A TiEQuest Finalist shares his experience and advice for future participants

The following is an interview conducted with Doron Barbalat, who was a finalist with Clear Path Robotics for the 2011 TiEQuest Competition. Doron was kind enough to share his experiences as he went through the competition and offered some insight for future participants and aspiring entrepreneurs.

How was your experience at TiEQuest? 
The experience was challenging but very, very rewarding. If you put a lot into TiEQuest, there is tons that you can get back out of it.

How would you say TiEQuest is different from other competitions?
TieQuest differs because of the length and involvement. Whereas many other competitions are quick, over a day or weekend, TiEQuest is a multi-stage process over many months, and includes time with mentors and a ton of feedback to help perfect your pitches and plans.

What do you think aspiring/current entrepreneurs stand to gain from this?
The entire process will expose you to mentors, expert judges and major challenges. It all helps you become confident in your abilities as an entrepreneur, gain real advice and experience, and improve your business plan. There is also an opportunity to earn real investment in your business.

What were you expecting of the competition? 
I was expecting an opportunity to test and prove our business plan, but the amount of feedback and mentorship involved was a positive surprise.

What really surprised you about the competition?
I was surprised by the size. TiEQuest attracts a ton of very interesting start-ups from many stages and a variety of entrepreneurs.

Any advice for upcoming participants?
My main advice would be to look at TiEQuest as a learning opportunity. There are considerable rewards in the finals stage, but all participants can take away the reward of being exposed to great mentors and judges.

TiEQuest 2012 winner – Simple Systems

Toronto, April 19, 2012 - At a glittering awards gala, on April 18, 2012, at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, TiEQuest announced Simple Systems Inc. as the winner of TiEQuest 2012.

The awards gala was attended by over 200 guests and many dignitaries from the Ontario and Federal governments, including Senator Asha Seth (Ontario) and Sam Boonstra (MEDI). The keynote speaker for the gala was Navneet Chugh, Managing Partner and Founder, The Chugh Firm.

Simple Systems Inc. is a privately held, early stage medical technology company located in Mississauga, Ontario. Simple Systems will commercialize RECLAIM, a new class of functional electrical stimulation therapy that promotes the restoration of voluntary movements such as reaching, grasping and walking in individuals paralyzed by stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI) or traumatic brain injury. The efficacy RECLAIM is supported by randomized controlled studies in both stroke and SCI patients. RECLAIM is the first therapy to promote significant increases in self-care independence in severe stroke and SCI individuals, thereby reducing the need for assistive care and reducing long term care costs. Simple Systems anticipates launching the RECLAIM treatment in Canada during Year 2 and expects to generate over $40 million in sales and achieve cash flow positive during the 3rd year of operation.

In addition to being declared the winner of TiEQuest 2012, Simple Systems was also awarded the Best Intellectual Property Award for this year.

The second place winner iGuiders Inc. was also the winner of TiEQuest Ohio 2012. iGuiders® has built a Web and mobile guided selling platform that expedites online and offline purchases by providing robust decision support on products & services. Trends show that hundreds of Billions of dollars are being lost online because searching online is such an independent experience yet people still need expertise in the purchasing process to make decisions. iGuiders” platform transfers the success of an in-store purchase of working with an expert into the online world which solves this multi-billion dollar challenge. The platform is so robust that Guiders can be automatically generated and optimized for clients, resulting in profitable recurring revenue opportunities.

The third place winner was OtoSim Inc., The OtoSim™ Otoscopy Training & Simulation System is a medical simulation platform developed out of the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), the University of Toronto Medical School, andMaRS Innovation for the purpose of effecting positive societal benefits through improved medical education.

We are also pleased to award the New Entrepreneur Award to Chematria Inc., a student team from the University of Toronto. Chematria makes software that helps pharmaceutical companies tell what molecules can become medicines. With Chematria”s molecular docking simulations, pharmaceutical researchers can confidently predict potent molecules for novel biological targets thereby enabling faster drug development, all for a fraction of the price and delay of wetlab experiments.

