CELEBRATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION IN ATLANTIC CANADA

Showcase shines spotlight on New Brunswick entrepreneurs

SAINT JOHN (NB) – October 31, 2011 - Local entrepreneurs will take centre stage at showcase events planned for this fall in Atlantic Canada. The annual events bring together business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and government officials in a forum to celebrate business leadership and promote innovation. The Entrepreneurs’ Forum New Brunswick Showcase will be held tomorrow in Saint John, and presents an opportunity to raise the profile of local entrepreneurs and to recognize the many volunteer advisors who help contribute to their success.

“Our Government is determined to see the economic recovery through, and we will continue to focus on what matters to Canadians – creating jobs and promoting economic growth,” said the Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and La Francophonie. “Atlantic Canada has a strong tradition of entrepreneurship. This investment will help leverage local business expertise and will help Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs be more innovative and competitive, and create jobs.”

Featured New Brunswick entrepreneurs include: Simon Gauvin, President and CEO, Agora Mobile Inc. (Moncton); Jennifer Blackwood, President and owner, Business Health Matters Inc. (Rothesay); Scott Walton, President, Enovex Inc. (Saint John); Peter Corbyn, P.Eng., Co-founder, GreenNexxus (Fredericton); Dr. J. Douglas Willms and Beth Fairbairn, KSI Research International Inc. (Fredericton); Darren Piercey, President, CyberPsyc Software Solutions Inc. (Fredericton); Christel Seeberger, owner and CEO, tOTal ability (Saint John); Eric Fisher, P.Eng., President and founder, Thunder Process Group (Moncton); and Yan Simard, founder and CEO, ZapTap (Fredericton).

The showcase event is part ofEntrepreneurs’ Forum Showcase Series presented by RBC, which will take place in each of the Atlantic provinces. All nine companies in the New Brunswick Showcase have taken advantage of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum business advisory services. In New Brunswick, Entrepreneurs’ Forum is offered through a partnership agreement with the Wallace McCain Institute for Business Leadership at the University of New Brunswick.

Entrepreneurs’ Forum services focus on improving the growth and competitiveness of innovative businesses in Atlantic Canada. In 2010-2011 alone, over 200 Entrepreneurs’ Forum volunteer advisors assisted more than 100 clients, contributing nearly 3,000 hours to providing a “real-world” point of view to problems and opportunities that new and existing innovative companies have to face. The advisory services help Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs gain access to experienced local business professionals who provide sound, practical advice on key issues, including the development of strategic management skills, product development, commercialization, increased access to international markets and growth planning.

“Entrepreneurs’ Forum advisory services are like a private Dragon’s Den session without Kevin O’Leary,” said Peter Corbyn, Co-founder of Fredericton-based GreenNexxus. “You don’t win or lose by the deal you do or do not get – you win by receiving candid advice from mentors who have ‘been there, done that’.”

“It’s essential that we recognize commitment to entrepreneurship throughout the Atlantic provinces,” said Entrepreneurs’ Forum President David McNamara. “Our volunteers and advisors devote many hours to helping talented and determined innovative entrepreneurs succeed. They deserve to be commended for their contribution to furthering entrepreneurship and innovation across Atlantic Canada as do the key funding contributors to EF, which are: ACOA, the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), Business New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Economic and Rural Development, the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, and Innovation PEI. RBC Royal Bank is EF’s presenting sponsor this year for the Showcase Series, and Canadian Youth Business Foundation, Manning Atlantic and Deloitte are all also sponsors of Entrepreneurs’ Forum.”

The Government of Canada, through ACOA and NRC-IRAP, is providing a total investment of $320,000 to support the Entrepreneurs’ Forum throughout Atlantic Canada.

Following are the nine companies that are participating in the Entrepreneurs’ Forum New Brunswick Showcase:

Agora Mobile Inc.:Moncton-based Agora Mobile, incorporated in 2009, combines social networking and visual programming technology that dramatically reduces the complexity of programming mobile applications. The company’s app-building program, called "Splash," dramatically reduces the time and complexity of making apps by 5 to 10 times over existing methods and allows app users and app developers to connect with each other. The network also improves app discovery through comments, ratings and friend recommendations posted to other networks like Facebook.

