By Michael
Volker
Outlook, Premier's Technology Council 2nd Report, Rx
for CDNX is TSX (what's BBX), Investment Opportunities, Capital Pool Corps
Update, and Local Events
Outlook
Given that both the Canadian and U.S. Economies
grew in excess of 5% annual rate in January and February, coming out of what
seems to be one of the shortest and mildest recessions on record, you'd think
that the markets would start to show some signs of life.
When it looked like a recession was upon us,
stocks started retreating and "the economy" took the rap. Doom and
gloom. I haven't been able to figure out how a 95% drop in their value - even
for large caps like Nortel which is now trading for five bucks - can be
attributed to such a minor economic setback. And now, with better-than-expected
numbers appearing regularly, how much longer is it going to take to see
liquidity and pricing improvements?
One big factor is corporate earnings. The cuts
and adjustments made by corporate CEOs last year should start to trickle
through, and add to, bottom-line margins over the next few quarters. As consumer
demand picks up in various sectors, as we've seen in the automobile industry
(auto sales for April are expected to pass the 16.7 million annual rate posted
last year, their highest level since November), I'm sure that we'll once again
see technology companies lead the charge.
With regard to high tech in B.C., I'd describe the
industry as approaching puberty. It's still far from being a mature industry.
Yet, a few companies have moved beyond being kids in a garage to being
recognized as world leaders. High tech is certainly taking its place on the B.C.
economic map and startup activity continues unabated. We even have a Premier's
Technology Council - evidence of the importance of this sector. More on this
later.
It's also encouraging to see new faces and hear new
names. For example, a new group called "Techvibes", an
off-shoot from "Geekrave", recently managed to get federal
Industry Minister Allan Rock to attend one of its events at the Urban
Well in Vancouver to promote Canada's "Innovation Agenda".
In early April, Allan Rock and Natural
Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal announced $32.3 million in Technology
Partnerships Canada investments with six British Columbia companies. These
projects are expected to create or maintain more than 1,100 jobs.
Azure Dynamics Corporation (TSX-V:AZD),
of Vancouver, will receive $9 million to develop and test hybrid electric
vehicle technologies for use in light to medium-duty commercial vehicles such as
delivery vans. Azure Dynamics, which currently employs 26 people, was founded in
2001. The company expects to create or maintain 174 jobs with this project.
fSONA Communications Corporation (private
company), of Richmond, will receive $10 million to develop high bandwidth
wireless technologies. fSONA, which has operations in Richmond, B.C. and Los
Angeles, California, was established to exploit free-space optical
communications technology made available from British Telecom. The firm
expects to create or maintain 503 jobs with this project.
TIR Systems Ltd. (TSX-V:TIY), of
Vancouver, will receive $6.6 million to develop next generation solid-state
light sources. TIR will develop an adaptive power drive system that enables the
development of high efficiency, intelligent solid-state lighting devices,
full-range digital control, and next-generation communications protocols. It
will integrate advanced optical films and thin coatings to enable compound
semiconductor technology in the form of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for
lighting. The company currently employs 35 people and expects the project to
create or maintain 159 jobs.
Vortek Industries Limited (private), of
Vancouver, will receive $4.49 million to develop technologies that will result
in smaller, faster computer chips. The patented Vortek technology will enable
the semiconductor industry to break through one of the major barriers in the
development of smaller, faster computer chips. The company's unique Rapid
Thermal Processing (RTP) process will enable the production of microprocessors
required by the market. The company, which currently employs 50 people, expects
the project to create or maintain 248 jobs.
MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (TSX:MDA),
of Richmond, will receive $1.63 million to develop software for improved
airspace design and management at airports. MDA will develop a Windows-based
support tool integrating a geographical information system and a relational
database management system to create a program to design and validate standard
airplane arrival routes, departures and approach procedures. This system will
help improve the safety of airspace over industrialized, high usage areas. The
firm, employs more than 1400 people across Canada and it expects this project to
create or maintain 32 jobs. I've mentioned MDA before as one of B.C.'s top
bottom-line performers. Indeed, Yorkton Securities has a buy
recommendation on the stock.
Oceanworks International Corporation
(private company - formerly Hard Suits Corporation), of North Vancouver, will
receive $554,176 to help the company to continue to grow as the leading supplier
of deep sea diving and submarine rescue systems. It will acquire and implement
an advanced management information system that will enable it to meet the
technical standards of its military customers. Oceanworks is an expert in the
design, development and construction of atmospheric diving systems and submarine
rescue systems as well as custom engineering and development projects for
sub-sea and other harsh work environments. The company delivers its systems
primarily to various military forces and to offshore oil field operations and
construction diving firms. It employs 55 people.
