Join AVAC this Thursday, July 21st in Edmonton to celebrate investment in Alberta innovation
I was up at the AVAC offices in Northeast Calgary a couple of weeks ago, and chatted with Jacques LaPointe and Martin Vetter, both of whom are Investment Managers for the company.
AVAC is hosting their annual party "Investing in Innovators Series 2011" in Edmonton this Thursday, July 21st. If you're interested in going, it's at Sutton Place Hotel in Edmonton, 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Send an email to rsvp@avacltd.com. Click here for more details.
AVAC, as you'll recall, is a not-for-profit private company that receives gov't funding and using a board of directors, they evaluate and invest millions of dollars into innovative tech and agriculture companies. The funds are non-dilutive, and typically only need to be re-paid when the company achieves it's milestones (often, profitability is the key, but each deal can vary on the agreement of milestones). The ins-and-outs of your particular needs are expertly handled by Jacques and Martin, who are regular figures at most local tech events. They are also active sponsors of events such as AccelerateAB last week in Calgary.
They released their AVAC 2010-11 Annual Report a month ago, focusing on their investees.
And, invest they do. Since 1997, AVAC has committed over $113M of investment in Alberta companies to date:
- 115 early-stage companies
- 38 agricultural research programs
- 3 V.C. funds
Thus far, the companies AVAC has invested in have reported more than $545M in combined sales and attracted an additional $603 millio investment from other sources.
As the largest single-source funder of Alberta innovative startups, AVAC is a key pillar of the Alberta tech landscape. Lots to celebrate ... !
