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.

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

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.

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.

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 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 www.tiequest.org for details.

Follow us on Twitter for regular updates (@TiEQuestBVCs)

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.

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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 2010 is now accepting applications, and the deadline to submit is January 31, 2010. Visit www.tiequest.org for details.
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