 months?

For April, the VEF will focus on a recent event: the acquisition for $93 million of local technology award winner, Extreme CCTV, by Robert Bosch. Initiated last fall, the deal formally closed in February and marked the culmination of just over ten years of significant effort in company building by Jack Gin, the company’s founder and CEO, and his team. Jack Gin is one of B.C.’s most successful technology entrepreneurs and attendees will have the opportunity to hear first hand Jack’s stories of what worked, and what didn’t work, through the founding, expansion and eventual sale of Extreme CCTV.

In February, the VEF heard from the investment bankers and corporate M&A specialists as they educated entrepreneurs on how M&A and IPO transactions work, what investment bankers need and what it really takes to get an M&A/IPO done. For March, the VEF will continue with its theme of presenting war stories and case studies by inviting two senior executives to talk about the success of their Vancouver tech companies. Richard MacKellar was CEO of Brightside Technologies, which was sold to Dolby for US$28 million in April 2007. John MacDonald is chair and CEO of Day4 Energy, which completed a TSX IPO in December 2007 that raised more than $100 million.

It’s been a hard long road with lots of work, but your company has now caught the eye of players in the market. While there’s still plenty of work to be done, the opportunity is rapidly emerging to cash out or cash in, either through a merger, by being acquired or through an IPO. Our February event is totally focused on giving entrepreneurs what they need to know about exits through M&As and IPOs, and they’ll hear it directly from the pros who make it happen.

At November’s VEF event, we heard from experienced American venture capitalists on the topic of financing your company with money supplemented or sourced completely from VCs located in the U.S. or Eastern Canada. We learned that, while cash is king, American and eastern Canadian VCs can deliver more than money — they often have specialized industry experience to bring to the table, access to seasoned executive expert talent in your industry, or connections to other VCs for future financings. Funding from groups located outside British Columbia is essential to helping your company grow beyond our provincial borders.

New Location for rest of 2007-08 season:
Vancity Theatre
1181 Seymour Street (Seymour and Davie)
Vancouver, B.C.
5:30 pm

The foundation for building a rapid-growth tech company is money, lots of it, and quite often rounds of financing must be supplemented or sourced completely from VCs located in the U.S. or Eastern Canada. But while cash is king, American and Eastern Canadian VCs can deliver more than money – they often have specialized industry experience to bring to the table, access to seasoned executive expert talent in your industry or connections to other VCs for future financings. Funding from groups located outside British Columbia is essential to helping your company grow beyond our provincial borders.

Note: The October VEF is at Science World for this month only

After a new technology firm receives initial funding from founders, friends and family, the next stage of financing involves accessing serious cash from angels, private investors, VCs and other groups in Vancouver, Toronto and Silicon Valley. In September’s VEF event, we focused on the how-to of raising early-stage money. For October, we’ll build on that by hearing war stories directly from Vancouver serial tech entrepreneurs who have raised millions for their start-up companies.

Many new technology firms are funded initially with money from founders, friends, and family. However, the next stage of financing involves accessing sources of financing from professionals who don’t already know you, and only care about one thing – making good investments. Approaching these sources requires careful preparation and planning by entrepreneurs who are thinking about raising money for the first time.

Note New Location:
Vancity Theatre 1181 Seymour Street
(Seymour and Davie)

Technology transfer, or the process of commercializing university research discoveries, is a process that holds the promise of capitalizing on society’s investment in universities and the fundamental science conducted in university and other research settings. The opportunity for the entrepreneur is to realize the full commercial value of the discovery, perhaps even developing a blockbuster drug or product, but the singular challenge is always to navigate the transfer process and subsequent commercialization successfully.



Nanotechnology, once a hot topic for public discussion, has fallen under the radar in recent years, but the application of nanotechnologies to a wide variety of industrial and medical sectors continues at a rapid pace. Exciting developments are occurring in British Columbia. This month, the Vancouver Enterprise Forum will join forces with Nanotech BC to present expert speakers who will both discuss emerging B.C. companies and entrepreneurial opportunities in this sector and outline how nanotechnology will help to transform the 21st century.

Technology is often perceived as an alienating and constraining force in society and on people, and popular opinion is that the rise of the Internet and the world wide web only reinforces this trend. In reality, technology is neither good nor bad, and today the web is being applied as a force for good and to generate new energy to social activism and the work of bringing people together around many important causes and ideas. Traditionally, due to the enormous costs involved in maintaining social activist networks, at best some of these organizations can cover their operational expenses while most lose money and falter. However, with the Internet and Web greatly lowering the costs involved in bringing together and maintaining these networks, the potential improves for these organizations to make money while pursuing social activist agendas.

