The UILO Start-up Services Voucher is for new ventures emerging from the UBC community. It is valid for up to $5,000 worth (40 hours) of business services from the UILO.

As part of the entrepreneurship@UBC initiative, the voucher program supports new and emerging UBC entrepreneurs to create successful new ventures.

The business services provided under the voucher can include activities such as assistance with incorporation and corporate structuring, business planning, market research, intellectual property strategy, grant writing, access to discounted rates for third-party business services and the provision of an expanded network of business contacts.

Eligibility

Applicants must be faculty, staff, a full-time or part-time student, or an alumn who has graduated within the last three years. Applicants must also be a principal shareholder in the subject company, or, if the venture is at the pre-incorporation stage, intended to be a principal shareholder.

Vouchers are limited to one voucher per applicant and one voucher per venture. In the case where there are multiple eligible applicants, please include everyone on the application.

Ventures need not be incorporated, technology based, or Canadian based and both for-profit and not-for-profit ventures are eligible. Private consulting practices are generally not eligible.

Application Process

• The latest round of applications has now closed. We will be announcing details of the next application round in late srping 2012.
• Applicants complete a simple form and may be asked to present their opportunity to a panel.

Mentors

All applicants entering the UILO Start-up Services Voucher Program must have a suitable business mentor (distinct from any technical mentors) commit to mentoring the applicant(s) for the 12-month duration of the voucher. Where such a relationship does not already exist the UILO will assist with finding an appropriate mentor.

Vendor Partners

There are many other services that a company will need that the UILO does not provide – bookkeeping, accounting and tax advice, patent and corporate law advice, product and company branding services, and IT services. We have a number of vendor partners in the Voucher program, that the UILO has worked with in the past, who are very experienced in working with new companies and the special issues they face.

The voucher cannot be used to pay for the services from third party vendors (the voucher has no cash value!) Those outside services must be paid directly by the new venture. Many of these vendor partners are offering discounted rates for their services for ventures in the Start-up Services Voucher program. We will provide no-obligation introductions to these vendors as required. The Vendor Partners are:

• Corporate Law and Trademark – Richards Buell Sutton LLP / Gowlings / Clark Wilson
• Product and Company Branding – Serengeti Design Group Inc.
• Web & IT Services – webnames.ca / John Ngan Communication Design
• Marketing - Analytics Marketing
• Intellectual Property - Gowlings /Smart & Biggar
• HR - Go Recruitment
• More TBA as this program grows

Start using the Voucher for UILO Services!

Once accepted into the program and a mentor has committed to the venture, the applicant and the UILO will enter into the Start-up Services Agreement between the applicant and UBC.

The applicant may choose from a variety of services, including:

• Business Assessment – Market Assessment, Business Planning
• Company Structure – Incorporation Assistance, Governance, Capital Structure, etc.
• Intellectual Property – IP Assessment, Freedom to Operate Assessment, IP Strategy Development, In-Licensing
• Grant Writing
• Company-in-a-box resources – a variety of agreement templates are available

The UILO will provide any combination of these services up to an in-kind value of $5,000. The Voucher has no cash value and is drawn down at a rate of $125/hr, translating into 40 hours of service from the UILO.

Questions?

What are the obligations to UBC?

The only obligations are that UBC is able to identify the new venture as a “UBC Affiliated Company” and that the company will respond to requests from UBC for updates on how they are doing for a period of 5 years.

UBC does not take a stake in the company for the services provided.

What about UBC’s IP policy?

The UILO Start-up Services Voucher program is directed towards supporting new ventures emerging out of UBC whether they are IP-based or not. For new ventures that are IP-based, IP that results from individual initiative that does not make material use of UBC facilities, funds, or other resources (computers, office time is ok) or were developed as part of the educational activities of a student is not owned by UBC under UBC’s IP Policy (Policy #88, Patents and Licensing).

If a new venture is based on University-funded research discoveries subject to UBC’s IP Policy (including graduate student thesis work usually) then the IP will be handled under the UILO’s conventional technology assessment, patenting and licensing role that has spawned over 140 UBC start-ups. The start-ups that license technology from UBC can apply for a Voucher if they meet the eligibility requirements above.

More Questions?

For more information please contact Brad Wheeler 604-827-5086.