Boot Camps teach how to pitch ideas in a way that appeals to a business savvy investor. Alberta Deal Generator creates a mechanism whereby entrepreneurs receive training on how to ask for the money they need, while investors get pre-screened investment opportunities.

"It was a pleasure working with the Alberta Deal Generator team. The boot camp process helped me streamline my presentation and highlight the critical points so that investors could understand our story in a ten minute pitch. I had the opportunity to get feedback from experienced professional investors, which I’ve used to refine our business plan and investor package. Several following meetings were facilitated which in turn have resulted in new relationships and an good opportunity for us to close our next round of financing. I would definitely recommend Alberta Deal Generator to entrepreneurs who want to polish their messaging and get in front of angel investors."

Sean Krakiwsky, Nanalysis

"Even in the best of times, raising funds for a high tech start up can be difficult. With the economy such as it is, entrepreneurs face even more competition from a smaller pool of funding resources. Luckily, through Calgary Technologies Inc., I was introduced to the Alberta Deal Generator boot camp to help me master the art of presenting my company from an investor’s point of view. Most angel forums are, well, angel forums that entrepreneurs go to present. What makes ADG different is their intense focus in training entrepreneurs to pitch, rethink/refine business model, presentation skills and draft the most important slide deck. If you are an entrepreneur who has never raised funds before, tried but failed to raise funds or need to raise more funds, I would recommend you speak to ADG."

Francis Yuen, CEO, Baseband Technologies Inc.

“The ADG Boot Camp really opened our eyes to the true nature of the investment community and reinforced the value of long-term financial planning and bringing on experienced management.” 

Mark Holtom, COO of Innovequity

“As experienced managers, we feel that we know all the key steps required when undertaking a start-up venture. But, we gloss over details that are critical for a company’s success such as our sales and marketing plan to exploring market verticals we hadn’t considered. These discussions forced a high level of discipline on our management team early on; positioning us well to secure additional financing, and follow-on awards such as Canada’s Top 10 and the Virtualization Congress Global Start-Up Competition Award.”

Geoff Hayward, President and Founder, Data Gardens

"It was a lot of work to free up three days for the Alberta Deal Generator workshop, but it was so worth it. Although, it was no vacation. The three days were so crammed full that at the end of it all I was exhausted. But, as Randy Thompson, puts it, the sponge (in my head) was full.

The timing of the workshop could not have been better for me. My entrepreneurial pursuit has been launched for a few years and this year it has started to earn revenue. Where to go now? I read about software startups getting funding from angel investors. What are angel investors? How are they different from venture capitalists? I read about 2nd round funding of millions of dollars for startups. Wow. So what is the catch? I know that with a few bucks I could really push the company forward toward realizing the vast success it can be. Who can I talk to about that? I have tapped out my resources and any friend or family within yelling distance, I suppose an angel investor is the next step. How could I convince one that my idea is awesome and that it will make him a good return on his investment. What sort of return does he expect? How quickly? I suppose he or she would want a portion o the company, but how much am I willing to give up? I suppose this depends on how much I need and how much the company is currently worth. So how do I figure that out? For real.

The workshop by Thompson and friends answered all these questions for me. And more. Real angel investors among other entrepreneurs ran the course. Not only did they run the course, they ran it with true passion. Mix in representatives from several layers of government plus a small group of other fellow entrepreneurs and the result was a group of people that worked together to turn our (well, my) anemic attempts a selling an idea into a tight cohesive and convincing presentation that we could take to an angel investor group the next day. Investor Doug from California told me after my final presentation that I was very close and gave me his card. Randy told me that I sold him on it ... except for one thing regarding "xxx". ALL RIGHT! You can bet that "xxx" is my top priority; it is some very tangible that I can grab onto.

I can't say enough about the people involved. The presentations blew me away. We hung out at lunch, dinner, cocktails will seasoned entrepreneurs, executives, investors. By day they spent the day hammering on us with questions after our presentations, by night I hammered them with questions. I made a lot of serious business contacts and friends. More than a few of the connections have continued since the workshop and my company has taken on a prominent advisor (who presented at the workshop). Although I have not sought investment, I have an offer of investment and now I have more tools to help make decisions."

Randy Troppmann
Founder, Chief Architect
RunningMap.com
randy@runningmap.com