Business Health Matters Inc.:Business Health Matters Inc. (BHM) is a leader in workplace health and wellness and is based in Rothesay, New Brunswick. The company specializes in scientific and evidence based corporate wellness programs, weight management, health assessments, stress management, health education, and other health promotion programs. Both small and large companies that have used the BHM methodology have experienced a 60% to 80% reduction in employee health premiums.Moreover, all companies that have used the company’s methodology were recipients of Workplace Wellness Awards.  www.businesshealthmatters.com

Enovex Inc.:Enovex Inc. is a Saint John, New Brunswick-based startup that is developing potentially the first affordable carbon capture system. The company’s team has engineered breakthrough carbon capture technologies that aim to improve the economics of capturing harmful gasses from power plants. The technology has cultivated interest with severalmulti-national energy firms and has attracted top talent to the organization.  www.enovexcorp.com

GreenNexxus:The Fredericton, New Brunswick company develops sustainability focused web-based platforms easily adopted by clients, including Fortune 500 companies, to help launch and enhance their sustainability initiatives. One Million Acts of Green^TM, GreenNexxus' award-winning public facing social media and environmental metrics platform, successfully engages customers and suppliers in their sustainability journey with the integration of social media to create buzz around their environmental products and messaging.  www.greennexxus.com

KSI Research International Inc.:KSI Research International Inc. is a private research organization that conducts multi-disciplinary research and training, primarily in the areas of literacy, early childhood, school effectiveness and children’s health. In recent years, the Fredericton, New Brunswick-based company’s primary activity has been the development and sale of the Early Years Evaluation (EYE), an evaluation tool designed to assess the early developmental outcomes of children as they enter school.

CyberPsyc Software Solutions Inc.:The Fredericton, New Brunswick-based company creates virtual reality (VR) software scenarios for the treatment of phobias and anxieties. The current versions of this software and the methods of delivery are very expensive and, as a result, are not available to the majority of the population. CyberPsyc provides cost effective 3D VR scenarios that can be used by a Clinical Psychologist in his or her office, by patients in conjunction with counseling, or as a self-help method of practicing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The VR scenarios developed by CyberPsyc are delivered using PC or MAC computers, smartphones and tablet devices.  www.cyberpsyc.com

tOTal ability:The company provides occupational therapy to adults and children at work and play in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Since 2002, the Saint John, New Brunswick-based company has helped thousands of clients gain or re-gain skills for the job of living. With a professional team of 11 occupational therapists and a practice administrator, tOTal ability is experienced and equipped to develop sensible solutions in a positive atmosphere of learning and respect.  www.totalability.ca

Thunder Process Group:Thunder Process Group was founded by Eric Fisher, P.Eng. and is based in Moncton, New Brunswick. The company has developed a positive displacement pump and integrated control system known as the VUMP (vacuum assisted pump). The VUMP has proven to be an exceptionally reliable performer. Seven prototypes (five with one international food processor) are currently operating in the field, in real working situations that represent the most difficult applications. The VUMPs have never failed or been out of service, saving the users hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating costs. The VUMP is now being prepared for global commercialization.

ZapTap:Zaptap is a privately held start-up company founded in 2010 by Yan Simard. The company is located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, one of Canada's best known technology incubation centres. Zaptap’s platform represents a combination of consumer and retail services. The company is designed to take full advantage of next generation Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled smartphones by scanning products with Zaptap branded tags. Phones with NFC allow for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in close proximity to each other. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States.

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum Showcase events are being held in the following locations:

• Nova Scotia– October 18, 2011 – Cape Breton University, Sydney
• Prince Edward Island– October 25, 2011 – Culinary Institute of Canada, Charlottetown
• New Brunswick– November 1, 2011 – University of New Brunswick, Saint John
• Newfoundland and Labrador– November 16, 2011 – Portobello’s Restaurant, St. John’s