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TEC VenturePrize 2008
Like last year, I was once again lucky enough to attend the VenturePrize Awards Luncheon today with Dickson, and Chris, Don and their team from ProTraining. I hadn’t paid the competition much attention this year until recently, but it was good to see some familiar faces and meet new ones at today’s event. I’m also really happy it was once again in Hall D, easily one of our city’s nicest venues.
The grand prize winner for 2008 was DataGardens, a company that hopes to help companies manage their IT infrastructure more effectively. At first glance, they strike me as somewhat similar to one of last year’s finalists, Nirix. I wrote a bit more about the event (and the new TEC VenturePrize branding) at Techvibes, so check that out if you’re interested.
The event was once again hosted by Citytv’s Paul Mennier, and he did a great job. The guest speaker was Jim Carroll, a futurist and trends & innovation expert. He’s a great speaker and kept my attention throughout his presentation, but I have to say I didn’t enjoy him as much as Leonard Brody last year. Jim also got a few things wrong – he described Guitar Hero as a Nintendo innovation, and he claimed that we’re insulated from the rising energy prices here in Alberta. The latter remark was made off-the-cuff (“Hey, I’m in Alberta, let’s make it relevant”), and I think he probably feels pretty embarrassed about it now.
Lunch was similar to last year, though I don’t think I enjoyed it as much this time around. We started with Romaine Lettuce and Spinach Leaves with Grapefruit Dressing. The main course was Seared Thai Chicken Breast served with Tomato-Chili Jam, Coconut Rice, and Seasonal Vegetables. Dessert was Lime Meringue Pie with Fresh Berries and Raspberry Coulis.
The competitor videos this year all rocked, in my opinion, so kudos to whichever company helped to put those together. The music they played as the winners were announced was just a bit odd, though. Something to improve upon for next year!
Thanks again Chris & Don!
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Tags: business, edmonton, entrepreneurship, events, protraining, startups, tec edmonton, ventureprize
Categories: Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
April 30th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
[...] a few photos too, which you can see here. Curious about what was on the menu? Feel free to read this post on my blog. Related PostsTEC Centre officially opens in [...]
April 30th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
[...] DataGardens wins the 2008 TEC VenturePrize The annual VenturePrize Awards Luncheon held earlier today was a mix of old and new. Returning to Hall D at the Shaw Conference Centre in downtown Edmonton, the ceremony recognized a number of Alberta’s best entrepreneurs and also served as an informal launch event for a new name and branding for the competition. Now called TEC VenturePrize, the business plan competition was formed in 2002 by Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) and is run by TEC Edmonton, itself a partnership between EEDC and the University of Alberta. The new name features TEC Edmonton more prominently, and the updated logo is fresh and modern looking. Today’s event was the first time the new branding has been prominently displayed, and I expect the website and other materials will be updated in the weeks to come. “Providing entrepreneurs with the tools they need to succeed is the driving force behind TEC VenturePrize,” said David Cox, CEO of TEC Edmonton. “Awarding entrepreneurs that pursue their passion, developing fast growth business opportunities, is what it’s all about.” TEC VenturePrize consists of two parts: the Fast Growth Award, and the Student Business Plan Competition. The finalists in this year’s student competition included IdleTime, MountainFlix, and BlackFire Technologies. James Matsuba’s IdleTime, an electronic marketplace to connect employers and temporary workers, took home the prize of $6000 in cash, while each of the runners up received $2000. The finalists in the Fast Growth category included DataGardens, Simple Solar, and Tagle. The judges decided to award first place to DataGardens, giving Geoff Hayward and his team $90,000 in cash and prizes. The runners up each take home $38,000 in prizes. DataGardens has created technology that essentially creates a virtual data centre. Their solution is described as an evolution in how companies manage their IT infrastructure. Usually, companies have two choices: they can either centralize everything in a main office, or they can spread their IT throughout branch offices. DataGardens hopes to provide their customers the best of both worlds. For more information on the competition and the participants (including contact information), see this TEC Edmonton news release. I took a few photos too, which you can see here. Curious about what was on the menu? Feel free to read this post on my blog. [...]
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:23 am
Caught your post through Technorati.
Fair enough on the Wii comment. My 13 year and 15 year old have also vigorously reframed my understanding. I missed the video game revolution by about 5 years — I’m 49 — but also started out with a TRS-80 Model III in 1982, so I have been immersed in tech for along time. My key point remains — Nintendo seems to have huge market momentum, and much of what I see relates to extending spatial gaming to the boomer crowd. That, to me, is market transformation. (Well, ignoring GTA IV)
RE a toss away comment to Alberta. The comment wasn’t that you were isolated from rising energy. Of course you are paying the same price. My comment is that I’m out there traveling to a lot of places hard hit by the US recession — I just did a keynote recently in Virginia –and there’s a big difference in talking with an audience that is in the thick of an oil-boom and another that’s been hit by the housing/subprime downturn, and who are losing jobs/homes as a result. Alberta’s mostly a happy place right now, but there are a lot of places in North America that aren’t in the same contented space. Alberta is quite isolated from the economic downturn that is well underway elsewhere. That was the intent of my remark
Enjoyed your post!
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Jim, thanks so much for clarifying your Alberta comment, that makes sense.
The real interesting thing about Nintendo is the new interface, that is used for all the Wii games. Making video games a phsyical experience is their key advantage and innovation.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I’m 8 months too late on this one but what was the Simple Solar innovation? Don’t solar hot water heaters already exist?