The Oceanworks investment was made through
Technology Partnership Canada's Aerospace and Defence Supplier Development
Initiative -- a $30-million, three-year pilot program aimed at helping small and
medium-sized Canadian aerospace and defense firms strengthen their manufacturing
systems to keep pace with the demands of a changing industry.
Technology Partnerships Canada, a key element
in the federal government's innovation strategy, leverages private sector
investments in research, development and innovation in critical, leading-edge
technologies. Technology Partnerships Canada's risk-sharing investments are
repayable -- usually in the form of royalties based on company sales.
On one hand it's encouraging that the Feds are
investing such sums in B.C. With the demise of the B.C. Science Council's
TechBC funding program, there's not a great deal of help for early stage
companies. On the other hand, though, I do wonder why the government (i.e. we,
the taxpayers) is investing in a firm like MDA. Although I like MDA, it seems to
me that this support will not make nearly the impact on MDA that it could on an
earlier-stage company.
I believe that we could get a greater bang for
the buck with a broader distribution of funding (6 companies out of 6000+ means
pretty low odds for most) and perhaps some federal support for already proven
local organizations such as Science Council's TechBC program or the B.C.
Advanced Systems Institute's Product Development Fund. I suspect that we're
too provincially focused and that we should assume a more national perspective.
The news release and other documents are
available on the Technology Partnerships Canada Web site at: http://tpc.ic.gc.ca.
This is the time of year that many company Annual
General Meetings (AGMs) will be taking place (i.e. those with fiscal years
coincident with the calendar year). It's a great opportunity for investors to
learn more about their companies. If you're located in a larger city such as
Vancouver and if many of your favorite tech companies are based in the Lower
Mainland, you have a decided advantage in that you can show up and learn first
hand what's going on.
I've gone to many of these meetings over the years and
I'm amazed at the lackluster turnout for most meetings - especially junior
companies. Often, only a few directors show up and these meetings last only a
few minutes (just to comply with the regulations). However, it's the
once-in-a-year opportunity to get an audience with your company's management and
board.
These meetings are not usually well advertised. If you
are a shareholder who as asked to be notified, you will be - otherwise you
won't. To be safe, find out what the company's year end is. The AGM is usually
five months thereafter.
I once attended a meeting only to find that I was the
only shareholder there. Because so few other shareholders even bothered to vote
by proxy, I found myself in a position where I could actually turf out the board
and put in a new one (I was tempted). It's similar to the situation we saw last
month in the case of Cinar Corp of Montreal where a 77-year old replaced
management's board nominees with his own slate of directors by voting only 12%
of the total outstanding shares. Cinar has been controversial lately and lots of
shareholders showed up, but this is not the case for junior ventures.
Premier's Technlogy Council 2nd Report
The council released its second report on April
2, 2002. It lists 45 recommendations for improving broadband infrastructure,
increasing public access to the Internet, developing high tech industry and
marketing British Columbia.
The councilors say, "We believe that with
strong cooperation between the provincial government and private enterprise,
British Columbia will be one of the world's top ten technology centres by
2006."
The 140 page report focuses mainly on the
"digital divide" issue, i.e. that some (as many as 20% of) British
Columbians do not have access to affordable broadband internet. Government
ministries spend about $380 million annually on IT services while
government-funded institutions spend another $200 million. The report makes
various recommendations, e.g. procurement reform, on addressing this gap.
The Double-the-Opportunity goal is to double
from 880 to 1760 - the number of grads in EE, CS, and CE in the next five years.
To strengthen B.C.'s research base, twenty research chairs will be added.
My favorite topic, Venture Capital, was also
addressed in this second report. It even recognized the particular problem of
early-stage funding. The Small Business Venture Capital Act is one
instrument that the government will use to partially address this need. I must
comment, from first hand experience, that I recently used this myself (i.e. the
Venture Capital Corporation Tax Credit program) and found it to be fairly
straightforward. The responsiveness by the folks administering the program was
particularly impressive. The turnaround was fast - typically a day or two. It
also looks like the council wants to eliminate the Working Opportunity Fund's
monopoly as a labor sponsored venture capital corporation.
Marketing and public awareness are noted as
needing work. In this regard, a new branding strategy is being pursued. In my
opinion, we can never promote enough.
