We are pleased to advise that The Pitchies competition is being extended. We will be announcing some exciting news over the next week or so. In our rounds, we determined that pitch competitions of all sorts (live, taped, screencasts, mock and live again) were being held at many events. So rather than just holding another distinct competition, we will be integrating The Pitchies with another event to make it bigger and better.

The wind-up date had originally been scheduled for early November but the new date will be announced soon. Don’t miss your chance to enter for over $20k in great start-up prizes today!

$335,000 in prizes. Bragging rights. The attention of investors, peers, customers, recruits and media. It’s round 4 for New Ventures BC (NVBC) and the top 10 competitors will be announced on Sept. 4th. Like American Idol or The Bachelor, surviving the cut could also lead to successful matchmaking with supporters and funders. Like those others, the Top 10 will also be profiled and broadcast on TV - fundfindr.tv.

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Unlike other reality shows, this time the competition is very real! Look for profiles of these NVBC Start-up Rockstars and other hot event coverage coming this September on fundfindr.tv. For earlier coverage on NVBC click here and check out insightful interviews with NVBC presenters Basil Peters, Mike Volker shown here, Dave Thomas and major sponsor - BC Innovation Council’s Ross Waddell.

Looking to be the next video star? Even if you didn’t make the cut you can still compete for great prizes in The Pitchies competition with the first semi-finalist round ending August 31st. Upload your pitch and enter at fundfindr.com today and you may also be selected for an expert review of your pitch. Get your network to vote you in is as the People’s Choice. As a bonus, you’ll also qualify for a free $25 credit at webnames.ca here. Discover advice, connections and court investors. Venture dating made easier.

Got a hot event or professional video production needs? Your story needs the power of video for customers, social networking and the YouTube and Facebook generation. Contact fundfindr Media Services team at news@fundfindr.tv and we’ll add excitement, flair, top-notch production quality and valuable exposure.

Have you submitted your pitch to The Pitchies competition yet for your chance to win over $20k in prizes? Our experts want to see the finest new innovations so get your webcam or videocamera in action. We are just coming up to the announcement of our first semi-finalists so simply enter your pitch in our Compete section after you have uploaded it.

We also wanted to share some more background on the stellar judges we have lined up for the big November event where the Expert Pick winners will be announced. Plus, don’t forget to get your network voting for you for the People’s Choice Awards!

2008 Pitchies Judges - Bios

Basil Peters , Angel Investor, Entrepreneurial CEO, Fund Manager

While still in grad school, Basil co-founded Nexus Engineering. Nexus grew to seven companies with over 300 employees with operations in Hong Kong, Jakarta, London and five Canadian cities.  Basil is currently the manager of the Angel Fund Fundamental Technologies II.  Full bio

Greg Wolfe, Executive Vice President, Operations of SAP-Business Objects

Greg Wolfe is responsible for managing SAP-Business Objects operations and ensuring customer success in the Americas and EMEA. Wolfe has a strong track record of success in creating and managing high-growth and customer-obsessed organizations. Full bio

Mike Desjardins , Driver, Virtus

Mike is the Driver of Virtus and Past President of the Vancouver chapter of EO - the Entrepreneurs Organization. A graduate of UBC’s Commerce Faculty with a specialization in Marketing. Mike also spent three and a half years as the President of Purity Water Treatment Products. Full bio .

Robin Chakrabarti, Vice President, Corporate Development of T & M Group of Companies

The T&M Group have over 30 years of experience investing in, acquiring, building and growing profitable businesses, including Boston Pizza, Mr. Lube and Global Entertainment. In 2005, Robin was named one of BC’s top 40 businesspeople under 40. See Robin’s profile on Linked In

Ron Bertram, General Manager, Nintendo of Canada Ltd.

Ron Bertram is the Vice-President, General Manager for Nintendo of Canada Ltd . He is responsible for all of Nintendo’s business activities in Canada. Under Ron’s stewardship, Nintendo of Canada’s business has quadrupled in size to over ½ billion dollars. More bio here.

Ron Moravek, Chief Executive Officer, Sitemasher

Ron Moravek’s extraordinary ability to identify business opportunities and execute business plans made his joining Phil Calvin a natural next step in Sitemasher’s development path. The results-oriented, creative, high-energy leader comes packaged with an inspirational, fun and empowering management style. Full bio

Thomas Hellmann, B.I. Ghert Family Foundation Professor in Finance and Policy, Sauder School of Business University of British Columbia

Dr. Thomas Hellmann is a Professor at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. He holds a BA from the London School of Economics and a PhD from Stanford and teaches executive, MBA and undergraduate courses in the areas of entrepreneurship and strategic management. Full bio

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VANCOUVER, BC - If you can pitch your million-dollar idea in the time it takes to take a ride in an elevator, it’s time to take your shot at the big-time.

