Mathew Ingram, of the Globe and Mail, tells the story of Dabble DB's search for venture investment. The company, founded by two young but experienced code warriors, Andrew Catton and Avi Bryant, offers an online database creation application. Canadian born VC Dr. Paul Kedrosky played a key role in the rumored $2 million investment.

I took Sean Wise up on his offer to visit the CBC atrium during Saturday's auditions for the new Dragon's Den reality show (That's what they call them... ). My first encounter with a potential contestant was outside the CBC's west doors just under the big Hockey Night in Canada sign featuring Don Cherry. Take a look at the photo of this tri-wheeled vehicle. Interesting from a "I can't believe they actually made it" perspective, but not something that would interest many of Canada's VCs.


The action picked up inside. The place wasn't thronged with people but there seemed to be a steady flow of candidates. The CBC production staff, accompanied by Sean, gave each contestant a screen test. I left as number 23 made his pitch.

Some of the ideas were interesting. One guy had a small device that dispensed antibacterial lotion. Intended for hospital workers, he claimed it reduced infection rates and would save a hospital about $50 per day per user. Another fellow, a steel executive, had experienced an epiphany while travelling in Africa on business. He and a number of his coworkers sacrificed their holiday time to travel to Africa and help make things better. He has a plan that would help entrepreneurs in Africa and, in doing that, solve some of that continent's pressing issues.

Another entrepreneur has a system that would warn drivers when cars obscured by traffic ahead were slowing down. Nice idea but it would require every car to have one - at about $200 each. Now, let's think about this. There are some 10 million cars in Canada times $200... But, hey, they said seat-belts would never be in every car.

I didn't speak to any Web 2.0 types but then it was before noon. The show begins its run this fall (...read more...)

Creative Generalist is one of my favourite Canadian blog sites. That's why it is in our centre column feed roll. Take a look at their coverage of last week's Idea City conference.

They write:

Co-founder and president of RIM (the inventor of the Blackberry) Mike Lazaridis stressed the importance of investing in research - particularly that of our universities and colleges.
1. Fund the best researchers and fund them well.
2. Fund their labs to bring them here (Canada).
3. And fund their students.

Dan Bicklin, a co-founder of the world's first spreadsheet program, Visicalc, is back. This time he is up against Google with an online spreadsheet he calls WikiCalc. The open-source software will be distributed by SocialText.

I've tried the Beta version and it's easy to use and powerful. I don't think I'll put away my Excel spreadsheets any time soon but the big advantage of WikiCalc is that it is also a Wiki. That means you can publish your spreadsheets to the Internet. It also means collaborators can access your data and modify it. Changes are automatically tracked.

This is an interesting tool from one of the legends of the PC world. WIki fans in the audience might find WIkiCalc invaluable.

Just when I was thinking that the best thing a Toronto entrepreneur can do to succeed is move south, Sean Wise of Wise Mentor Capital sends an email that reframes my world view. Everyone who has met Sean knows he is a dynamo. Still, he's outdone himself this time.

Sean invites local entrepreneurs to be contestants on a new CBC Television show called The Dragon's Den. See his call for entrepreneurs below (For this Saturday!!!).

Sean writes:

Dear friends,
The last month has been really exciting here at Wise Mentor Capital . We have launched a blog, created a series of podcasts and participated in the production of a soon to be aired TV show. Can you believe it?

The Blog
My Blog, which is an extension of the column I write for the Globe and Mail, can be found at http://www.seanwise.com. I am planning on using it to take lessons on entrepreneurship and venture capital to the next level. It includes subsections on...

- The Startup Spotlight highlighting the best company I've seen that week (so feel free to contact me if you are startup)
- Have mouth will Travel covering the bootcamps, conferences and trade missions I participate in
- How Not to Suck @: covering best practices for start-ups

I hope you'll read it online or maybe even subscribe to it (just click): http://feeds.feedburner.com/WiseWords

The Podcast
If you have ever seen me moderate, then you know I love learning from experts and participating in active dialogues. Wise Words: The Podcasts will include short Interviews and discussions with entrepreneurial experts, technology gurus and financiers on a wide variety of topics.