Speaking of "digital divide", I read
with interest that there's an organization of geek volunteers - indeed,
they call themselves "Geekcorps" - that are working in Ghana,
an African country, to bring the wireless web to its 20 million residents. Given
that their GNP per person is only U$346 with inflation running at 22% and 1.2
computers per thousand people, that makes me think that connecting BC ought to
be a cakewalk. For you under-30's who like the idea of technology implementation
in an impoverished country with no pay (only glory), go to www.netcorps-cyberjeunes.org.
For the less adventuresome, go to the B.C. hinterland and get those nets up!
You can read the whole report on-line (I
avoided printing it due to its length) at the PTC
website.
Rx for CDNX is TSX, but what about the BBX?
The Canadian Venture Exchange, the CDNX,
continues its metamorphosis. The Toronto Stock Exchange, which now owns
the CDNX has decided to create some new brands and has renamed itself as well as
its venture subsidiary. The TSE is calling itself the TSX and the CDNX is called
the TSX Venture Exchange. The TSE has even created a one-pager telling media
companies how to refer to it. Personally, I find it a little confusing. It would
be nice to have a handy abbreviation for the junior exchange. In this column, I
wasn't sure just what to use since many papers and websites are still using the
old designations. For the time being, I've used "TSX" to refer to TSE
listings and TSX-V to refer to CDNX listings.
I hope the branding exercise leads to improved
liquidity in the junior markets. That's a real problem. The re-branding may
help.
In mid-April the TSX announced that Linda
Hohol has been named president of the TSX Venture Exchange. This caught a
few people by surprise. She's a resident of Calgary and is active on a
number of boards - the Calgary Airport Authority, the Southern Alberta
Institute of Technology - Capital Campaign, the Power Pool of Alberta
Council, the Balancing Pool Committee and the Calgary Olympic
Development Association and University Technologies Inc., the
commercialization arm for the University of Calgary. Until 1999, Ms.
Hohol was Executive Vice-President, Wealth Management with CIBC where she was
responsible for all wealth management activities, investment performance and
product development.
I hope that the new leadership and the
re-branding exercise will lead to improved liquidity in the junior markets.
That's the real problem faced by the TSX-V's listed companies.
Readers of my column over the past few years
will know that I'm not a big fan of the U.S. OTC Bulletin Board (the
"OTCBB") market. That's because it is a highly "unregulated"
market. It is not a stock exchange which imposes certain standards on its
listed companies. Many companies that list on the OTCBB are guilty of stretching
the truth by calling themselves NASDAQ OTC companies because the prestigious
(even in down times) NASDAQ is still the holy grail for most tech firms.
I've always maintained that the TSX-V (formerly
the CDNX and the VSE/ASE) could fill the niche of being "the junior
exchange" for Canadian and U.S. tech startups and that the TSX-V
should go after this opportunity (so far it hasn't). But now it may be a little
too late. The OTCBB will be phased out in 2003 and replaced by a new
"regulated" market that will be called the Bulletin Board Exchange
(BBX). This is a joint initiative of the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) and the National Association of Securities
Dealers (NASD - hence the confusion by OTCBB companies calling
themselves junior NASDAQers). The BBX will introduce certain listing standards
(quite minimal, though) which are unlikely to include criteria such as a minimum
share price (phew - for a minute there I thought we'd no longer have penny
stocks!), income or asset tests. The BBX website, www.bbxchange.com
just went live this week.
Investment Opportunities & Corp Updates
I was reading about a B.C. technology writer, William
Atkinson, the author of Prototype: How Canadian Innovation is Shaping the
Future. He was quoted as saying "Technology doesn't spring from
nowhere, it evolves through history. It doesn't take place in a vacuum; it has
profound social and economic effects. And it's not pure idea or abstract
invention: it's a human enterprise. People devise technology, and people can
understand it. The more they understand, the more profitably they'll invest and
the more they'll find the will to take political direction of this potent
force."
Atkinson has lots of praise for government organizations
such as the National Research Council for their support in getting new
ideas to market.
Sun reporter Bruce Constantineau, in
reporting on Atkinson's research on tech companies notes that the best ones
display similar attributes. I really like this line. I think I'll adopt it as my
investment mantra. Here it is: "they are humane, fun-loving firms that
exploit niche markets with unique technology". And this is the best part:
"They think big, act small, avoid debt, stay lean and act from total
confidence." Neat, eh?
So, in addition to investing in the six above mentioned
companies that we've already invested in (courtesy of Allan Rock), here are some
other company opportunities and updates.
