Four tech startups and two researchers were awarded $391,000 by the New Ventures BC (NVBC) competition and the BC Innovation Council (BCIC) on Thursday night in Vancouver.
NVBC, which was founded in 2000 by Simon Fraser University’s school of business, takes place over four increasingly complex and competitive rounds with more than 100 applicants each year.
Competing startups are eliminated after each round until only 10 remain in play to win in excess of $300,000 in various prizes. The competition seeks to recognize and encourage entrepreneurship in B.C.’s technology sector.
This year’s winners are:
Competing startups participated in seminars and workshops and were grilled about their business model throughout the competition. They were also paired with mentors.
More than 100 B.C. business leaders, including entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, academics and professionals, donated their time and expertise as mentors and judges. The non-profit BC Ventures Society operates the competition with support from the public and private sectors.
BCIC also handed out three other awards during the evening.
Rhonda Wideman of the University of British Columbia’s Prevention of Organ Failure Centre of Excellence (PROOF), received the $35,000 Ripples of Hope Award for Biotechnology & Entrepreneurship. She is collaborating with PROOF to discover, develop and commercialize biomarkers for chronic kidney disease.
DuVax and its founders Barry Duplantis and Neil Duplantis received BCIC’s $25,000 Emerging Technology Award. DuVax is developing a synthetic biology technology for use in bacterial reagents and vaccines.
Bozena Kaminska, a professor at SFU and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in wireless sensor networks, received the $25,000 Entrepreneurship Fellow Award. The electrical engineer has founded several successful companies and holds a number of patents.