The other finalist in TiEQuest 2012 was uFluidix Inc., who have developed a disruptive technology (US patent pending) for scalable manufacturing of high-quality yet low-cost lab-on-a-chip platforms.

This year, TiEQuest awarded a new prize category, TiE Institute Participant, to Komodo OpenLab Inc., the team from the TiE Institute”s educational program who fared best in the competition.

TiEQuest 2012 is also proud to acknowledge the very generous support of our local angel investors, venture capitalists, fund managers and other business leadersin the corporate as well as government sectors in Canada for providing not only cash sponsorship but various In-Kind prizes, valued at over $100,000, and Expressions of Interests sponsorships, over $500,000, to all of our 5 finalists this year. We wish to thank them for their continued support of TiEQuest through all these years.

TiEQuest 2012 attracted a total of 155 eligible entries from over 225 entrepreneurs. More and more entrepreneurs were applying to TiEQuest as students comprises of about a quarter of contestants. ICT was once again the most popular industry category with 40% of entries, followed by healthcare with 21%, lifestyle 7%, clean tech 6% and others 26%. The contestants applied from 51 municipalities from Canada and US.

Deadline for TiEQuest 2013 is January 31, 2013 and registration will begin mid-November 2012.

Left to Right: Neena Gupta (TiE Toronto Board Member), Navneet Chugh (TiE Global Board Member), Senator Dr. Asha Seth (Ontario), Dr. Armen Baronian (Simple Systems), Diana Pliura (Simple Systems), Suresh Madan (President, TiE Toronto) and Haroon Mirza (Chair, TiEQuest 2012)

TiEQuest 2011 winner Rna Diagnostics receives investment from 4 angel groups!

Four Angel Group Close Syndicated Life Science Investment with Rna Diagnostics Inc., TiEQuest 2011 winner.

Toronto, Ontario, CANADA, March 14, 2012

York Angel Investors (YAI), announced today that an investment syndicate comprised of members of York Angels , the Golden Triangle Angle Network (GTAN), the Georgian Angel Network (GAN), and the Niagara Angel Network (NAN), has closed an investment in the amount of $ CDN 925,000 in Rna Diagnostics Inc. of Toronto Ontario.
“The investment in Rna Diagnostics is particularly significant, as the raise represents the collaborative efforts of members of four angel groups from across the province of Ontario,” said Rob Douglas, President of GTAN.

“We are pleased that we were contacted by Rna Diagnostics so early in their investment search and as such, we are today, very pleased to be involved with this very exciting and promising company. We would also like to thank Marc Castel of GTAN for his work in coordinating the investment process across the participating angel groups.” said Scott MacCannell, President of York Angel Investors Inc.

“We are delighted with the investment by the accredited Ontario Angel Investment Groups,” said Dr. Ken Pritzker, President and CEO of Rna Diagnostics Inc. “This funding will support the ongoing development of RDA a groundbreaking diagnostic test that will improve patient outcomes and reduce breast cancer treatment costs.”

About Rna Diagnostics: Rna Diagnostics Inc. (www.rnadiagnostics.com) is a molecular diagnostics company developing diagnostic tools to assist in the management of cancer chemotherapy. The company’s first product, RNA Disruption Assay™ (RDA™), is a novel test that helps oncologists to rapidly assess the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy. RDA™ can determine whether chemotherapy is working effectively in the individual patient early in treatment thereby guiding clinical decision making.

Profound Medical, TiEQuest2010 finalist gets $9.63million financing deal!

In a statement on May 31, 2011, the Business Development Bank (BDC) announced a financing deal for Profound Medical, a TiEQuest2010 finalist, worth $9.63 million.

 

Profound Medical Inc. is a Canada based medical device company developing an MRI-guided trans-urethral procedure for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The syndicate of investors includes BDC, Genesys Capital Partners and The Health Technology Exchange (HTX).