Creo Inc (TSX:CRE) of Burnaby is spinning off one
of its investee companies via a new public offering of stock. Printcafe
Software Inc., Creo's Pittsburgh based subsidiary filed its prospectus in
April to offer 7.5 million shares to the public. The company seeks a listing on
Nasdaq. A copy of the prospectus can be found on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). In
January, Creo reported that it was boosting its investment in Printcafe to 40
per cent by investing US$23.6-million to increase its voting interest in
Printcafe from 17.24 per cent. There's a dual play opportunity here - you can
invest in either Printcafe (see if you can get some allocation from your broker)
or Creo, which itself may be a good buy at current levels under C$20 per share.
Remember the concept of "averaging down"? I
don't hear this mentioned too often lately. However, Absolute Software
(TSX-V:ABT) is a company where this could apply. Absolute did its IPO on the TSX-V
in 2000 at $5.00 but has dropped to less than half that price. Now, Yorkton's
Tom Liston has a 12-month target price of $1.00 for this Vancouver
theft-deterrent software maker whose stock is presently in the $.40 range. The
Company reported operating revenue of $1.21 million for the three months ended
March 31, 2002 which represents a 27% increase over the $0.95 million in the
corresponding quarter of fiscal 2001. Though still burning through cash, the
company still has almost $15 million in cash (i.e. $0.72 per share). The $1.00
target is based on a value to revenue ratio of 1.1X. So, if you bought this
one above $1.00, here's your chance to lower your average cost base.
Imagis Technologies Inc (TSX-V:NAB) has seen a
lot of press lately. Most articles are attempting to discredit the company and
its facial-recognition software (popular in the wake of Sept. 11). The stock
jumped to the mid $5 range (it was below $1.00 not long ago) on speculative news
that it might be acquired by a U.S. firm. However, there was no firm offer -
only talk - and this got the media to pursue the company. It sure made for
interesting reading! The stock has since retreated to the mid $3 range. This
company was actually the result of a CPC acquisition (see section on CPCs). This
is a good test for investors - i.e. to do their own due diligence before
investing. Is it a buy or a short? You decide.
A.L.I. Technologies (TSX:ALT) shares
fell 5% to $35 after the company reported second-quarter results that
disappointed the Street. In the quarter, ALI had to increase its workforce by 10
percent because of growing demand for its products, during which time, eight new
contracts were announced. Revenue for the period rose to $18 million, up from
$8.7 million in the year-before period. Then, just a day later, the company
announced that it had signed a definitive agreement (not a sketchy one like
Imagis's) with McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) for $43.50 per share or
approximately $530-million in cash - not paper! The acquisition is expected to
be completed within 90 days and is subject to regulatory approval.
How sweet! It serves all those fickle traders right for
bailing on the company! Unfortunately, ALI is now out-of-play and out-of-country
for us. On the positive side, though, it's certainly another B.C. tech success
story! And, it shows that such success doesn't come overnight, either!
Forbes Medi-Tech (TSX:FMI, NASDAQ:FMTI)
this week reported record monthly revenues for the five months' year ended
Dec.31,2001. The shorter year was due to a change in year-end from July 31 to
Dec. 31. Revenues
on its phytoserol product, including licensing fees, for the five months were
$3.7 million compared with $5.8 million for the entire year ended July 31, 2001,
representing a 50 per cent increase on a monthly basis. This increase was
primarily the result of increased sales of non-food grade phytosterols from the
Company’s share of the Phyto-Source joint venture. Sales of Forbes Phytrol™
product (under the trade name Reducol™) commenced in dietary supplements in
the United States through Twin Laboratories (Cholesterol Success™) and
Pharmavite (Nature Made Cholest-Off™) in October 2001 and November 2001,
respectively.
On the private company side, firms are
continuing to raise equity capital. For example, Galian Photonics Inc.
announced the completion of a US$4.4 million second round financing. The
financing included new investors BDC Venture Capital and Intel Capital
together with prior investors Ventures West, the Working
Opportunity Fund, and various individuals.
