BREAKTHRU JUDGES PRIMED TO PICK NB’s NEXT GREAT ENTREPRENEURS

FREDERICTON – With weeks turning into days and closing in on March 25th, suspense is mounting as the Breakthru finalists get set to pitch their ideas to Breakthru’s panel of judges that were announced today.  With $250,000 in equity investments and professional services at stake, the competition, hosted by the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation is expected to be intense.

This year’s judges are: Ross Finlay, co-founder and director of the First Angel Network Association; Marcel Lebrun, chief executive officer of Radian6 and serial entrepreneur; Jean-Claude Mercier, retired vice-president of Forintek Canada and Foundation board director; Trish Connolly, co-founder of Advanced Publishing Corporation; and Calvin Milbury, vice president of business development for the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation. For full profiles on each of the Breakthru judges, go to http://nbif.ca/page/index/breakthru-committee.

But the judging doesn’t stop here.  This year, the Foundation and CBC New Brunswick are inviting the general public to vote online and pick the finalist they want to win the Audience Choice Award.  The winning team will be invited to travel to Toronto and pitch their business on the set of the Dragons on CBC Television’s Dragons’ Den.

The Breakthru Awards Dinner is open to the public and includes a keynote address by Dianne Buckner, host of Dragons’ Den on CBC Television and Fortune Hunters on CBC Newsworld.  Dianne will share the top ten things she’s learned about pitching, persuading, and getting a “yes” from anyone; your boss, an investor, even a family member.

Watch the CBC News: New Brunswick at Six and pick up a copy of the Telegraph Journal for upcoming stories about the Breakthru finalists. Then go to www.cbc.ca/nb and vote for the team you think should win the Audience Choice Award.  Can’t make up your mind? To help you choose…check out in-depth feature stories of the finalists on www.cbc.ca/nb or www.canadaeast.com

The Breakthru Awards Dinner takes place at the Delta Fredericton on March 25, 2009.  Tickets are available at www.nbif.ca

For more information contact:
Chet Wesley, Director of Communication
877-554-6668
researchservices@nbif.ca