CanadaIT Ventures Inc.
Venture Management Services provides business advisory and
research services to information technology ('IT') companies,
venture capital firms and public sector organizations. With a
strong understanding of many IT fields and extensive contacts
within both the IT and venture capital industry sectors in
Canada, the United States, and around the world, Venture
Management Services is well positioned to provide support to
groups interested in expanding their business activities
domestically and internationally.
Corporate Partnering and Company Identification Services
For organizations seeking strategic partners, marketing
alliances, investment candidates or acquisition targets within
the Canadian IT industry, Venture Management Services can
assist with:
- company and partner identification;
- initial screening and preliminary information gathering;
- company profile preparation; and
- presentations, due diligence and partnering discussion
support.
Venture Management Services has often provided support to
venture capital, public sector and IT-related companies with
their efforts to identify companies that meet agreed upon
criteria. We maintain a large database (currently 5000 records)
of Canadian IT firms and invest considerable effort to stay
current with the emerging company and 'new technologies'
portions of the market. Our Canadian IT Financing Forum events
( www.financingforum.com ) as well as our www.CanadaIT.com Web
site have proven to be very effective tools in helping to
ensure that we are up-to-date with IT developments in Canada.
For companies seeking to identify Canadian IT prospects,
Venture Management Services can provide support on a fixed cost
(project), retainer (continuous support), or in some cases
success fee basis.
Company Identification clients have included: CANARIE (Canada's
advanced networks research organization), European Software
Publishing, Industry Canada, Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Canada, Investment Partnerships Canada and Telsoft
Ventures as well as other investment firms.
Management Advisory Services
Venture Management Services works with client IT companies to
develop and implement business expansion plans. Assistance can
also be provided with the development of partnering strategies
and international marketing and investment activities. Emphasis
is placed at all times on short term actions that can lead to
long term success. Projects are typically undertaken with a
view to building long term relationships that involve equity
participation. Services can include:
- helping to prepare operational and financing plans;
- marketing planning, including strategic planning;
- corporate partnering; and
- counselling senior management on growth.
On selected projects, assistance can be provided with raising
capital from domestic or foreign sources. Over the past ten
years, Venture Management Services has undertaken many projects
which have provided the opportunity to meet with a large number
of corporate and venture capital investors throughout the
world.
This work has led to a detailed understanding of each of these
firms' investment preferences and investment portfolios. For
appropriate companies seeking direct corporate investment or
international venture capital participation, Venture Management
Services can provide a variety of support services including:
- business plan review/preparation;
- introductions to investors;
- support during negotiations/discussions; and
- investment structuring advice.
Advisory Services clients have included: Micromedia Limited,
Espial Group, Trapeze Software, Design Vision, Rival Networks
GmbH, Hoffmann + associates inc. and InterNetivity.
Other Activities
In association with Macdonald & Associates Limited of Toronto,
Venture Management Services organizes the Canadian IT Financing
Forum ( www.financingforum.com ), an investment forum held each
year in Toronto (May) and Vancouver (November) featuring
presentations by leading Canadian technology companies seeking
venture capital. Past events have been extremely well received
and attended by venture capitalists from Canada, the United
States, Taiwan, Japan and Europe. The most recent Toronto
Forum drew more than 120 venture capital and corporate
investors. A Western version of the Forum was successfully
launched in Vancouver in 1997 and attracted more than 250
attendees last November.
In May 1996, Venture Management Services launched
www.CanadaIT.com, an Internet Web site designed to serve as an
international gateway to the Canadian information technology
industry. CanadaIT draws on Venture Management Services many
years of work helping Canadian companies find partners in
global markets. The highly-automated site consists of an indexed
Company Directory of approximately 1000 detailed company
profiles and Web links, an online Deals and News press release
service, a Job Board with more than 1300 jobs posted, the
CanadaIT InfoBase venture capital and IT link resource
centre, and the Upcoming Events calendar of trade show and
conference listings. CanadaIT has attracted a strong following
and more than 200 sites around the world have linked to the
site.
Publications
- Technology Investment Bulletin - Venture Management Services
co-produces (with Macdonald & Associates Limited) this
quarterly newsletter featuring articles on venture capital in
Canada and emerging growth companies, distributed to several
hundred, leading international corporate, institutional and
venture capital investors by Foreign Affairs and International
Trade.
- Financing Software Company Development - commissioned by
Industry Canada in 1996, Venture Management Services prepared
this guide to financing the development of software companies.
This publication is being distributed by Industry Canada and
can be viewed at Industry Canada's Strategis site.
- Canada in Cyberspace Web site - in March 1996, Venture
Management Services created this site, designed to promote
Canadian Internet product suppliers, for Industry Canada. A
similar, but updated Web site, the Canadian Internet Product
Showcase was developed for Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Canada in February 1997 and was hosted at CanadaIT.com.
In both cases Venture Management Services identified the
companies and prepared profiles on each for these sites.
- Canadian Information Highway Technology Showcase - in 1995,
Venture Management Services was asked by CANARIE, to develop
this publication featuring profiles of Canadian broadband and
Internet-related manufacturers. Venture Management Services
sourced the companies and then prepared profiles for this
publication.
- Changes in the Software Industry and the Role for Industry
Canada a report prepared for Industry Canada which included a
review of trends in the Canadian software industry, their
implications for Federal government programs and services, and
recommendations for changes.
- International Business Information Network a review for
Industry Canada examining the potential for the Internet to be
used to deliver government trade support services, including a
draft design for the since-launched Web site located at
Strategis.
- Marketing Software in Europe - In 1994, Venture Management
Services was commissioned by Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Canada to prepare this report which included country
profiles and information concerning local distributors,
resellers and trade events. A similar report, Marketing
Software in Italy was published later in the same year. Venture
Management Services has also provided support to IT companies
seeking to move into the Mexican market. In 1995, Venture
Management Services produced the report, Information Technology
in Mexico: Observations from Comdex Mexico '95, since published
by Industry Canada.
Company Details
Company Information
Kathy Standeven
Title:
President
Area of Responsibility:
Management Executive
Telephone:
(604) 538-6095
Email:
Click Here
David Thomas
Title:
Associate
Telephone:
(604) 422-1547
Email:
Click Here
Services
Management Consulting Services
Venture Capital Company
Web Portal
CanadaIT.com is an Internet-based gateway to news, company
profiles, events and other information relating to the Canadian
information technology (IT) and Internet industries.
Online Job Board
CanadaIT.com offers IT and Internet career postings for each
region of Canada.