2012 Call for Nominations

Have a "hot" growth company in the technology sector you want the world to hear about? Nominate them to BC's 10th Annual "Ready to Rocket" list.

Rocket Builders is Seeking Nominations for the 2012 "Ready to Rocket" and "Emerging Rockets"Lists. This recognition program will showcase companies in ICT, CleanTech and Life Science sectors and will be presented before the VEF event at the end of February.

BC is home to many of Canada's most exciting technology companies. Rocket Builders has built a unique methodology for analyzing market trends and using this knowledge to predict revenue growth in the coming year. Each year Rocket Builders publishes lists which profile the BC companies that have the greatest potential in the coming year. 

The "Ready to Rocket" Lists feature top technology companies that are best positioned to capitalize on the largest growth trends in the technology industry. This upcoming list will the the 10th year of this recognition list.  We expect that companies selected to the "Ready to Rocket" list will outperform the economy and represent important trends that are creating rapid revenue growth. 

We are seeking nominations for the 2012 "Ready to Rocket" lists that we will present on February 28th 2012. Nomination deadline is February 19th 2012, but submission as soon as possible will allow the selection committee more time to consider your nomination. 

What are we looking for in "Ready to Rocket" companies? 

CleanTech Ready to Rocket List for 2012

To qualify for nomination, a company must be beyond the proof of concept stage - customer validation, scalable demonstration project, and established industry relationships.

The selection committee is looking for companies that have the potential for 50% to 100% growth in the coming year, and are in good position to leverage industry trends or key industry partnerships.

CleanTech includes renewable energy (wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, biofuels), green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, environmental protection (air, water, soil) and any innovation that improves energy efficiency.

Life Sciences Ready to Rocket List for 2012

To qualify, a company must be entering a breakthrough stage in their maturity - customer validation, regulatory approval, and established industry relationships.

The selection committee is looking for early indicators of long-term potential and increasing shareholder value, such as passing key regulatory hurdles and achieving related validation steps.

Life Sciences Technology includes Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Healthcare Information Technology and other innovations improving health.

ICT Ready to Rocket List for 2012

To qualify for nomination, a company must have more than $500K in revenue and a growing base of customers. 

The selection committee is looking for companies that have the potential for 50% to 100% growth in the coming year, and are in good position to leverage industry trends or key industry partnerships.

ICT includes Information, Communications, Wireless, New Media and Internet technologies.

Nominations

Nominations can be submitted online at http://www.readytorocket.com/p/nominations.html

Please nominate a company even if the company is "too early" to qualify as Rocket Builders also recognizes emerging companies. Many promising companies are too early in commercialization, too early in first revenues, or in transition to new markets or business models. Based on the potential of their technology alone, Rocket Builders recognizes their potential in a "Emerging Rockets" list. These companies represent companies to watch over the next few years and are likely to mature into "Ready to Rocket" companies.

2011 Ready to Rocket Life Science Presentation

Here is the presentation presented on March 1st 2011 at the SFU Time Centre.

2011 Life Science Emerging Rockets List

Agrisoma Biosciences Inc.
ARC Medical Devices Inc.
Augurex Life Sciences Corp.
Bionic Power Inc.
Cellfor Inc
Cogent Health Solutions Inc.
Del Mar Pharmaceuticals.
enGene Inc.
Indel Therapeutics Inc.
Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Superna Life Sciences
Valocor Therapeutics, Inc
VanRx PharmaSystems Inc.
viDA Therapeutics
Zymeworks Inc.

2011 "Ready to Rocket" Life Science List

Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc
Boreal Genomics Inc.
Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
GenoLogics Life Sciences Software
Kardium Inc.
LightIntegra Technology Inc.
Progressive Health Innovations Incorporated
Sirius Genomics Inc.
Wolf Medical Systems Incorporated
Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Announcing 2011 Ready to Rocket Life Science List

Rocket Builders Names Top Companies to “Ready to Rocket” Life Science List

BC’s Life Science companies positioned for significant milestones in 2011

VANCOUVER, BC – March 1, 2011

Rocket Builders today released its first-ever “Ready to Rocket” list of B.C. Life Science technology companies. The ten privately-held companies are positioned to achieve significant milestones in 2011 that will lead them to rapid growth and investment.

The “Ready to Rocket” recognition list is the only predictive list of its kind in North America.

Life Science technology encompasses Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Diagnostics, Medical Devices, Healthcare Information Technology and other innovations improving health. British Columbia has a diversified mix of companies across all of these areas.

According to Thealzel Lee, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, “B.C. has a strong tradition of creating successful companies in Life Science sectors like biotechnology and medical devices. With strong academic and preclinical research centres, many experienced entrepreneurs, and an active community of angel investors, B.C. has a great climate to generate Life Science companies with great potential.”

The life science industry came through the recent recession remarkably well, with global growth between 4% and 6% and it is forecast to grow globally at 5% to 7% over the next 3 years. In emerging markets like South America, Asia and Russia, growth is over 15%.

The climate for investment is very positive for Life Science companies. "Last year, Life Science investment in Canada jumped 38 per cent over 2009,” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “And with growing demand for biotechnology and medical devices in emerging markets like China and India, the investment prospects for young innovative companies from Canada are very good."

