Reflections from the Finalists of Jump:Start

The “Top Five” were named earlier this month, and are all competing for $15,000 worth of prizes: the winner will receive $10,000 in awards and office space for one year at Accelerate Okanagan’s Kelowna or Penticton innovation centres; while the second and third place winners will receive $2,500 in awards.

All winners will be provided with one full year of Accelerate Okanagan’s flagship Venture Acceleration Program.

Our colleagues at BCIC caught up with the finalists before their big pitches to ask them how the Challenge has benefited them. Here is a sample of what they had to say…

What was the most valuable aspect of the Jump:Start Challenge?

We quickly learned that in order to compete we had to answer a number of hard questions – questions that we had hoped would just answer themselves. Who will buy us? For how much? Why? Each question would lead to a group of assumptions that required us to refocus and answer before continuing. This process proved invaluable for us.  Not only did Jump:Start accelerate our strategy development, but thanks to the mentors, our confidence in our strategy has risen greatly. It also gave us the opportunity to test our ideas against those that have actually lived what we are trying to do.
- StreetText

Rob Bartlett of WTFast presents to investors in Kelowna, Nov. 16, 2011 as part of the Jump:Start Challenge finals

The most important aspect of the Jump:Start Challenge was getting a very thorough understanding of what investors are looking for.  The planning and preparation required to attract investors is the same planning and preparation each entrepreneur should complete to validate their business opportunity.
- WTFast

Jump:Start has truly “jump started” our business. We were given the opportunity to learn from some of the best people, especially through the workshops and seminars. We are thinking much bigger than we were at the beginning and looking forward to much success.
- AWEsome Numbers

What are you most looking forward to in your pitch? What are you hoping to walk away with?

Our company is looking forward to connecting with strategic individuals that may be able to open some doors for us to connect with distributors, as well as funding to support our growth.
- StreetText

We are looking for investors to understand and see value in the HuStream business opportunity, regardless of their technical knowledge or understanding of the video space.  We also plan on closing a round of funding.
- HuStream

We are looking forward to inspiring others to be a part of our exciting business opportunity. We hope we will walk away from this with a stronger network of advisors and investment funds for marketing, customer acquisitions and technical development.
- Ducharme Service Management System

Would you recommend the Jump:Start Challenge to others? Why?

I would recommend the program to any entrepreneur who has never successfully pitched and closed a significant amount of money with angel investors before.  If you’ve watched the Dragon’s Den, that’s not enough, it’s just for entertainment.  The Jump:Start Challenge program will help to get your business investor-ready.
- WTFast

We have found that there is no better way to clarify your business model than to have to fit it into a ten minute presentation.  Also, going through the process with other entrepreneurs was a lot of fun.
- AWEsome Numbers

Absolutely. The main value was the 1:1 coaching. The mentors and companies got to know each other, and grow together by gaining a deeper understanding of each other. Trust and respect was fostered during the process and we saw that this approach gave us solid results.
- HuStream

The winners of the Challenge will be announced live before the local media on Monday, November 21^st in Kelowna.  Good luck to all!

The Jump:Start Challenge initiative has been made possible through the generous support of Accelerate Okanagan’s Core Funding Partners: The Government of Canada through Western Economic Diversification Canada and The Province of BC through BCIC, and our private sector Partners: KPMG, Grant Thornton, Pushor Mitchell, Whiteboard Law, and Alma Consulting Group.