LifeSciences BC is now recruiting for the 2010/2011 program. Please contact Brendan Payne at bpayne@lifesciencesbc.ca 604-602-5255 for more information. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2010.
Eligibility Criteria & Application Form
BC Excels is a rigorous one-year business development mentorship program for emerging life science companies where leaders of emerging bioproducts, bioenergy, medical device and biopharmaceutical companies are paired with successful entrepreneurs in their respective industry sector. Together they follow a highly customized, interactive and industry-specific educational program.
Mentorship: Participant companies pair with highly experience and successful mentors who work with them throughout the program. Mentors advise the company and guide them through each Educational Module and Think Tank. In addition, mentors and companies regularly meet outside of the program to discuss ongoing business issues.
Educational Modules: Companies must complete five moducles throughout the year including:
- IP Strategy
- Finance & Corporate Matters
- Regulatory Affairs
- Reimbursement
- Commercialization/Sales & Marketing
Modules are interactive, day-long workshops with educational material delivered focused material experts. Companies must complete preparation materials and work with their mentors and other participants while at the session. At the end of each module, they develop tasks and milestones to complete for presentation at the next Think Tank. In addition, participants are strongly encouraged to attend complementary sessions offered by LifeSciences BC and other organziations.
Think Tank: Think Tanks are held there to four weeks after each Educational Module. They are highly interactive and enable companies to report on their progress and assignments to the mentor group, and to ask for feedback from the mentors and experts about the related topics.
The Result: Upon completing the program, participating companies will have a "Ready-for-Success" seal of approval having completed a program where they withstood a high level of scrutiny by proven industry experts. More important, they will have the skills, tools and knowledge to navigate through the gauntlet of a new life science venture.
Program timeline: October 2010 - June 2011
Cost: $2500
This program is open to LifeSciences BC members only. For information on becoming a member, please contact Po On Yeung at pyeung@lifesciencesbc.ca or 604-602-5261.
One attendee is allowed for each participating company.
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What Participating Companies have said:
The BC Excels program was absolutely invaluable for the company strategy. The diverse group of mentors helped all participants. LightIntegra received valuable input from all mentors, extremely important for a startup coming out of the research environment. In addition, the organized events as well as the personal interactions introduced LightIntegra to a wide network of people in the business community in Vancouver.
– Elisabeth Maurer, President & CTO, LightIntegra Technology
The BC Excels program provided an invaluable opportunity for one-on-one time with experienced CEOs and industry experts, as well as the tremendous experience of participating in roundtable discussions with these same people about issues critical to new CEOs.
- Alexei Marko, President, Angiometrix
The BC Excels program has been very beneficial by providing my company with guidance and advice from experts who have been through similar experiences and a proactive approach to avoiding pitfalls that others have experienced. I would highly recommend this program to any medical device executive.
- Ian McDougall, COO, Evasc Medical Systems
The BC Excels program has been a valuable opportunity. The program provided a high level of business issues which early growth companies will need to traverse in order to gain funding and grow. This information is beyond what is available in books and general courses in business. In addition, the mentors are experienced CEOs of successful startup companies who provide one on one advice for the mentored company. It was definitely worth the investment of resources.
- Diana Pederson, Director of Operations, NeuroKinetics Health Services