You can listen to it directly from the blog http://www.SeanWise.com , subscribe to it at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/WiseWords and even through itunes and other podcatchers.

The podcast is being (...read more...)

We don't give a lot of attention to the manufacturing sector but Canada is well known for its transportation technologies. Just ask Bombardier. Here is something that a Canadian company might have invented but didn't. It is simple, smart, and, let's face it, obvious once you see it.

A Hungarian company has launched the Kenguru, a car made for people who are wheelchair bound. The car has one door at the back and no seats. The driver rolls in then straps down their wheelchair. There is a joystick instead of a steering wheel.

The Kengurus is electrically powered. It has a range of 40-60 km and can reach speeds of 35-40 km/hour. Price is about $14,000 Canadian.

The man people alternatively credit or blame for the homogeneity of "Windows" announced yesterday that he is stepping away from day-to-day involvement with Microsoft. Will that company survive his departure? Maybe Bill couldn't take Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble's defection to a startup. Who knows what motivates one of the world's richest people.

Many are wondering what will happen to Microsoft. The company seems stalled these days. Its latest OS is delayed. Google is eating Microsoft's lunch on Internet solutions. Heck, they even came out with online competitors to Excel and Word. Watch out.

Maybe one of the benefits will be the end to the long standing, often bitter rivalry with Apple. Is there the possibility of a joint venture with the two companies that would make the Mac OS the PC standard -- of course, under a Microsoft banner. Does that seem too far fetched? Why did Apple convert to Intel chips again? Oh, that's right, the speed. If you believe that I have some Web 2.0 stocks you might want to invest in.

Rick Segal of JL Albright MC'd a special Toronto Venture Group breakfast yesterday. Two of the "Victor" Award winners from this year's Canadian Venture Forum were on hand to talk about their experiences raising venture capital.

It is easy to see why Rob Imrie, CEO of Demand Cast and Kevin Leflar, CEO of Official Community Corporation won their respective categories. Both were articulate, focused, and, of course, convinced that their companies are the next big thing. How big? Segal segued into the formal business presentations by offering a context for their businesses: The Intention Economy.

To Segal, the intention economy is the true driver of successful online advertising. Since ads are the holy grail of the Internet's ROI, any solution that more effectively connects ads with people who actually want the related service or product will be a hands-down success. Demand Cast and Official Community Corp. might just be ways to achieve that end.

But here is the problem. These two companies passed the selection committee at the Canadian Venture Forum. They then jumped through the presentation hoops there and were selected as the most worthy companies for venture investment by a community of financial specialists. They have been vetted, turned inside out, inspected, and almost due-dilligenced to death. For what? They are looking for about a million dollars each. Neither has a term sheet yet.

Let's get this straight. Hundreds of companies apply. Some are weeded out. The rest go through an intense two day peer review. Check. Three are selected. RIght. What happens? Apparently, not much. That's not the fault of the CVF organizers who are doing what I think is a stellar job showcasing Canada's entrepreneurial community.

So, why do all this work and end up with a collective yawn from Canadian VCs? That is a hard question (...read more...)

I will be posting semi-live from the TSX BootCamp today. The camp starts this afternoon at the Eatons' Mariott Hotel. The tireless Sean Wise will be the Camp's facilitator. Stay tuned...

The Vancouver Sun reports that Leading Edge BC, a major facilitator in British Columbia's high-tech sector, is being absorbed by the provincial government. After what industry players call a very successful two years of independent operation, does it make sense for the government to absorb Leading Edge BC's services?

Anyone who has worked hand-in-hand with government will tell you that speed and innovation are not characteristics we associate with that sector. Governments can play a significant role promoting businesses. No one will argue with that. But it takes quick decision making to turn a good idea into a viable start up business. If anything, the high-tech sector needs more arms length non-profit organizations to act as facilitators.

Traditionally, these organizations are led or guided by successful entrepreneurs. They know how hard it is to get market traction, find money, and build products. They also know that bureaucracy can just as easily kill a company as help it. That's why it seems counterintuitive to take a successful agency and, basically, neuter it.

Is this a best-practice decision? I doubt it but I'd like to know what prompted the BC government to make it. Does anyone know?