Fundfindr Media Inc. launched the Pitchies contest this week, inviting entrepreneurs to record their elevator pitch on video for the chance to win a prize package that will help make their business vision a reality.

The Pitchies contestants are eligible to win prizes in the Expert’s Pick round or in the People’s Choice round.

The winners of the Expert’s Pick Grand Prize includes a professionally produced corporate video, a website builder subscription, professional start-up kits, mentorship meetings and a bundle of service packages with a total value of about $20,000. Second prize will include a combination of services and mentorship experience valued at about $3,500. The Expert’s Pick will be judged by entrepreneurial experts including Sitemasher CEO Ron Moravek, Virtus Driver Mike Desjardins, Nintendo of Canada GM Ron Bertram, UBC Professor of Entrepreneurship Thomas Hellmann, Business Objects Executive Vice President Greg Wolfe and T&M Group of Companies Vice President Robin Chakrabarti.

The People’s Choice Prize winners selected by popular vote can win round-trip airfare to Vancouver, BC, one night in a Vancouver hotel, a two-night Whistler weekend, Website builder subscription,fundfindr premium service bundle and webnames.ca services with a total value of around $4,000.

More sponsors and judges will be announced shortly.

“The contest is like ‘Dragon’s Den meets YouTube”, says fundfindr CEO Bret Conkin. “With all of the Internet’s social media tools available now, why just restrict their elevator pitch to a boardroom office when they can instantly pitch thousands of investors in a video. This contest will give entrepreneurs with that next big idea the chance to refine their pitch, get noticed by investors and possibly take their venture from the idea stage to the big-time.”

Entrepreneurs will submit their video pitches for the Pitchies contest to the Fundfindr website at www.fundfindr.com. There will be monthly Pitch Reviews by business experts like Director of Fundamental Technologies II angel fund Basil Peters. For more detailed contest information, visit www.pitchies.com.

fundfindr Media Inc. is a Vancouver-based social media company that matches entrepreneurs with investors and service providers. Fundfindr’s online tools and consulting services help ventures get exposure, find investment, make connections and get expert feedback to improve their businesses over the long term.

fundfindr’s online video pitch forum is a popular example of how online social media tools are changing how businesses compete, Conkin says. “Many of our clients have described us as speed dating for entrepreneurs. It’s a really convenient way for investors to find their perfect match – a lot like how the Internet has revolutionized the dating scene.”

fundfindr also includes a broadcast channel and professional video production service, fundfindr.tv. For those still just getting their feet wet in business or investing, the fundfinder community offers success snacks — short video tutorials on everything from how to pitch investors to how to do PR, finance and human resources. Through fundfindr.tv, fans can also get updates, news, interviews, advice and invitations to hot events through streaming video, webcasts and a blog.

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Congratulations to Nikki Layton of Volo Innovations who will be spending a luxury week-end in Whistler for winning The Pitchies WarmUp exclusively for New Ventures BC competitors! Nikki was judged by the fundfindr team as having the best overall pitch page including her elevator pitch video, pitch page information and profile. Comments included: “A very direct pitch that immediately hones in on the pain the product solves and the scale of the opportunity.” Full marks for having a complete profile (the executive summary) and for the passion and clear industry knowledge captured in the pitch.

Congratulations to 3 other pitchers who came very close to winning!

Cynthia Roney of Pneuvation. Kudos for Cynthia included “ Wow, compelling from start to finish. Great use of pitch page to convey story. Much better than others at establishing market opportunity.”

Aaron Hilton of Cellmaps. Props for Aaron included “Good use of editing software to provide graphics into elevator pitch. Great use of pitch page. A compelling story that would attract investors.”

James Sherrett of Adhack. Finally, James pitch was highly regarded including “A relaxed pitch with just the right amount of information to make me want to read more. The profile page is well filled out with enough information to draw me to their website.”

For their efforts, the 3 honorable mentions will all receive a $250 fundfindr Premium Services credit.

Thanks to the other entrants and look for this week’s announcement of the launch of The Pitchies competition with over $25,000 in prizes. So practice your pitch, publish it for free at www.fundfindr.com, share it, embed it, get support, feedback and investor exposure!