If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Myth making is an art form and nowhere do the myths run deeper than technology, Silicon Valley and the many “truths” about how to succeed in technology. Do you really have to make your way to San Jose to succeed in technology? Is the Valley a closed shop or can Canadian companies and entrepreneurs get established and prosper? Where does British Columbia register on the Valley radar as a technology centre? Hear from a Canadian who has acheived success in the Valley.

This month, the Vancouver Enterprise Forum teams up with B.C.’s Power Technology Alliance to shed light on the rapid maturation of the province’s advanced energy sector as it readies for takeoff. Event attendees will get the latest information on entrepreneurial and investment opportunities in the advanced energy solutions sector from leading entrepreneurs in the field.

This month, the Vancouver Enterprise Forum and Acetech are cooperating to present the always-popular CEO War Stories topic — examining the pros and cons of going public for technology companies. Derek Spratt, a long-time board member of both VEF and Acetech, and principal/founder of publicly traded Intrinsyc Software and PCS Wireless, will moderate presentations by Anwar Sukkarié of Webtech Wireless, Don Lay of Contec Innovations and serial entrepreneur Basil Peters all representing technology firms that have taken uniquely different paths to their public listings.

Web 2.0 is about more than just free software and communities like MySpace. In fact, there are companies in the Web 2.0 world that are generating real revenues by supplying useful products and services to the enterprise. In a sense, Web 2.0 is about accessing the best new ideas from the Web and applying them to real business problems to expand sales, profits and customers. It’s also about the next generation of enterprise software — Enterprise 2.0. In this month’s Vancouver Enterprise Forum on October 24, we’ll feature leading-edge web expertise bridging both the academic and business worlds as they discuss the emerging trends and entrepreneurial opportunities in Enterprise 2.0.

Getting a new venture off the ground is never easy. Launching it the right way always involves raising money. But raising it improperly or not getting the right kind of money can mean delays in growth or even worse: a complete failure to launch. In what is usually one of our best-attended events, the Vancouver Enterprise Forum’s season-opening session on September 26 will focus on the hot topic of early-stage financing for technology companies.

And now, for something a little different!!

No speeches...no formal presentations...just good fun, great eats, live music, and a chance to take home some great tech toys.

With more than a billion people, 100 million Internet users, and approximately 400 million wireless customers, the China market is hard to ignore — especially in the wireless sector, in which China represents the world’s largest and fastest-growing market. However, regardless of how impressive the market potential may be, the Chinese business culture presents a significant challenge and barrier to technology companies. In the May VEF, hear two seasoned high-tech veterans speak on the pros and cons of doing business on the ground in China. Topics to be discussed include building relationships, deciding whom to trust, tips on opening up a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, and raising capital for Chinese-related businesses both inside and outside China.

Viewed from the outside, watching a technology company being acquired by another firm often seems like a very smooth process. The inside story, however, is usually much more turbulent. In April’s VEF event, attendees will get an inside look about how the negotiations in an acquisition and exit really play out as they hear directly from CEOs whose companies were successfully acquired. For April’s VEF, we are pleased to present two senior technology executives to talk about how their companies were acquired.

A common exit strategy for many BC technology companies is acquisition by a strategic partner. However for every seller, there must be a buyer and it takes two to make the exit work. At March’s VEF, we are pleased to present two senior technology executives to talk about strategic acquisitions from both sides of the table.

The ability to obtain maximum exit value for your company in an acquisition is determined by decisions made from the very beginning and at every stage of a firm’s development. Decisions around whether or not you are partner-centric, what kind of revenue model to have, who you co-market with, and how to structure your IP/technology portfolio so that it fits strategically within a potential acquirer’s product direction could all affect your exit value. The real question is, what other tactics can be effective during the negotiation process — such as soliciting competitive bids by using a stalking horse, strategic deal terms, etc. — to increase the value of your company?

How do I get my money back? Well, since there’s no money-back guarantee in early-stage technology company financing, for VCs a key question is how they will get their money out. But it’s sometimes difficult for company executives looking to raise funds to think further down the road to the exit strategy — yet this critical aspect is central to the thoughts of VCs and anyone else who may fund your company. To attract investors, entrepreneurs must be able to articulate the most likely exit avenues as part of their financing pitch.

How is your business? Are you ready for the management challenges you’ll face in the future? Do you sometimes feel you have a tiger by the tail? If so, you’re not alone. Every fast-growth company faces the same core problems: how to maintain forward progress when there’s barely enough time to make sure the wheels don’t come off the cart.

The collapse of the dot-com bubble in 2001 marked a turning point for the World Wide Web. Many observers concluded that the web was over-hyped, when in fact bubbles and consequent shakeouts appear to be a central feature of all technological revolutions. In this vein, Web 1.0 was no different from previous advances.