Angstrom Power Inc., a developer of
micro-structured fuel cells, announced it has secured US$2.85 million in its
first round of financing. The syndicate, led by Vancouver based Chrysalix
Energy LP and Ventures West, also includes OPG Ventures, GrowthWorks
Capital, and the Micro-Generation Technology Fund. Angstrom is
applying micro-fabrication techniques to create a novel micro-structured fuel
cell system based on patented architecture. This fuel cell will have favorable
operating characteristics and higher power densities, while being simple and
inexpensive to manufacture. Initial target applications could include battery
replacement and portable power. According to Mark Steinley, President and
CEO of Angstrom, “Already as a small start-up company Angstrom has been able
to develop significant relationships with major corporations. In today’s
markets, these types of relationships are extremely valuable” Angstrom was
founded in 2001 to commercialize technology developed by Dr. Gerard McLean
at the University of Victoria. The University of Victoria Innovation
and Development Corporation facilitated the transfer of the University of
Victoria technology to Angstrom Power. “This is a significant opportunity for
us to develop the next generation platform for micro fuel cells, “ says
McLean, Angstrom’s CTO.
Telus Corp. (TSX:T) announced 1Q
revenues grew 1.6% over last year to 1.69 billion, while the loss per share
declined to 1 cent vs. 50 cents in 1Q2001. Cash Flow per share rose 43.2% to
$1.16 vs. $0.81. Telus also announced it won eight new data and IP contracts
worth over $110 million over the next few years. Telus Mobility announced it is
completing market trials for its next generation 1X wireless network, which it
plans to launch in June 2002.
Capital Pool Corporation (CPC) Comments and
Update
In this column, I keep track of Capital
Pool Corporation ("CPC") companies as defined by the TSX Venture
Exchange (the former CDNX) because they may provide funding and management to,
and in the process acquire, technology companies. They provide companies with an
alternative to traditional venture capital financing. CPCs are the continuation
of the former VCP (Venture Capital Pool) and JCP (Junior Capital Pool) programs
on the Vancouver (VSE) and Alberta Stock Exchanges.
Recently, the Exchange reached a
new agreement with the securities commissions in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, and Ontario to govern the CPC program in these provinces. The new
policies should come into effect on June 15,2002. The idea is to reduce
regulatory hassles. Some of the highlights of the new changes are as follows:
1.CPCs now permitted in Ontario
2.Sponsorship, i.e. member broker support, no longer required (although an
"agent" must still sign the prospectus as an underwriter)
3.Additional Private Placements - CPCs can raise an extra $125K by private
placement in addition to the Max. $700K raised in seed capital and through the
IPO
4.Advances to Target - CPCs may advance up to $100K to their target
acquisitions. This must be a refundable arms-length deal. It's in addition to
the previously allowed $25K non-refundable deposit
5.Agreements in Principle - new guidelines will be introduced to help determine
whether or not an agreement in principle has been reached
6.New Optionees - technical consultants and eligible charities can now receive
options
7.Improved Procedures - trading halts will be of shorter duration due to
simplified filing documents
8.Time for filing - If a sponsor is required, they must review the information
circular before submitting it to the Exchange
9.New Forms - improvements to the Prospectus form and the Qualifying Transaction
documents
10.Directors - the majority of directors and officers of the company,
post-acquisition, must be Canadian residents.
11.Policy 5.9 consistency - to deal with related party transactions
12.Transition - deals with the phasing in of the new rules for CPCs filing IPOs
before June 15th
These rules are, for the most
part, good news. They could have gone a little further, though. I wouldn't
describe these as the "major changes" that I've been alluding to. For
example, the biggest weakness in my view is the capital limit (now $825K).
However, I welcome anything that simplifies the paperwork. The ability to grant
options to outsiders is a nice touch - this is a great way to give something
back to the community.
I've had mixed feelings about how
this program is working. I still like the concept and will, for the time being,
continue to track these companies. CPC formation has slowed somewhat over the
past year in the wake of the general market decline. The big problem or
challenge, though, is to figure out how to improve the liquidity in the junior
market - a matter affecting all junior pubcos. Perhaps the new TSX Venture
branding will help this along.
Check our Capital
Pool Corporation chart (in .pdf format) for a complete list of the CDNX's
CPC and VCP companies, thanks to David Ing of Pacific International
Securities. This list is updated on a regular, e.g. monthly basis. It is now
current to the end of April, 2002. (previous update was March, 2002). The list
is shrinking a bit but there are still over 200 active CPCs.
Since the March update, the following companies have
come to trade: Begama Technologies Inc., CPL Capital Inc., Gotham
Capital Corporation and Greystone Research Corp.
The following companies have been removed from the list
because they have completed their Qualifying Transactions: ABI Capital Corp.,
Chinacom Technologies Inc., Emercap Ventures Inc., First Tower
Enterprises Inc., Southport Capital Corp., and Syntegra Investment
Corp.
