Ontario Entrepreneurs Get a Boost With N100 Competition’s $100,000 Prize

By: Talha Bhatti  |   March 15th, 2013   |   Business, News, O Canada

Toronto may be a regional hub for entrepreneurs but Eastern Ontario is looking to give the city a run for its money by promoting local business. A new competition has been launched by the The Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) named the N100. The contest is now underway and will accept applicants all the way up t0 March 31. The winner gets a tidy sum of $100,000 to use as private equity. The winner will also get a chance to meet and pick the brains of the leading businessmen in Ontario. John Hayden, the Manager of Enterprise Programs for CFDC states that, “Our assumption is that innovation can happen anywhere and not just in the established centres of innovation.”

The N100 will have to go through three rounds starting with their pitch. A hard core boot camp will take place in the spring and summer of 2013 for contestants that make it to the second round. This will help the entrepreneurs change their ideas into businesses that can receive investment. The winning startup will get a chance to talk to investors to get funding for their idea.

Northumberland’s regional innovation centre, Spark Centre, will be providing mentorship opportunities to the N100 participants. Their will also be a Power Panel that comprises of six professionals that will stay in touch with the entrepreneurs to keep them motivated and inspired. One member of the panel will be Shirley Speakman, Director of Investments at the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund. She is well known for her expertise in the fields of technology and entrepreneurial finance.

Hayden wants the N100 to create opportunities for collaboration between the professionals and entrepreneurs. The dialogue that takes place will help refine ideas and polish them before they are presented to investors. The help of business insiders can drastically change ideas and make them more viable.

N100 is helping Eastern Ontario and also helping create opportunities in smaller communities.Most of these locations are not like the major centers found across the country but still possess a lot of talent and potential. Hayden says, “We know that there are capable, technically knowledgable people out there that don’t necessarily want to live downtown or in the suburbs.”

He adds that, “By launching new initiatives and broadcasting opportunities like N100 and Scientists and Engineers in Business we are confirming that these people are out there. They might be a smaller segment of the population but they exist. Maybe they enjoy cycling to work, an unhurried commute, hiking in the rolling hills, eating locally produced food, benefiting from community engagement, or living in the community where they grew up.”

For the time being the main goal for N100 is to make a viable startup ecosystem and improve the “Silicon Valley of Eastern Ontario.” Hayden claims that, “There is a terrain of incredible investment opportunities East of the city – gaming startups, hackers, digital entrepreneurs, advanced manufacturers, cleantech, health informatics and beyond. N100 is part of telling that story.”

Source: TechVibes