Everyone talks about raising money from friends and family, but what does raising so-called “blood money” really entail? How do tax shelters affect potential investors, and what do angels look for in startups? What are the pros and cons of these approaches, and how should the early-stage company executive proceed in order to finance technological innovations? The Vancouver Enterprise Forum’s season-opening event on September 27 will focus on the hot topic of early-stage financing in what is always a well-attended event.

Join Vancouver's technology deal makers on the patio at The Law Courts Inn for the VEF season finale dinner event.

Law Courts Inn, 4th Floor, 800 Smithe St.
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The expansion of broadband continues at a fast pace. However, in a large geographic region such as British Columbia, a “digital divide” can emerge between those communities with access to high-speed broadband services and those without. The Government of B.C. has recently concluded agreements with Telus that will make the province the first in Canada to bridge the digital divide and fulfill its “new era” commitment to “connect every B.C. community to high-speed broadband.” That is the promise of the Network B.C./Digital Divide project.

Finalizing your technology is 90 percent of your business but still only halfway to commercial success. Great technology, once developed, must be commercialized; refined and reshaped into useful products that that can be produced at a price the market is willing to pay.

If you think video games are still being played solely by pubescent males, think again. The video game industry is now a $9 billion-per-year fast-growth North American market, populated by players of all age groups — and increasingly female. Video game production has grown from small development teams and budgets to multi-million-dollar complex productions rivaling that of major movies. Key players in the industry range from pioneers such as Nintendo, Sega and Electronic Arts and the new powerhouses of Sony and Microsoft to emerging players such as Vancouver’s Relic Entertainment, RockStar Vancouver and Radical Entertainment.

The alternative energy/power technology industry comprises far more than our headlining fuel-cell related companies. Renewable energy, energy storage, fuel processing, power conditioning and systems integration technologies are just a few of the alternative energy and power technologies now emerging in the energy supply chain structure. It is clear that these new energy industries must be greatly accelerated in order to speed the transition towards more environmentally benign energy sources.

It’s been estimated that venture capitalists say no to entrepreneurs most of the time and so it’s no wonder that they have a reputation for being the Dr. No’s of the technology world. Yet, many ventures do obtain funding, a group that includes some of the world’s most successful companies. On January 25, the Vancouver Enterprise Forum will hear from David McIntyre of Ventures West and serial entrepreneurs Glen Brownlee of Tantalus Systems and Andrew Harries of Zeugma Systems as they discuss how B.C. technology entrepreneurs can get to yes in the VC financing game.

The last decade has seen corporate governance issues hit the headlines as never before. Not only is a board responsible for ensuring a firm is governed responsibly and ethically, it also provides the fuel and navigation skills a firm needs to follow its strategy roadmap without veering off –course — a critical issue for a young technology company. Whether a startup needs technology partners, financing, customers, sage advice, adult supervision or a combination thereof, board members and advisors must provide the critical building blocks that put a company on the road to success.

The evidence is in: a National Research Council study confirms that partnerships have been a key success factor for 41 B.C. companies in three major sectors. In addition, studies from the U.S. further support the finding that collaborations improve product development, deliver the first customer, enhance market acceptance, and provide credibility when raising capital. Overall, it’s pretty clear that in the networked world of international high-technology enterprise, collaboration is an important corporate strategy for gaining traction and building momentum in the marketplace.

What makes a successful business case for attempting to convince a hard-nosed financier to invest in your revolutionary technology? No matter how innovative a business technology or process may be, building a solid business case to illustrate its commercial value is always a challenge. What message does the entrepreneur need to communicate? What needs to be done? The Vancouver Enterprise Forum’s September 28 season-opening event will focus on a hot topic for technology entrepreneurs: closing a financing deal on the strength of their ideas.

Join Vancouver's technology deal-makers on the patio at the Law Courts Inn for the VEF season finale.

Service jobs are increasingly being sent offshore. The widespread availability of information technology has meant that call centres and software development can be administered and financial research conducted overseas at a fraction of the typical cost, and this fact has led more than half the Fortune 500 companies to award these positions to lower-wage employees in India. According to Forrester Research, more than three million white-collar jobs will have left the U.S. for foreign shores by 2020.

In an increasingly connected world with no respite from the Internet and always-on wireless mobile technologies, navigating the clutter and noise of modern society means that personal connections and traditional business networking are needed now more than ever before.

Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Games will be the most technologically advanced Olympics ever — presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for numerous B.C. technology firms to gain new high-profile business contracts and showcase their world-leading technologies, products and services on the global stage. Is your company ready for the Olympic business opportunities that will begin emerging within the next year?

What are the lessons that seasoned CEOs learned the hard way as they raised venture financing for their companies — after the bubble burst? How do you get past a “gatekeeper” and get a VC’s attention? What makes a company attractive to a VC? What are the pitfalls to avoid? What proactive steps does a company have to take to successfully close a round of venture financing? What are the differences between closing on a first round and later rounds?