Soon (someday soon), we'll take a look at how
these companies (the ones that have graduated from the CPC board) are faring.
An introductory
article explaining CPCs may be found at http://www.bctechnology.com
Local Events
Last month's Vancouver Enterprise Forum
(VEF) event on April 23rd was a hot one. Titled, "CEO War Stories", local
tech CEOs will opened their kimonos to share with us some of their
"learning experiences". Their candid (surprisingly so sometimes!)
revelations made for an interesting evening. The two presenters were Cynthia
Roney, CEO of Xillix Technologies Corp (TSX:XLX) and Norman Toms,
CTO (and former CEO and co-founder) of Sierra Wireless Inc. (TSX:SW).
Cynthia spoke guardedly about Xillix's fight
with one-time partner and collaborator, Olympus Optical of Japan.
Although she couldn't go into much detail on this for legal reasons, the street
view on this is that Olympus back-doored Xillix by getting some patents granted
in in its favor that Xillix really had the rights to. In the end, Olympus paid a
substantial cash settlement to Xillix (in the just under $10m range). What I
learned from this presentation is how similar companies are to countries - they
do battle with each other, nearly kill each other and then act as though
everything's fine - let the past be the past and move on.
Norman gave inspiration to tech entrepreneurs
who toy with the idea of starting a new venture. The history of Sierra Wireless
and how it was created out of MPR Teltech, B.C. Tel's R&D arm,
is a fascinating story. The take-home lesson pertains to Norman's decision to
recruit a proven CEO rather than take on the task himself. He summed it up
nicely: "when faced with a choice between ego and greed, greed won
out!"
Going to a VEF event today is a lot different
from going to one a decade ago. There used to be around 100 attendees and after
attending a few events you got to know most of these people and recognize them
at subsequent meetings. Now, there are often close to 400 people at the meetings
and there are always new faces. That's encouraging. It means that the tech
industry is growing in size and its no longer kind of an "in crowd". This
is just another sign of the maturing process that I referred to earlier in this
column.
Info on upcoming VEF events - the next one is
on May 28th on Photonics is available at: www.vef.org.
The VEF used to be one of few networking and
educational venues in the Lower Mainland. But now, there are more meeting
opportunities than you can shake a stick at. New groups and organizations are
sprouting up. I've put together a list (with links) of all the ones I've come
across at www.hitechbc.com.
Let me know if I've missed any! A recent newcomer, also mentioned earlier, is
"Techvibes".
Lindsay Smith, Techvibes' CEO, is a
Communications Graduate from SFU and one of the founders of GeekRave.org,
an organization that produced 4 sell-out technology events. Techvibes operates
more like a business than a volunteer organization. That's another good sign
that the industry has grown substantially - large enough for companies like this
to provide a service and even profit from it!
A complete calendar of technology events can be
found on T-Net's
Events page.
Footnotes
If you're an entrepreneur looking for a place
to get your company started; there's some great space available at Harbour
Centre downtown. The New Media Innovation Centre (NewMIC) and SFU's
TIME Centre have teemed up to provide not only office space but also access
to various resources, e.g. tech advisors, access to capital, mentors, etc.
Worried about the high cost of being downtown? Well, not to worry - they'll even
reduce the fees and take some payment in the form of equity. Check www.sfu.ca/time
for contact info.
A reminder: SFU's TIME Centre is open for
business - business folks, that is. TIME is an acronym for Technology,
Innovation, Management, and Entrepreneurship. TIME supports the growth and
development of the tech industry in B.C. TIME features a "Business Centre"
(looks like an airport business lounge) which is open to technology
entrepreneurs and business people to use as a drop-in downtown office facility.
Need to plug-in? Make some calls? Do some work? Hold a meeting? There are some
great facilities for holding your company's AGM. Why hang out at MacDonald's
when you can work productively at the TIME Centre? Drop by and check it out! It
is located at SFU's downtown campus at 515 West Hastings St.
For a convenient printable, pdf version of this
column, click
here.
Michael
Volker is the Director of the University/Industry Liaison
Office at Simon Fraser University, Chairman of the Vancouver
Enterprise Forum, and a technology entrepreneur. He owns shares in many of
the companies he writes about. Copyright,
2002.
What
Do You Think? Talk Back To Mike Volker
Tech Futures is
a bi-weekly column that focuses attention on new and emerging BC publicly listed
technology companies.
Contact: risktaker@volker.org
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