Details include:

Panel speakers:

• Harry Ethans, Matlock Enterprises, Inc.
• Robert Lajoie, Business Development Bank of Canada
• Adam Munia, Manitoba Commercialization Support for Business Program
• Joe Cattani, National Research Council – Industrial Research Assistance Program
• Joelle Foster, Canadian Youth Business Foundation
• Moderated by Keith MacLaren, Deloitte

Please RSVP to Wanda at 262-6400 or info@eurekaproject.ca to RSVP by June 4, 2012.

Gary Brownstone, President and CEO of The Eureka Project, Western Canada’s premier technology business incubator in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was interviewed by a local radio station this morning to give his comments on aspects of the 2012 Provincial Budget, released yesterday. Listen to Gary’s interview with Richard Cloutier on CJOB here: CJOBAMaudioVault.asp(1). Please fast forward to the 15 minute mark if you want to hear just Gary’s comments. It is about a ten minute segment of the show.

At The Eureka Project, we were overjoyed to hear that the new 2012 Federal Budget brought good news for all Canadian entrepreneurs, especially in the area of venture capital. The government dedicated $500 million to encourage venture capital investment by the private sector. Next, they committed $205 million for an extension to a temporary hiring credit for small businesses. Anyone hiring this year will continue to get the break, which can help all of those bootstrapping businesses out there leverage a few more dollars. Along with some changes to NRC-IRAP, Western Diversification, and the BDC, this year’s budget contained exciting prospects for Canadian entrepreneurs and those located in the incubator.

Entrepreneurial traits have long been analyzed by professionals and business schools to determine which ones allow people to have the greatest chance of success in the very high-risk area such as entrepreneurship. It would be very difficult to create one list to encompass all entrepreneurs, especially as many do not come from a management background and sometimes have no formal education at all. However, there are definitely desirable personality traits and characteristics that will amplify that person’s chances of succeeding in their new venture.

Gary Brownstone, President and CEO of The Eureka Project, weighs in:

“To me, entrepreneurship is best defined as finding ways to overcome obstacles to achieve end goals, especially when those solutions are not obvious.  To do this successfully, an entrepreneur requires determination, resiliency, and an ability to approach problem solving using unique approaches.  An appetite for risk-taking, a stubborn personality and a thick skin are also important characteristics, especially when the naysayers start saying “it can’t be done”.”

When you take a look at the owners of the businesses we work with in The Eureka Project incubator, they all come from very diverse backgrounds. Some are scientists with PhDs, some programmers or designers, some left the corporate life to chase their own goals, while others are fresh out of university, and it’s very interesting to see their different approaches to the shared goal of making each of their businesses a success. If you’re curious about whether your personality traits are similar to other entrepreneurs, check out the quiz from the Canadian Business Development Bank here.

To learn more about the services at The Eureka Project incubator, please click here or contact us at info@eurekaproject.ca.

San Francisco, CA

Khal Shariff has led his team to victory yet again this year, winning the prestigious “Badges for Lifelong Learning Competition” at the DML MacArthur competition in San Francisco, CA this week. 

The Eureka Project client, Project Whitecard, has had an amazing year for awards. The latest comes from a Mozilla and HASTAC sponsored competition in the USA. The competition was held at the DML MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Conference where the attendees create digital badge systems and explore the ways badges can be used to help people learn as well as demonstrate skills and knowledge. Project Whitecard worked with their partner, NASA, to pull out the win along with 30 others  from a pool of 91 competitors.

About the winning collaboration:

The Robotics and Stem Badges Using NASA Content Group will use content from NASA, pedagogical expertise of Center for Educational Technologies, and technical & design prowess of Project Whitecard to provide STEM learning opportunities, spread awareness of STEM disciplines, and enable the expansion of new content through the creation of a unique collection of digital badges for learners of all ages.

To see the full press release, click here.

The magazine was highlighting business incubators in Winnipeg, and how the city is a smart choice for those looking to make waves in the Bio Tech industry. The Eureka Project technology business incubator was showcased for the work they’ve done with E-Mission Free and other amazing tech clients, in supporting their commercialization goals through management expertise. For the full article, click here.

DiaMedia Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovery and development of novel therapeutic compounds for diabetes and other major, medically-unmet diseases. DiaMedica’s lead compound, DM-199, is a recombinant human protein that represents a novel approach to treating Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. In a Type 1 diabetes model, DM-199 halted the autoimmune attack on beta cells by stimulating regulatory T-cells, and resulted in a 12-fold increase in C-peptide levels. In Type 2 diabetes models, DM-199 treatment stimulated proliferation of insulin producing beta cells and significant improvement in glucose control. While the company has space at The Eureka Project, they conduct their research off-site.

About BIO CEO & Investor Conference

The BIO CEO & Investor Conference is the largest independent investor conference focused on publicly-traded biotechnology companies. The conference provides a forum where institutional investors, industry analysts, and senior biotechnology executives have the opportunity to shape the future investment landscape of the biotechnology industry through issue-oriented plenary sessions, educational sessions focused on hot therapeutic areas and key business issues, company presentations, and one-on-one meetings.

To see the full press release, click here.

At The Eureka Project we constantly see companies struggle with the challenge of increasing sales with limited resources. That’s why we’ve created a service to allow those businesses to support the sales team they already have, but leveraging them so that they can focus on their core strength: closing deals. We’ll supply the pre-qualified leads, set up meetings and demos and allow the business to increase their success in a much more efficient and cost-effective manner.

To learn more about this service, please contact us at 204-262-6400 or info@eurekaproject.ca.

YOMM Beverages, a client of The Eureka Project, has been featured in The Winnipeg Free Press for their innovative products and African connection. The newspaper had a special edition focus today where they showcased the growing African community in Winnipeg- including their feature on YOMM. The hibiscus drink company has used their connections to foster relationships with their hibiscus suppliers in Nigeria, and support both the community there and the Manitoban community through their company’s introduction of hibiscus teas to the Manitoban market.

YOMM Beverages has produced a number of varieties in flavour and type of their hibiscus teas, all of which can be found on their website here.  To check out the full Winnipeg Free Press article, click here.

If you are interested in trying out the hot and cold hibiscus teas that YOMM offers, they are available in a number of stores. The company’s products are being introduced rapidly to the Winnipeg area through these retail stores: