Call for Expressions of Interest for Mentorship Program for BC-based SME’s

GLOBE-Net, March 17, 2015 – The GLOBE Foundation has issued a Call for Expressions of Interest for the new Mentorship Program for British Columbia-based pre-commercial SME entrepreneurs operating primarily in the environmental, clean technology and renewable energy sectors.

Building upon the success of a recently completed pilot project, this new initiative extends the mentorship program and incorporates the lessons learned by focusing primarily on two core themes that are critically important for SMEs in entering the commercial marketplace: Third-party validation of proposed technologies, products or service offerings; and accurate business case and financial planning to secure clients, business partners or investors.

“The GLOBE Mentorship Program for BC-based SME’s will provide focused business case mentorship, proof of performance support, and financing showcasing opportunities for investment-ready, British Columbia-based pre-commercial SME entrepreneurs primarily in the environmental, clean technology and renewable energy sectors.”

Supported by a network of third party mentors GLOBE will provide mentoring and advisory services solely to British Columbia based SME’s that include the following:

• Mentoring Assistance in preparing more fully developed business/marketing plans, validated by third party experts where appropriate, considering the scale of the potential market for the products, services or technologies being offered;

• Information needed to allow clients to gain a better appreciation of potential regulatory, competitive, or cultural obstacles that may need to be overcome in order for the firm to successfully enter the commercial marketplace;

• In-depth reviews by third party experts of the product or technology being offered, with suggestions and guidance on further developmental needs and performance validation or verification requirements;

• Information on key contacts and potential business partners drawn from GLOBE’s extensive network and other information from GLOBE’s repository of reports to help guide further development of the client firm’s market offerings.

• Opportunities to showcase products, services or technologies at Investor Showcases, providing access to potential clients, partners and suppliers worldwide, as well as opportunities to showcase products, services or technologies via GLOBE’s various websites and/or newsletters.

Working with partners over the 15 month period of the program, two Calls for Proposals will take place and potential candidates will be assessed for their readiness for the Program. Pre-screened entrepreneurs and technology developers will be assisted in securing financing for the commercialization and/or deployment of their products, services or technologies in markets at home and abroad.

Potential clients will take part in a workshop/webinar focused on investor-ready business case models; the importance of proof of concept validation;  the importance of accurate marketing strategies; intellectual property issues; and how best to approach investors, industry clients or other financial institutions to secure capital and financing.

Following these workshops/webinars, customized, shared-cost mentorship plans will be developed and agreed to by each client selected to proceed. These plans will be custom designed to maximize each client’s chances of raising the investment capital they need and to achieve commercial success.

These plans will match client needs with local area mentor strengths. Mentors drawn from a pool of experienced business leaders, professional consultants, trainers, and technology or product validation experts from the GLOBE Performance Solutions network. Clients may have more than one mentor to assist in various aspects of their mentorship plan.

Subject to client needs, mentors will assist with:

• Refining business case models;
• Refining investor pitches;
• Developing product or technology commercialization strategies;
• Reviewing business and marketing plans;
• Gathering customized market intelligence;
• Financial planning and modeling;
• Proof of Concept validation for new technologies, services or products; and
• Legal, patent or intellectual property issues.

Included in the mentorship activities will be advice on various financing options and support in developing investment strategies appropriate to the needs of the company (i.e. junior financial markets, venture exchanges, crowd funding, or angel investors).

Each round of mentorship activities will span a period of five months, at the end of which a financing showcasing event will be held to allow program clients who have progressed sufficiently in their mentorship plans to make pitches to potential investors or to showcase their companies to potential corporate, industry or governmental clients.

Is Your Company Eligible?

Due to limited funding available for this program, a careful screening of potential candidates is necessary to ensure that mentorship support is provided only to companies that are ready to enter the commercial market and have promising technologies, products or services to offer.

Please note that your company must be incorporated in the Province of British Columbia in order to participate in this Program. Applicant companies must undertake to work actively with their mentors over the course of their engagement in this program; must be prepared to share the costs for the business case mentoring or performance validation services provided; and must be prepared to meet with potential investors, corporate, industry or governmental clients at the end of their mentorship period.

Act now if interested. For further information, please contact Frank Came, GLOBE Foundation c/o frank.came@globe.ca