Month / July 2007

by Krystle K.

Capital conundrum: Ottawa VCs still cautious

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
July 23, 2007 (July 25 on OttawaBusinessJournal.com)

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

While the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI)’s second-quarter venture capital report released last week showed that local investment rebounded from a sluggish first quarter that saw a single disclosed financing deal, the investment community says there is still a funding gap.Ottawa’s startups may have to tighten their belts a little further or look outside of the venture capital community for funding, as venture capitalists (VCs) continue to look for safer investments with faster payouts.

“The VC community is having trouble raising money, and they are not at the pace they were years ago,” says Robert Ford of law firm Gowlings, who notes that the latest quarter’s performance is somewhat expected.

“VC funds, by their very nature, have a short life, and they have to get some return on their investment at the wind-up of their partnerships. But we’re not seeing a lot of big mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings here, so new money is being invested in good safe returns such as oil and gas, China and India, instead of in ventures.”

There’s definitely less money in the marketplace, Mr. Ford says, and even good companies with interesting technology are getting funded on a smaller scale in Ottawa.

“It’s always a tough environment, especially for new ventures like ourselves, but it’s even more competitive right now with lots of great companies out there competing for a smaller and smaller amount of money,” says Kenton White, chief technology officer of new media company Distil Interactive, which bagged Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

Festival picking up pieces after Nortel rocks the Dragon Boat

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published on the front page of the Ottawa Business Journal.
July 2, 2007

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

John Brooman, executive director of the Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival.
John Brooman, executive director of the Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival.
Photo by DARREN BROWN for the Ottawa Business Journal

John Brooman is picking up more than just cigarette butts and litter after the most successful Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival ever.

Mr. Brooman, the festival’s executive director, is now faced with the challenge of finding a new title sponsor for the event after Nortel Networks stepped down from the role last week.

“It’s a bittersweet thing for me… but I think it’s a good thing. It allows us to roam more and it doesn’t scare us in any shape or form,” Mr. Brooman says. “We’re fortunate because the festival is so well-run and fiscally managed that this can be absorbed.”

Mr. Brooman says the festival’s organizers are just now looking at approaching its other current sponsors to take over as title sponsor for 2008, with the Business Development Bank of Canada at the top of the list. Other top choices include the Ottawa Citizen, Dell and Tim Hortons.

Nortel was the event’s title sponsor for nine years, a way for the company and employees to be involved in the community and support worthwhile causes while also achieving some positive branding, a company spokesperson says.

This year. the telecommunications giant contributed Continue reading →