Once again we are reminded that Kamloops is full of creative entrepreneurs and incredible talent. Choosing the finalists for the Fast Pitch Competition at Aberdeen Mall for this coming weekend has not been as easy as we had anticipated.
There have been many great submissions but we have finally come to our top eight who will be pitching their creative business ideas and start-up businesses on Saturday to our expert panel of judges.
Kids Coffee & Tea Company – Team Genie from Race to a Million will be pitching their long awaited business model which supports children’s charities including the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Kids Coffee and Tea Company plan on measuring their success by the health and wellness of local children in the community. They maintain that every aspect of their operation from their suppliers, to their roasters, to their customers will be approached with a goal of supporting kids’ programs and enrichment opportunities in a sustainable and effective way. With an exciting distribution program already underway and plans for future retail outlets and franchises, Kids Coffee and Tea Company aim to be so much more than a great cup of coffee.
Agile Schedule – Jarrod Goddard from Net Shift Media will be pitching his web-based personal scheduling system that solves the problem of checking multiple calendar sources for your own calendar of activities. Personal schedules, work schedules and school schedules are all combined into a single calendar system to save time and frustration for users, business owners, and schools. Agile Schedule will combine a unique approach to serving the business community, post secondary schools, and individuals while integrating social media and communications tools with this unique approach that Jarrod believes is poised to become a prominent personal scheduling system and a single definitive source for managing our daily lives.
HeatPads.ca – Team Alpha from Race to A Million will pitch their latest business idea for reusable heat pads. Team Alpha’s Heat Pads are reusable self-powered heating devices. Popular uses for the pads include warming your hands, soothing tense muscles, and a variety of other applications. Team Alpha believes they have developed a business model capable of providing significant return on investment. Team Alpha plans to sell the business for what they believe is a low cost opportunity to have a great money-making small business.
The Ripcharger Supercharger- Dennis Smith will present the world’s first commercially available super-charger for 2 stroke engines. Starting with the snowmobile market and expanding into other power sports markets, the Ripcharger Supercharger provides more power, better handling and increased fuel efficiency. Dennis and his business partners at Ripcharger have been getting a lot of practice pitching with their recent entry into the New Ventures BC Competitions so get ready to see a rip roaring presentation as they set their sites on impressing our great judges.
Spark Your Imagination Story Starters – Tamara Vukusic will pitch her collection of 52 scenarios to kick-start imagination, encourage problem-solving and get families talking. Only recently launched, in December, Spark Story Starters are already being retailed across Canada as both a deck of cards and an App available for iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Android devices. Spark Your Imagination Story Starters inspire kids to think beyond the boundaries of what is. Tamara says “The future needs our creative kids. Get your kids to think outside the box with Spark Story Starters and empower them to hone an increasingly valuable skill.”
Cell Pods – Matthew Muzzillo will unveil and pitch his rapid charging “vending” machine for providing a quick charge to mobile and hand held devices. This technology will service people in public locations who are on-the-go. Matthew says “Let’s face it, cellphone demand and usage is on the rise each and every single day. Keeping in touch with friends and family, surfing the internet and snapping pictures can take a lot out of your battery. On-the-go is when you need access to your cellphone the most, so don’t get stuck without power. Utilize a CELLPODS Rapid Charging Machine to ensure that you’ll always have power.”
Wild West Adventure Vacations – Larry Foss will pitch an adventure vacation package he claims to be the only package like it in North America. 6 Days and 6 nights of adventure, visiting historic ranches in the interior of BC. Amongst the unique memories created for a lifetime vacationers will experience robbing a stage coach and a train and they will take a DVD recording of their adventure to share with friends and family. Larry plans on serving 108 clients from late June to early September with 5 days of “old west” combined with one day of “new west”.
ShareMy360.com – Jason Wassing from Greater Than Technology will pitch to our esteemed judges (and unveil to the public for the very first time) a new software platform which has been in development for almost 2 years. Nearing completion this new web based virtual tour online platform will provide an easy and unique way of marketing businesses and sharing information with the world through social media. Jason says there is already significant demand from many sectors including real estate, hospitality tourism, retail marketing, education, and manufacturing.
Episode 17 of the Race to a Million can now be viewed on the website. This week we have a TRU theme to the Race. We take a look at what’s happening with the teams, what it’s like to be a student and a participant in the Race, the Associate Dean of the School of Business and Economics joins us in the study to talk about sponsoring the upcoming Art of Doing Business Series, and we head up to TRU for International Days and speak with TRU World about their marketing efforts to International students.
Follow the latest strategy’s, get up to speed and stay on top of all the hard core business action that these teams have been doing as we take you on the ground and follow two business meetings to show you the leg work these three teams have been doing. Which team is leading the pack? Find out in this Race update!!!
For this Participant Spotlight we brought in Mike Harrison from Team Alpha!! In this video he tells us the top 3 things you should know before purchasing your home! Mike Harrison lends his advice on his years of experience in real estate. Check out this video and find out more about how to contact him if you need help!!!
