Wise Words - Lessons in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital

Canadian Innovation Exchange

The Canadian Innovation Exchange is  accepting applications to present.   You can click here to get the application process started.

Beside the Canadian Venture community, there are a number of U.S. Venture firms that will be in attendance.  This is a great opportunity for you and your company to get some good exposure and possible funding.

So what are you waiting for?

A Loonie with a Twonnie

Rick Segal, from Toronto based Venture Capital firm, JL Albright Venture Partners, is one of my favorite VCs. For those who have not meet him, now is you chance.  Rick is going cross country in April potentially bringing with him some of the tens of millions his firm has to invest. For those whose cities are thin on VCs this is a great chance to meet with him.

The full schedule is here. But here are the dates, locations and links if you want to sign up to meet him:

• April 14th – Halifax  (8a – 10:30a) Sign up here
• April 14th – Moncton ( 5p – 7p) Sign up here
• April 15th – St. John’s (5p – 7p) Sign up here
• April 16th – Ottawa  (10:30 – 12:30) Sign up here
• April 16th – Montreal (4:30p – 6:30p) Sign up here
• April 17th – Toronto Morning (8:30 – 10:30) Sign up here
• April 17th – Toronto Afternoon (4p – 6p) Sign up here
• April  21st – Victoria (8a – 10a) Sign up here
• April 21st – Vancouver (4p -6p) Sign up here
• April 22nd – Edmonton (8a – 10a) Sign up here
• April 22nd – Calgary (3:30p – 5:30p) Sign up here
• April 23rd – Regina (8:00a – 10a) Sign up here
• April 25th – Winnipeg (noon – 2p) Sign up here
• April 28th - Guelph (4p - 6p) Sign up here

Buzz on Penance

Arcana Studios in LA is promoting my new comic series on its forums, click over and have your say:

http://www.arcanacomics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4528

My new comic........

Most who know me, know I'm huge COMIC BOOK geek, having learned to read through comics as a kid.  Some know that I wrote my first comic series, nearly 10 years ago, while in Law School.  Now 10 years later that series, which is about:

When a news crew videotapes a battle, a masked superhero is arrested for the murder of a costumed super-villain. When police officer LJ McCloud is assigned to the open-and-shut case, she quickly finds her life spiraling out of control as she tries to weather the media hurricane that is surrounding the situation. And the deeper that the officer digs into the case, the more she realizes that they may be condemning an innocent man…

Is finaly seeing the light of day and will hit stands this July. Check out some of the art from the series here: http://arcanacomics.com/comicdisplay.php?id=54

My New Boss

When I first started working on the idea of a collaborative Venture Fund, we went right to the top of the collaborative business universe, and met with Toronto based, globabally read, business guru, Don Tapscott, author of the best seller, Wikinomics. 

Through Don, I was introduced to Kevin Kimberlin, Chair of the Spencer Trask, the New York venture capital firm, launched over a century ago by the man who helped finance Thomas Edison's first light bulb.  I noted from Forbes, that Kimberlin has a long track record of backing "obsessive missionaries". So I thought there might be a good fit. After all, I was obsessed with changing the world of seed funding.

Prior to going down to New York, our research proved correct. Kevin had backed the likes of Nobel Laureates incluidng Dr. Walter Gilbert, David Huber and Dr. Jonas Salk. All in their attempts to change the world. Kevin was also one of the funders behind revolutionairy companies like: Immune Response, Next Levelm, Health Dialog and more recently, InnoCentive. It was this last company that intrigued me most, as InnoCentive does for R&D what wewanted to do for Venture Capital. 

After only one meeting with Kevin, my partner and I knew that we had found the ideal partner to help us take our collaborative venture to the next level. Now weeks away from the launch of VenCorps (www.VenCorps.com) I read in TIME (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1721082,00.html ) that Kevin has once again decided to the change the world, this time, by helping to fund new developments in providing solar powered lighting to the 3rd world.

I guess that's pretty standard, for a guy who leads a firm with the slogan "First to the See the Light".

Me, in 2D

Thanks to Paul Gilligan, my brother from another mother, and the creative genius behind Pooch Cafe (http://poochcafe.com/), I'm now availalbe in 2D. Here see for yourself.

 

8 for 2008

So, lately I've been asked "why are you so quiet. What are up too?".   Now, I don't think I'd ever describe myself as "quiet" but I am up to quite a lot, most of which is still hush hush, but let me give you the overview:

1) launching a new way to do venture capital, www.VenCorps.com

2) working with Manhattan based, Spencer Trask (www.SpencerTrask.com)

3) getting ready for Season 3 of Dragons' Den, if there is a season three of course......

4) finalizing my next book, which is being published this Fall by Penguin in Manhattan, and will be titled "How to be a Business Superhero"

5) Putting the finishing touches on my first comic book series, for a sneak peak, check out this: www.ArcanaComics.penance1.pdf

6) working with Allie to get ready for our wedding, now set for Sept 6th, 2009

7) opened the new offices in Yorkville (www.WiseMentorCapital.com)

8) chairing the first annual Canadian Innovation Exchange (www.CanadianInnovationExchange.com)

So ya, I guess that's why I've been "quiet", just got lots on the go.

Stay tuned,

Sean

We've Moved!!

As of Janusary 1st, WMC will now be located in the heart of Toronto's fashionable Yorkville district, just a 2 minute walk from the Four Seasons Hotel. Our offices are situated just west of Univesity Avenue and just north of Bloor.

Wise Mentor Capital
162 Cumberland Street, Suite 310
Toronto, Ontario M5R 3N5

info@WiseMentorCapital.com
Phone:  (416) 995-9017
Fax:  (416) 236-2801

The CIX is born!!

Last year the Toronto Venture Group went belly up and took the long standing Canadian Venture Forum with it.  This might have been the end of Canada's national focus on high tech, but I say nay!!

Along with Robert from Achilles Media and Rick from the CVCA, I'm proud to announce Innovation is not dead in Canada.  For more see this: http://canadianinnovationexchange.com/

CIX, will run April 29/30 and will bring together the best minds in Canada's entrepreneurial ecosystem, If you are looking for "what's next" or thing you are "what's next" this is an event to check out. 

Wise Words for Dec

This month my column in the Globe and Mail deals with the hunting for new business and provides  a meme and taxonomy for classifying ventures.  You can read the column on line here: http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070829.wsb-seanwise0829/BNStory/specialSmallBusiness/home to find out if you are an:

• elephant
• mouse
• dog
• gazelle;
• giraffe or
• blowfish