What does it take for new technology products to gain a foothold in the international marketplace and build sales and revenue? Senior executives from two of Canada’s most exciting technology companies will present senior-level perspectives from the marketing frontlines as they and their teams take aim at building revenue from their innovative technologies. The VEF’s first event of 2004 will be held on Tuesday, January 27 at Science World. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with the presentations beginning precisely at 6:45 p.m. Pre-registration at www.vef.org is highly recommended. Admission is free for members, $30 for non-members.

What’s the next big wireless wave? How will this wave revolutionize people’s lives and change human behavior? What business opportunities are emerging right now for entrepreneurs? At the next Vancouver Enterprise Forum (VEF), network with and hear from executives in B.C.’s wireless industry as they discuss business trends in the wireless industry — and the potential stakes for B.C. companies and entrepreneurs.

Being acquired by a U.S. company is one of the key exit routes for B.C. technology entrepreneurs and investors. Readying the company for an eventual acquisition is a primary duty of the C-level executive. The Vancouver Enterprise Forum’s October event will focus on the topic of mergers and acquisition by examining two recent acquisitions of B.C. companies: Intel’s purchase of Westbay and Harman International’s acquisition of Wavemakers Inc.

Two Seasoned Technology Entrepreneurs Talk Frankly About How to Finance and Build an Early-stage Tech Venture

Join Vancouver's technology deal-makers on the patio at the Law Courts Inn for the VEF season finale.

With the ongoing challenges facing the technology industry, everyone seems to have a “war story” these days. Rather than dwelling on the negative karma, the May VEF event closes out the season on a positive note by featuring technology companies that have successfully survived—and even thrived—in a volatile tech market.



With angel investors scaling back and venture capitalists nursing their existing portfolio companies, what alternatives are available to technology firms and entrepreneurs for raising growth capital? Considering the turmoil of the past few years, is the public market still a feasible financing option? What are the benefits and pitfalls of choosing this route? Is this alternative right for your technology company?

Raising capital from venture capital funds is often seen as an opaque process, shrouded in mystery and black art rituals. Why are some companies more successful in attracting venture backers, while similar companies are not? One prevailing view seems to be that venture capital companies currently have little money for new deals, as they’re too busy keeping their old investments alive. Yet, companies are successfully raising money. How can you increase your chances of obtaining funding this year?

In a rapidly growing enterprise, extending competent and effective leadership beyond the chief executive’s office is critical to success. The ability to develop a vision, to communicate it, and to convince leaders at all levels of the organization to implement it as strategy, is a key skill that helps differentiate successful companies from the also-rans.


Panel debate – The acquisition of B.C. technology companies: Good or bad for the technology sector?

Please register on-site after 12 noon the day of the event.

The Vancouver Enterprise Forum’s season-opening event will focus on a hot topic for technology entrepreneurs: raising money to fund their venture. Attendees will hear from angel investment experts from Seattle and Vancouver and also from a pharmaceutical company that will relate up-to-the-minute experience and tips operating from both sides of the financing table.

VEF wants you to join us for a celebration of the Technology Industry in the Lower Mainland.

The VEF is pleased to welcome photonics industry analyst Mark Langley of Needham and Company in New York.

The Vancouver Enterprise Forum's April event will take attendees inside the boardroom as two local business leaders tell their war stories - how they have weathered the technology business storms of the last two years and stayed focused on building their businesses in a competitive and often cutthroat environment.

The ability to recruit and retain quality people is central to the success of any business. This is especially true for knowledge-based technology firms, since so much of their corporate valuation is based on employee brainpower and retained knowledge.

If you build it, they won't necessarily come! In every industry, the road to revenues and profits is built on a foundation of rock-solid marketing strategies. Without marketing as a bridge to the real world, even the most innovative and high-powered products and services can sputter and stall out, disappointing investors, employees and senior management alike.

The state of the venture capital and public offering markets today.




Where's the fuel cell business going?
What's happening here in BC?
What's in it for you?

If you’re raising financing these days, you already know that times are tough. But while the situation is challenging, it’s not impossible. The Vancouver Enterprise Forum’s season-opening event will hear from three presenters who not only have experience raising capital in the golden days now past, but, most importantly, have up-to-the-minute experience and tips operating from both sides of the table.



Mr. Toms will make a general presentation on the state of wireless technology and pervasive computing; where the technology is going and which companies are taking us there.

The Vancouver Enterprise Forum opened it’s 2000 – 2001 season with a frank look at Early Stage Financing. Local incubators, seed investors, venture capitalists and Angel investors will give some hard core fundamentals about who to approach when, and what people should be doing to prepare when approaching early stage financiers.