This episode is running on Shaw TV on the following dates: Thursday January, 20th at 8PM, Saturday, January 22nd at 5PM and Sunday, January 23rd at 5PM (Moved from 3PM)
If you can’t catch it on Shaw TV in the local Kamloops market you can check out the entire episode here on this website through our Vimeo channel in full HD by following the link at the end of this post!
In this episode:
BIZ APPS: Great applications for mobile smart phones and devices. Dean and Peter do battle to see who has the better application. Who do you think better this week? We’d love to hear from you. Vote for your favorite in the comments section of this post!
BIG IDEAS: Bryan Wickham from Dragon’s Decorative Concrete joins us in the studio for a segment we like to call BIG IDEAS. Where we talk about one of his former inventions called the Umbrachipin… A Golf Umbrella that doubles as a putting and chipping practice tool.
PARTICIPANT SPOTLIGHT: Local Realtor, Mike Harrison, from Team Alpha joins us in the studio for a participant spotlight.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: We head up to Aberdeen Mall and interview Trish Baldwin to talk about the mall, its connections to the community, and why they became a Race to a Million sponsor.
RACE UPDATE: We tune into to watch Team Genie, Team Alpha and Team TRU with a race update. Team Genie works on their marketing for the Kids Coffee and Tea Company while Team Alpha and Team TRU team up to “pitch” the Kamloops SPCA on a great business idea which can also help the BCSPCA with a great fund-raising program.
Get the full Race Update from Episode 8 here!!!!! Team Alpha talks about three different investment strategies… From Team Nexus is Professor Investor who promotes healing with the top five products on www.dealsvm.com… Matrix and their new website along with the distribution of Vatahealth… We went up to TRU to get an update from Bernie Warren and Usman Vahidy for Team TRU… and lastly Team Genie’s Michael Koehn came into the studio to talk about Kids Coffee and Tea Company!
Get ready for some exciting race updates from Team Alpha!!! Matt Oginski brings us up to speed on the new strategy with the TRU Wolfpack Hockey mosaic campaign in episode 6. Then in episode 7 Jason Wassing and Matt Oginski unleash the the Kraft Dinner noodle contest!!! Lastly in Episode 8 we will update you on three of Alpha’s projects.
Since you’ve been inviting us into your home for the last few months we thought we’d invite you into one of ours. Join us at Peter’s home, decorated for the holidays, as we talk review what has happened with the teams so far in the Race To A Million.
It’s been quite an adventure so far in the race and since we are switching the calendar over to 2011 we thought we’d share some of our candid thoughts on some of the strategies employed by the teams so far and what we think, straight shooting from the hip.
Where did the idea of the Race to a Million come from? Who is watching? Where are the teams at? What are they doing? Do they have a chance of getting there?
Team Alpha has just added another $740 in profit to their bottom line with the sale of their Mazda Millennia S. This brings their total to $2,382.78 just $458 behind the leader, Team TRU.
In this BIG Ideas Video Peter and Dean discuss submitting to the BIG IDEAS form on Race To A Million and some feedback (AND IDEAS) from Peter’s daughter Heather Cameron-Inglis. Are there people out there that seem a little reluctant to submit their ideas? You bet there are! Are they holding onto their ideas? Yes! Why might that be? Heather Cameron-Inglis shed a little light on why this might be for us to share.
Some of the ideas might be from more than one person… can people submit ideas as groups or couples? The answer is yes! Please do! Perhaps you have a team of your own and are following along with the show trying to create some masterminding and entrepreneurial business yourselves. That would be great and we’d love you to submit on behalf of a group or even if you’re doing it with a friend!
Some people might also be thinking … If I submit my idea I might win $10,000 but if I keep my idea to myself then I won’t have to share it with anyone and I could make millions … to that we say … If you don’t submit your idea and you never get around to doing it … you’ll have nothing BUT even if you’re scared of losing it … email Dean and Peter at info@racetoamillion.ca with your thoughts and maybe we can help … that’s what we are here for!
Watch the video to hear a couple of ideas from Peter’s daughter, Heather, which include an iPhone application for “breaking the ice” in a conversation and an expansion of Team Alpha and Team TRU’s mosaic project idea to help with a problem that high school graduates are currently facing.
The Deals Von Mastermind website from Team Nexus… Team TRU offers several products at the Home Show and online including local artwork and Heat Smart heaters… Team Alpha develops a special mosaic picture program and launches the effort in conjunction with Wolf Pack Hockey… Team Alpha and Team TRU come together with a common cause and partner on a project.
We got out on the streets of Kamloops in this video segment of “Feet in the Street” and asked some fans in Kamloops a few questions. Is it possible to turn $500 into $1 Million? How would you do it? Is being a nice person good for business? What’s your big idea?
Time for a Race Update from The Race To A Million teams. Team Nexus is down a little (again) after purchasing software for their online store… Pete says “I’ll eat my hat if the site is up in time”. Team Matrix hasn’t yet moved from their $755 mark. They’ve lost a couple of members but they’re in the process of adding replacements. Matrix assures us, however, that they are getting ready to move forward with their strategies. Third place has Team Genie who also has lost a member but they are very excited about their upcoming product launch. In second place is team Alpha who has added their first sponsor, Brian from Home Pro Inspections Service and they’re dropping the cost of the car they have for sale. In first place is Team TRU still meeting weekly… still innovating… the business community seems to really buying in to this team while they leverage all of their ideas.
