Start Me Up

As a Canadian digital media researcher and blogger, I've been keen to focus on what is happening here in Canada. I've kept track of Canadian innovations and digital media companies via this blog.

 Backbone Magazine, the website that picks up this blog, is currently running a contest to foster new Canadian technical innovation through their and Alpha Group's Start Me Up Campaign.

It is great to see Canadians supporting home-grown innovation, so I'm happy to share the contest details (excerpted from Backbone's website).

***************

The Alpha Exchange Innovation Campaign is about finding inspired Canadian technology ideas, and helping entrepreneurs bring those ideas to the marketplace. The product or service can focus on any sector and use any type of technology.

Qualified entrants are early-stage companies, with revenue of no more than $2 million annually. Successful entrants will have a ready-to-sell product or service and a complete business plan and market analysis. Any business or technology sector is relevant.

The winner will receive:

• $20,000 in cash
• $65,000 in related products and/or service
• one year of mentoring and business assistance from a team of Canadian business and technology experts
• one year of on-going coverage in Backbone magazine and online

The runner-up will receive: 

•  $5,000 in cash $
• 10,000 in related products and/or services

The top 200 applicants will also receive invitations to the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT), Oct. 22 to 24 in Montreal.

Deadlines

• The deadline for entries is 11:59 PM Eastern on March 31, 2012. 
• A live judging event will be held in Toronto on May 16, 2012

Backbone will create an online “Innovation Campaign Portal” in addition to the publication, where readers can monitor the winner’s advancements, successes, resources and challenges in weekly blog posts, tweets and other Web content.

The competition application form is online at www.backbonemag.com/startmeup