LONDON, ON -- Venture London, the city's premier business plan competition, announced the winners of more than $45,000 in cash and business-acceleration prizes at its awards presentation last night. The competition, established to encourage entrepreneurialism, recognizes new and proposed London-based businesses that have proven growth potential, marketability, profitability, viability and impact on the London economy.
The winner in the existing business (under two years) category, winning the grand prize of $30,000 in cash and business acceleration prizes, is Advisor Briefcase (Lifelines Financial Planning), a software development company, founded by Robert McCarter.
In the proposed business category, winning the grand prize of $18,000 in cash and prizes, is ENT Simulation Technologies Inc., founded by Dr. Hanif Ladak, Dr. Sumit Agrawal, and Jaipreet Bindra. The remaining finalists - The Ant Firm Inc., Green Energy Dynamics Corp., Gaming Union and London Documents - each received $500 honorariums.
"The competition has been an excellent opportunity to re-examine my original goals and refocus on the most important aspects of my business to ensure that it will continue to grow and be successful," says Robert McCarter, founder of Advisor Briefcase.
Jaipreet Bindra, member of the ENT Simulation Technologies team says, "Participating in Venture London has been instrumental in helping us achieve both our entrepreneurial and broader business goals. Through the workshops and judging process offered by Venture London, our team revised the business plan so that we have a better going-forward strategy and achieve our targets faster."
A record 38 business plans were submitted to this year's Venture London competition. The 2010 applicants represent a broad range of business ideation from fields including gaming, recycling, financial services, and document management.
"The opportunity to review the plans for three very different proposed businesses was indeed a privilege," explains Tania Goodine, Vice President - Brand at Libro Financial Group. "The quality of research and thorough planning undertaken for each submission was truly impressive. Based on what I saw, London has tremendous entrepreneurial talent across a broad range of industries, both key ingredients that will continue to strengthen the economy in our region."
Venture London Business Competition
The four-month, two-round Venture London business competition helps entrepreneurs and new businesses in London transform their business idea from a rough concept into a sound business plan. Supported by workshops and shaped by feedback from judges, entrepreneurs are exposed to a business development process that reinforces the notion that a solid business foundation is necessary to commercialize a great idea.
Venture London represents the collective effort of the London Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Centre, The Stiller Centre and TechAlliance. Gold sponsors include, Lovers AtWork, bizzmail, Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
About the Winners and Finalists
Proposed Business Category:
ENT Simulation Technologies Inc. (Winner): has developed one of the first computer-based training simulators for ear surgery. The simulator enables medial students and residents to practice diagnosis and surgery on a virtual, 3-Dimentional ear with realistic imaging and feedback.
The Ant Firm Inc.: is a quality assurance company providing testing services to developers and publishers of video games.
London Documents: facilitates the transfer of hard copy files into electronic formats for storage and easy retrieval, allowing businesses to retrieve, archive, distribute, track and audit documents in an electronic format.
Existing Business Category:
Advisor Briefcase (Lifelines Financial Planning) (Winner): has developed an interactive financial planning software tool for financial advisors. The software allows advisors to drag-and-drop information about major life events into the software which immediately provides visual results.
Green Energy Dynamics Corp.: a fluorescent lamp recycling company that operates Canada's first and only courier-based fluorescent lamp recycling service.
Gaming Union: offers the latest news and reviews on video games to the video game world. The online website also interviews some of the biggest names in the video game industry.
For more information about Venture London, please visit www.venturelondon.ca
For more information, please contact:
Julie McDonald
Communications Coordinator
Lashbrook Marketing & Public Relations
519.850.0115
Julie@lashbrook.ca
Nancy Kopriva
Manager, Projects and Business Development Services
Small Business Centre
519-659-2882 ext. 234
nkopriva@sbcentre.ca
