[1]Backbone magazine [2] and The Alpha Exchange [3] are excited to launch the Start Me Up Innovation Campaign [4]. The Alpha Exchange Innovation Campaign [5] is about finding inspired Canadian technology ideas, and helping entrepreneurs bring those ideas to the marketplace. The product or service can focus on any sector and use any type of technology.The campaign includes the following:
- Prizes: $95,000 in prizes (part seed capital, part products and services)
- A live pitch event, judged by leading technology and business leaders
- A full year of follow-up editorial exposure (successes, challenges, advice) in print and online
The winner will receive:
- $20,000 in cash
- $60,000 in related products and/or service
- one year of mentoring and business assistance from a team of Canadian business and technology experts
- one year of on-going coverage in Backbone magazine and online
The runner-up will receive:
- $5,000 in cash
- $10,000 in related products and/or services
The top 200 applicants will also receive invitations to the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT), Oct. 22 to 24 in Montreal.
The competition application form is available online [6]. Qualified entrants are early-stage companies, with revenue of no more than $2 million annually. Successful entrants will have a ready-to-sell product or service and a complete business plan and market analysis. Any business or technology sector is relevant.
Timing of campaign
| Launch/Contest Applications | February 7, 2012 – March 31, 2012 | ||||||
| Judging | April 2 – 21, 2012 | ||||||
| Awards Event | May 16, 2012 | ||||||
| Follow-Up Winner Stories – Online and Print | May 2012 – April 2013 |
Backbone will create an online “Innovation Campaign Portal” in addition to the publication, where readers can monitor the winner’s advancements, successes, resources and challenges in weekly blog posts, tweets and other Web content.
“The campaign is consistent with Backbone’s mandate of inspiring innovation and helping companies learn from other businesses”, says Steve Dietrich, Publisher of Backbone magazine.
Alpha Group, the founding sponsor, is an organization established in 2007 to reinvigorate trading in Canada. With its Alternative Trading System, Alpha Group brought the change the financial industry was waiting for in the trading space. Now, with the formation of its Exchange, Alpha Group is looking at bringing similar change to the Canadian listing space driven by what issuers and investors need.
“We are determined to help build the eco-system that Canadian technology entrepreneurs are currently missing in the initial and early stages of their business.” states Jos Schmitt, CEO of Alpha Group.
Additional Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors [7] include: HP, ORION, Ceridian, Ryerson Digital Media Zone, Wildeboer Dellelce, BCTIA’s Centre for Growth, Financial Technology Partners, World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT).