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The First Pitch to Close All Five Dragons in the Den Turns to Crowdfunding

If you watch Dragons Den, you'll remember Vancouver's Bradley Friesen and his pitch for a hangover prevention cure aptly named Last Call.

According to Friesen, he is about to be the first pitch in six seasons to slay all five dragons. With $25,000 in Dragons money in his pocket he has now turned to crowdfunding to raise another $40,000 to get Last Call off the ground.

Frieson has posted a pitch on Indiegogo and raised $17K will 17 days remaining on campaign. Check out his pitch after the jump.

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Tiger Woods turns to Canadian Startup for Facebook Challenge

This morning Tiger Woods and his foundation launched a fundraising campaign on Facebook to raise money for 10 underserved students to attend college and he chose Vancouver's FundRazr to power it.

The fundraising campaign will be conducted on Tiger’s personal Facebook page via the streamlined FundRazr application. Participants from around the world can contribute as little as $1 to the scholarship program. Every dollar raised will be personally matched by Woods with all proceeds going directly to the Earl Woods Scholars. The six-week campaign, beginning today, will conclude on May 14.

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Top Articles of March 2012: Last Month's Newsmakers Were Rogers, eThor, HootSuite, and RIM

1. Rogers Social Media Campaign Backfires by Knowlton Thomas

When Rogers paid to promote the hashtag #rogers1number, they intended to promote their new service, Rogers One Number. Instead, consumers used the national stage Rogers created to voice their displeasure with the company. It was one of the biggest social media gaffes of the year.

2. HootSuite Massive Funding Rumour by Rob Lewis

When our Editor-in-Chief sleuthed out a possible "massive financing round" HootSuite was on the verge of closing, the local startup and investment community was buzzing. He suggested a "nine digit valuation" and he was bang on—the Vancouver startup raised $20 million from Omers for a valuation of $200 million. We were on the story days before anyone else. Now Ryan Holmes is one-fifth of the way to his billion-dollar goal.

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Ryan Holmes Wants HootSuite to be Worth $1 Billion. Now One-Fifth the Way There, It's Suddenly Possible

In January, Ryan Holmes told BCBusiness that he wanted to build a billion-dollar company. At the time, it wasn't clear if this company could be HootSuite, the Vancouver startup that spun out of Ryan's Invoke Media.

The social media dashboard was popular, sure, nearing three million users and a swelling staff of more than 100. But the startup hadn't raised any money recently, or really ever—its valuation and revenues were both foggy mysteries to the public. Did HootSuite even stand a chance, or was Ryan thinking of building a new business with greater potential?

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The Benefits of CEOs Who Tweet are Legion, Survey Finds

C-level executives who tweet on Twitter are held in high regard, a new study by social media branding firm Brandfog has discovered.

In a survey conducted by the firm, 78% of respondents said CEOs who participate in social media leads to better communication, while 94% stated that it leads to an enhanced brand image. And 64% believe it provides greater transparency.

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Toronto's TalentEgg Aims to Solve Youth Unemployment in Canada with #HireGenY Day on Twitter

Canda's online career resource for students, TalentEgg, has launched a campaign today called Hire Gen Y Day. Designed for Twitter, the #HireGenY hashtag will drive TalentEgg's ambition to reduce youth unemployment.

Youth unemployment in Canada is nearly 15%—or almost double the total jobless rate of just over 7%. "Students and recent graduates across the country are entering into one of the most difficult job markets in recent history," a TalentEgg statement reads.

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Lawyer: It's Illegal for Employers to Ask Job Seekers for Facebook Passwords in Canada

A week ago, Elise Moreau wrote about employers asking for job seekers' Facebook passwords during interviews as part of their screening process. No one was happy to hear about employers attempting to access potential employees' social media networks - especially not Facebook.

Now Paul Cavaluzzo, a Toronto-based labour lawyer, has come forth to put job seekers' concerns at ease. He, alongside other lawyers, says that laws in Canada offer strong protection against employers asking for this personal information.

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'She Takes on the World,' a Guide for Women Who Want to be Their Own Boss

She Takes on the World Book CoverHow does a woman turn her passion into a successful business? Canada’s very own Natalie MacNeil, an EMMY Award-winning media entrepreneur, popular blogger, and thought leader in the areas of entrepreneurship and leadership for women, tries to answer this question in her new book entitled She Takes on the World. The book just launched today and can be purchased on Amazon and at select Chapters and Barnes and Noble stores.

The focus of MacNeil’s new guidebook for aspiring female entrepreneurs is to teach them how to work happy and live on purpose. At the very beginning of the book, MacNeil suggests that the secret to success is “love plus passion plus a need in the market.”

From sharing “lessons and confessions” from other successful female business owners, to identifying ways to develop a “Master Action Plan (MAP),” MacNeil offers helpful advice and actionable steps to take in designing the business of your dreams. Throughout the book, she provides her favourite “gems” which are small tidbits of information about software, websites, or tools that she personally uses to make her work life easier and more efficient.

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Tunecore's New Rules For The Music Industry

Techvibes reported that Tunecore, which allows artists to sell their music in three steps, officially launched in Canada back in January. They have since come out with a handbook called the "Music Industry Survival Manual: New Rules For The Music Industry."

While you can view seven volumes here and order them for free, I'm going to outline in brief Tunecore's nine new rules for the music industry as it continues to shift from traditional to one with digital downloads, on-demand streams, and unlimited digital shelf space. Artists that use Tunecore have made over a quarter of a billion dollars from 500 million units of music. 

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