 

The funds will help Profound Medical to being the next phase of clinical trials on human prostate cancer in the US, Canada and Europe. It will also allow the company to appoint 15 new employees and support multi-site human safety/feasibility clinical trials and regulatory approval initiatives.

 

TiE Toronto wishes to congratulate its TiEQuest2010 alumni, Profound Medical,  for this wonderful achievement and a significant milestone in their venture going forward.

TiEQuest 2011 has a winner…..

….Rna Diagnostics Inc. has been chosen as the TiEQuest 2011 winner! Congratulations to the entire team!

Closely behind was NIMTech (second place winner) and Clearpath Robotics was chosen as the New Entrepreneur winner.

In addition to those awards, Rna Diagnostics also picked up the Best Healthcare Industry Award and was the co-winner of the Best Intellectual Property award.

NIMTech also won the Best Clean Tech award for this year along with the Best Intellectual Property Award as a joint winner with Rna Diagnostics.

In addition to these prizes, every finalist in TiEQuest 2011 (Avenir Medical, Clearpath Robotics, iRxReminder, NIMTech, Rna Diagnostic and Simpleafy) received significant In-Kind prizes and Expressions of Interests from firms such as MaRS, Best Funds, Growthworks, Fairhaven Capital, Maple Leaf Angels, McMaster University, Tabrizi Law Office, Fasken Martineau LLP, PwC, Gowlings LLP, etc.

View photos from the gala here

TiEQuest 2011 finalists chosen!

TiEQuest 2011 now has 6 finalists!

After nearly 8 weeks and 3 rounds of competition, TiEQuest 2011, on March 26, chose its 6 finalists. These finalists cover a variety of sectors and experiences. From Toronto, we have 5 teams – NIMTech, RNA Diagnostics, Simpleafy, Avenir Medical and Clear Path Robotics. This year, we also have a team from Cleveland, Ohio – iRxReminder, as TiEQuest 2011 is now global.

Final presentations by the 6 teams to judges will be held on April 6, 2011.The winner of TiEQuest 2011 will be announced at the TiEQuest Gala dinner and award ceremony,  to be on April 18, 2011.

TiEQuest2011 Business Plan stage

We would like to congratulate the 16 teams who moved from the Elevator Pitch stage to the Business Plan stage.

The elevator pitch round was held on March 5, 2011 and we had 31 teams participate. The pitches were mostly done in person with a few teams sending online video pitches of their projects. The judges found most pitches enjoyable, informative and of a high caliber. There was a very active discussion on the selection of teams to send onto the next round of the competition. Ultimately 16 teams made it through!

The next round is the Business Plan round, where the contestants have to provide detailed business plans of their ventures for the judges to evaluate. The teams will then meet face-to-face with judges, many of whom are investors and VCs, to discuss and defend their proposed business plans. Judges will then choose teams who will be sent onto the global team of finalists.

Contestants should submit all business plans online by March 15, 2011 and then meet with the judges on March 26, 2011. The global finals will then be held in Toronto on April 6, 2011. Final winners will only be revealed at the TiEQuest gala dinner on April 14, 2011 in Toronto.

TiEQuest 2011 update

TiEQuest 2011 received a total of 98 and eligible entries from over 200 entrepreneurs. More and more entrepreneurs are applying to TiEQuest as students comprises of about a quarter of contestants. ICT is once again the most popular industry category with 39% of entries, followed by healthcare with 15%, lifestyle 18%, clean tech 8%, lifestyle 9%, and others 23%. The contestants are coming from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Florida, Kentucky and California. Over the next ten weeks, these entrepreneurs will be pitching to a panel of judges comprised of angle investors, venture capitalists, fund managers and other businessleaders.

In the first round of competition held on February 7, 2011, judges evaluated the contestants initial business proposals and due to a high caliber of contestants and enhanced judging criteria a deep cut was made. Contestants were narrowed from 98 teams to 31 teams.