Concurrent with the 2011 ”Ready to Rocket Life Science” list, Rocket Builders also released a list of “Emerging Rockets” of fifteen additional B.C. Life Science companies that hold potential for breakthroughs in the coming years.

2011 Ready to Rocket Cleantech Presentation

Here is the presentation presented on February 22nd 2011 at the Vancity Theatre.

2011 Cleantech Emerging Rockets List

Cooledge Lighting Inc.
Energy Aware Technology Inc.
Exro Technologies
General Fusion Inc.
Light-Based Technologies Inc.
Rainforest Automation Inc.
S2G Biochemicals Inc
Saltworks Technologies Inc.
SunCentral Inc.
zPoint Products Company Inc

2011 "Ready to Rocket" Cleantech List

Aquatic Informatics Inc.
Corinex Communications Corp.
Corvus Energy
Delaware Power Systems Corp.
Delta-Q technologies Corp.
dPoint technologies Inc.
Endurance Wind Power
Nexterra Systems Corp.
NxtGen Emission Controls
Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc.
Paradigm Environmental Technologies inc.
Pulse Energy Inc.
Rapid Electric Vehicles Inc.
Switch Materials Inc.
Tantalus Systems Corp.

Announcing 2011 Ready to Rocket Cleantech List

Rocket Builders Names Top Companies to “Ready to Rocket” Clean Technology List

BC’s Cleantech sector positioned for high growth and investment

VANCOUVER, BC – February 22, 2011

Rocket Builders today released its first-ever “Ready to Rocket” list of B.C. clean technology companies. The fifteen privately-held companies are positioned to capitalize on clean technology and industry trends that will lead them to rapid growth and investment.

The “Ready to Rocket” Cleantech list is the only predictive list of its kind in North America.

British Columbia’s cleantech sector is emerging as one of the strongest contingents for recovery from the market downturn of 2008. “When the market crashed many analysts predicted that cleantech would also fall by the wayside. That’s simply not the case,” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “In fact, cleantech [along with life sciences] have been driving the market’s return and some of the biggest venture capital deals in Canada have been within the cleantech sector.”

For example, Chrysalix, a BC-based energy venture capital firm, was recently named the most active cleantech venture capital firm by the Cleantech Group. According to Mike Walkinshaw, Managing Director and CFO of Chrysalix, "There is a substantial amount of interest and venture capital dollars available for locally-based cleantech companies. I believe Vancouver is one of the top three cleantech hubs in North America based on management teams, technology and available finance." Chrysalix manages over $300 million in assets.

Cleantech investment accounted for approximately 40% of all Canadian venture capital investment last year. In the Vancouver area alone, there are more than 1,400 cleantech companies, and as well, British Columbia has one of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the world making it a desirable location for technology companies to establish and innovate. B.C. has a track record of consistently launching technology companies that are attractive to investors.

According to Dave Thomas, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, “B.C.’s innovation in the area of cleantech has a number of ‘positives’ surrounding the fact that we have a large pool of engineering talent that is drawn to a substantial number of well-established anchor companies within the cleantech sector such as Ballard, Westport Innovations, MDA, as well as Creo and the like. Also, businesses here in Western Canada are very concerned about sustainability, so there is a definite market trend and mindset toward cleantech.”

Concurrent with the 2011 ”Ready to Rocket Cleantech” list, Rocket Builders also released a list of “Emerging Rockets” of ten additional B.C. cleantech companies that hold potential for market breakthroughs in the coming year.

Emerging Rockets vs Ready to Rocket

I noticed from questions received and in some of the messages flying over the social media channels that there can be some confusion about what a "Ready to Rocket" company is versus what an "Emerging Rocket" company is.

On the program's website, there is a brief explanation.

Essentially, an "Emerging Rocket" is entering the market and trying to establish a base of initial customers and its primary milestones are first sales, partnerships and investment. An "Emerging Rocket" can be a startup, but many times it is a company that has been around a number of years and a change in strategy, product or market conditions open up a new opportunity.

A "Ready to Rocket" company has clearly established a base of initial customers and revenue and is rapidly increasing headcount and revenue, with the potential to exceed sector growth rates and sometimes doubling in company size in less than a year. After achieving a significant revenue base (ie. for ICT companies, this is $25 million in revenue), a company graduates from consideration for "Ready to Rocket" as the dynamics for growth will differ from companies with less revenue.

A related question seems to be "how come companies are Ready to Rocket for multiple years?" ... As long as companies can repeatedly hit our hurdle rates for superior growth rates, they are competitive for consideration for the "Ready to Rocket" list each year. A few companies have been able to be selected for recognition for 3 or 4 years in a row by meeting double digit growth targets, while others with triple digit growth quickly exceeded the "graduation" hurdle mentioned above within a couple of years.

In our public presentation in Vancouver recently we showed our "Napkin to NASDAQ" chart from the 1990's which illustrated the lifecycle from startup to IPO (see slide #7) and highlighted that a "Ready to Rocket" company is entering a phase of maximal revenue growth while an "Emerging Rocket" company is earlier in the cycle. As you can see in this chart, the ranges of these two categories overlap and cover a significant amount of time in the growth cycle.