Apple opened its new store at the southern edge of Central Park last Friday. Why is this important to Gagglescape readers? The store epitomizes Apple's (read Job's) commitment to quality design at all points where people interact with the Apple brand. Toronto's Dean of the Rotman School of Business, Roger Martin, says design and design algorithms are a key success factor for North American based businesses. Why? When knowledge is a commodity -- manufacturing and software development knowledge, for example -- the only way to differentiate your product and add value is through design.

That's why Steve Jobs has been so successful over his career. He has believed in a cause greater than the wavering amplitudes of quarterly profits. And it shows.

My advice for companies who want to know how design might fit into their future. First, call me. I can help. Second, take a trip to New York's Apple store. It will change the way you look at things. Think Different.

Malgosia Green and I spoke yesterday about Nuvvo, the online learning company she founded with her husband, John. Their service provides alternative ways to deliver learning material and courses using the Internet. Nuvvo is described as one of the top ten Web 2.0 companies around - anywhere.

Education pundits have been saying for years that the Net would make Colleges and Universities obsolete. Now we are beginning to see how. The BBC reports:

Dr Bill Ashraf, a senior lecturer in microbiology at Bradford University, says the move will free up time for more small group teaching.

He told The Times Higher Education Supplement that first year biochemistry students would watch or listen to virtual lectures in their own time.

Students will access the podcasts via their MP3 player, phone or computer. . . .

Dr Ashraf said the move would better suit the needs of distance learners, part-time students and those balancing studies with family and work.

In addition, Dr. Paul Kedrosky blogs about the recent report by the National Bureau of Economic Research:

We study the location-specific component in research productivity of economics and finance faculty who have ever been affiliated with the top 25 universities in the last three decades. We find that there was a positive effect of being affiliated with an elite university in the 1970s; this effect weakened in the 1980s and disappeared in the 1990s. We decompose this university fixed effect and find that its decline is due to the reduced importance of physical access to productive research colleagues. We also find that salaries increased the most where the estimated externality dropped the most, consistent with the hypothesis that the de-localization of this externality makes it more difficult for universities to appropriate any rent. Our results shed some light on the potential effects of the (...read more...)

I operate about five blogs with plans to expand to fifty or so in the next year. I also write a column in the National Post. Ironically, it is only the latter that seems to qualify me as being a journalist - until last week that is. The California Supreme Court ruled against Apple in its claim that bloggers do not have the same rights to protect their sources as traditional journalists do.

Blogs are changing the way we acquire information. Like all new mediums it will generate its rules and standards with time and use. Rulings like this are an inevitable part of blogs becoming part of the mainstream.

AceTech Symposium in Ontario, June 7 – 9 at the Deerhurst Resort, Muskoka
By CEOs exclusively for CEOs of technology companies

AceTech's brings CEOs of technology companies together to give them access to the support, knowledge and understanding of their peers. A CEO must periodically connect with peers to share experiences and open up to new ideas to become a more effective leader.

This is an opportunity to learn from your peers. At AceTech, there are high profile CEOs and industry leaders who can help you take your company to the next level.This year there are CEOs like Frank Clegg, past President of Microsoft Canada and David Yoffie, Director of Intel and a Professor at Harvard Business School.

See Who’s Coming: http://www.acetech.org/acetechhomepage.asp?action=category&id=119

Program-at-glance: http://www.acetech.org/acetechhomepage.asp?action=category&id=117

Register now: http://www.acetech.org/acetechhomepage.asp?action=category&id=65

[email this story] Posted by the editor on 05/26

Our friends at Creative Generalist uncovered a good story about the alternative to paying $150,000 for an MBA. Just for the record, I'm glad I went to school for mine. The energy of the class and the team dynamics resulted in a broad and deep educational experience. But, if you don't have the money, there are alternatives.

"You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library."
- Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon), Good Will Hunting

Josh Kaufman launched his Personal MBA site as a resource for anyone who wants to know more about business theory. The Personal MBA references 42 business books.

At the core of the PMBA is a list of 42 books and periodicals. By investing time and effort in using these resources, you will progressively develop a greater understanding of business and increase your effectiveness at work. Even if you only read a few, you’ll get a substantial return on your investment.

There is even a PDF available of the book list.