Race To A Million is the 1st ever "Social Reality" TV show - where Social Media meets Reality TV. Our goal is to prove that business can be fun, socially conscious, environmentally responsible, and sustainable while still profitable. We say "Nice People CAN Finish First!"
This a 1 of a kind money making contest highlights innovative and strategic business ideas. It's a contest with 5 creative teams of business people, entrepreneurs and students competing to see who can parlay $500 into $1 Million by July 1st 2011. Fans can also win prizes (up to $10,000) by submitting their creative money-making ideas.
Peter Cameron-Inglis | Posted in Aberdeen Mall, Alpha, Business Ideas, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Genie, Kamloops, Make-A-Wish, Teams | Posted on 01-03-2011 
Once again we are reminded that Kamloops is full of creative entrepreneurs and incredible talent. Choosing the finalists for the Fast Pitch Competition at Aberdeen Mall for this coming weekend has not been as easy as we had anticipated.
Kids Coffee & Tea Company – Team Genie from Race to a Million will be pitching their long awaited business model which supports children’s charities including the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Kids Coffee and Tea Company plan on measuring their success by the health and wellness of local children in the community. They maintain that every aspect of their operation from their suppliers, to their roasters, to their customers will be approached with a goal of supporting kids’ programs and enrichment opportunities in a sustainable and effective way. With an exciting distribution program already underway and plans for future retail outlets and franchises, Kids Coffee and Tea Company aim to be so much more than a great cup of coffee.
Agile Schedule – Jarrod Goddard from Net Shift Media will be pitching his web-based personal scheduling system that solves the problem of checking multiple calendar sources for your own calendar of activities. Personal schedules, work schedules and school schedules are all combined into a single calendar system to save time and frustration for users, business owners, and schools. Agile Schedule will combine a unique approach to serving the business community, post secondary schools, and individuals while integrating social media and communications tools with this unique approach that Jarrod believes is poised to become a prominent personal scheduling system and a single definitive source for managing our daily lives.
HeatPads.ca – Team Alpha from Race to A Million will pitch their latest business idea for reusable heat pads. Team Alpha’s Heat Pads are reusable self-powered heating devices. Popular uses for the pads include warming your hands, soothing tense muscles, and a variety of other applications. Team Alpha believes they have developed a business model capable of providing significant return on investment. Team Alpha plans to sell the business for what they believe is a low cost opportunity to have a great money-making small business.
The Ripcharger Supercharger - Dennis Smith will present the world’s first commercially available super-charger for 2 stroke engines. Starting with the snowmobile market and expanding into other power sports markets, the Ripcharger Supercharger provides more power, better handling and increased fuel efficiency. Dennis and his business partners at Ripcharger have been getting a lot of practice pitching with their recent entry into the New Ventures BC Competitions so get ready to see a rip roaring presentation as they set their sites on impressing our great judges.
Spark Your Imagination Story Starters – Tamara Vukusic will pitch her collection of 52 scenarios to kick-start imagination, encourage problem-solving and get families talking. Only recently launched, in December, Spark Story Starters are already being retailed across Canada as both a deck of cards and an App available for iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Android devices. Spark Your Imagination Story Starters inspire kids to think beyond the boundaries of what is. Tamara says “The future needs our creative kids. Get your kids to think outside the box with Spark Story Starters and empower them to hone an increasingly valuable skill.”
Cell Pods – Matthew Muzzillo will unveil and pitch his rapid charging “vending” machine for providing a quick charge to mobile and hand held devices. This technology will service people in public locations who are on-the-go. Matthew says “Let’s face it, cellphone demand and usage is on the rise each and every single day. Keeping in touch with friends and family, surfing the internet and snapping pictures can take a lot out of your battery. On-the-go is when you need access to your cellphone the most, so don’t get stuck without power. Utilize a CELLPODS Rapid Charging Machine to ensure that you’ll always have power.”
Wild West Adventure Vacations – Larry Foss will pitch an adventure vacation package he claims to be the only package like it in North America. 6 Days and 6 nights of adventure, visiting historic ranches in the interior of BC. Amongst the unique memories created for a lifetime vacationers will experience robbing a stage coach and a train and they will take a DVD recording of their adventure to share with friends and family. Larry plans on serving 108 clients from late June to early September with 5 days of “old west” combined with one day of “new west”.
ShareMy360.com – Jason Wassing from Greater Than Technology will pitch to our esteemed judges (and unveil to the public for the very first time) a new software platform which has been in development for almost 2 years. Nearing completion this new web based virtual tour online platform will provide an easy and unique way of marketing businesses and sharing information with the world through social media. Jason says there is already significant demand from many sectors including real estate, hospitality tourism, retail marketing, education, and manufacturing.
jchan