We have just completed the 2nd round of judging on March 5, 2011, whereby contestants were asked to provide a 4min elevator pitch either in person or through an online submission. Many contestants showed up in person to pitch their concept to the judges and we have now reduced the field from 31 teams to 16 teams.

In the next round coming up on March 26, 2011 remaining contestants will have to present a detailed business plan which will be reviewed by judges.

For regular updates please follow us on Twitter (@TiEQuestBVCs)

TiEQuest 2011 registration is now closed

Last Date of Entry was January 31, 2011

TiEQuest is an annual business venture competition held in Toronto to encourage entrepreneurship, engage emerging entrepreneurial talent and to foster the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Founded in 2005, the mission of TiEQuest is to connect entrepreneurs with angel investors, venture capitalists and fund managers.

TiEQuest attracts over 200 entrepreneurs every year. The contestants include existing and emerging entrepreneurs, patent holders and/or applicants, university students and alumni across North America. TiEQuest offers over $150,000 in prizes to the winners. To encourage participation of youth, TiEQuest offers the New Entrepreneur Prize to the best student team. In addition the top teams also have an opportunity to win up to $1,000,000 investment from sponsors.

TiEQuest has over 25 success stories, where the contestants were able to take their business idea to successful enterprises, which have obtained financing, signed partnerships, acquired customers and generated revenues. The contestants see value in participating in the competition as it offers networking opportunities with leading entrepreneurs and investors, recognition with investment, legal and accounting firms, opportunity to practice the process of pitching their venture to investors, and opportunity to turn an innovative idea into a real businesses.

TiEQuest is different from other business plan competitions as it offers mentoring to the contestants. We connect contestants with industry experts, successful entrepreneurs and professional advisors. As mentors, TiE charter members introduce contacts and insights on where to go. TiEQuest enhances the opportunity for obtaining financing. We have 30+ venture capitalists, angel investors, fund managers and other business leaders acts as judges. The participants get an opportunity to present to the investors. In addition, the sponsoring funds offer expression of interest to the top teams. The competition is designed to go through multiple stages to help polish business idea and promote networking opportunities. The judging criteria include value proposition, marketability, viability, management strengths and investibility.

TiEQuest is organized by TiE Toronto, a chapter of global, not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship. TiE provides a platform for mentoring, networking and education. TiE’s mission is to foster and advance entrepreneurship across the globe. Its principle objective is to provide a platform on which people with entrepreneurial spirit and those interested in economic value creation can come together to share ideas. TiE endeavors to cultivate and nurture the ecosystems of entrepreneurship as it sees this to be the single most powerful instrument of prosperity.

TiE was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region. There are currently more than 16,000 members and over 2,500 charter members in 53 chapters across the globe. TiE charter members comprise of leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, fund managers, CXOs and professionals advisors. TiE regular members are aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community, TiE’s focus is on generating and nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs.

TiEQuest 2011 is now closed. Visit http://www.tiequest.org for details.

Follow us on Twitter for regular updates (@TiEQuestBVCs)

TiE Entrepreneur Forum on January 13th, 2010

For folks in the entrepreneurship space, or those wanting to listen to and learn from seasoned entrepreneurs, TiE Toronto hosts a monthly  Entrepreneur Forum featuring accomplished entrepreneurs from a wide range of industries. During last month’s event, TiE Toronto invited Sunny Kumar, Investment Manager with the Ontario Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) and Kamal Hassan, CEO of Skymeter Corporation talk about investment opportunities in today’s economic climate.

This month’s event is aptly titled “A Journey from Inception to Acquisition by a Mega Corporation” with Morris Klid and Vince Saroli talking about founding and growing the Cyberbahn Group of Companies to its eventual acquisition by Thomson Reuters.

The event will be held on Jan 13th, 2010 from 6-9 pm at the RBC Conference Centre (315 Front Street West) located in downtown Toronto. To find out more details and register for the event, please click here.