Tag Archives: research and development funding

tech accelerator

Are you launching a tech startup?

There’s never been a better time to launch a tech startup company in BC.  Only a decade ago, a tech company would have to search far and wide to find the supports it needed to get off the ground.  Now there are 25 accelerators in BC alone.

If you are launching a tech startup, you need all the help you can get.  This article aims to inform you what you need to know about accelerators, as well as other R&D funding opportunities that you should not overlook.

How can an accelerator help you?

Accelerators, also known as incubators, typically offer low-cost office space, access to tools and equipment, as well as proximity to other start-up leaders.  In addition, some will invest in start-up companies or provide mentorship networks and organize funding events to draw investor interest.  A good example of this is the Cascadia Summit, an event organized by the Launch Academy incubator in Vancouver.

Are accelerators effective?

The jury is still out on the effectiveness of start-up accelerators.  However, if you read tech news you will notice a trend of articles about tech companies whose successful launch included a beginning at an accelerator.  Companies cite a number of advantages to working at accelerators, including a quicker path to understanding the causes of business pitfalls through good coaching and advice, as well as help identifying the most appropriate target markets.

The other side of the story is that it’s hard to define what success looks like for an accelerator program.  The fact remains that a large percentage of tech start-ups fail.  A Start-up Genome report by Stanford University and University of California Berkeley which analyzed 3,200 early stage tech companies found that over 90% ended in failure.  The causes?  Rather than competition, failure was mostly due to internal problems like premature scaling, or hiring too many people too soon, as well as focusing on acquiring users before the product has been through enough testing.

What are the top funded accelerators?

Recently a couple of accelerators topped the lists of Federal funding recipients with the mandate to match the funding on a one to one basis: The BC Technology Industry Association (BCTIA), which received $10.4 million and Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre Society, which received $9.5 million.

How many accelerators are there in BC?

There are a number of other accelerators in BC including the following:

  • Accelerate Okanagan
  • Accelerate Tectoria, VIATeC
  • Centre4Growth, BCTIA
  • Discovery Parks
  • entrepreneurship@UBC
  • entrepreneurship@UVic
  • Foresight Cleantech Accelerator
  • GreenTech Exchange, SFU
  • Highline
  • Innovation Central Society
  • Innovation Island
  • Institute B
  • Invoke Labs
  • Kamloops Innovation Centre
  • Kootenay Association for Science & Technology
  • Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council
  • Launch Academy
  • New Ventures BC
  • SFU TIME Ventures
  • Spring Activator
  • Vancouver Island Technology Park
  • VentureLabs
  • Victoria Square Labs
  • Zen Launchpad

R&D funding to support your venture

It’s important for tech start-ups to realize that in addition to investor funding, there are also a number of research and development funding programs to support a startup’s growth.

Enhanced Capital Recovery (ECR) is dedicated to helping companies discover the full potential of innovation funding and R&D incentives available.   To best support start-ups financially, ECR only charges fees based on results, never before.

If you are new to the innovation game and foresee spending resources in this area, let us help you setup in the right way to take advantage of all of the opportunities.

Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to explore all of the possible funding alternatives that may be available for your company.








Research and Development Funding FAQ

You have probably heard of the Scientific Research & Experimental R&D innovation Vancouver Edmonton TorontoDevelopment (SR&ED) program, but you may have some questions. What is research and development, exactly? What kinds of activities apply? Why is the government funding these projects?

There is a good chance that a task your employees have performed in the recent past, or carry out on a daily basis, qualifies for SR&ED funding. Here are the answers to common questions about the program, and how your business may be eligible to recover expenses today.

What is research and development?

The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) rewards businesses of all sizes and in all industries for conducting research and experiments with the goal of advancing technology. From the outset, the project must be undertaken to overcome a technical obstacle with an element of uncertainty in the outcome.

Whether or not your experiments were successful does not matter—the CRA bases its funding on the attempt alone—so long as they were conducted systematically and there was an element of uncertainty in the outcome.

The CRA will expect your business to have a technical uncertainty in mind before conducting the R&D, and you must be able to prove this “technical content.” For this reason it is very important to be aware of what needs to be documented and seek an experienced SR&ED consultant.

What types of projects qualify?

For many businesses, eligible projects are often a form of experimental development. An owner of a sporting goods shop who improved a point-of-sale system to track online sales, or a commercial fishery that developed a better canning process could both qualify.

Eligible scientific research doesn’t need to involve microscopes and lab coats (though that certainly counts). Researching your farm’s water use to develop a more efficient irrigation process, for example, could be a qualifying activity.

Why is the CRA rewarding R&D?

The federal government has long since been rewarding research and development by Canadian companies. Beginning as a traditional tax credit program in the 1940s, interest in technological advancement on Parliament Hill has since adapted into the SR&ED program.

The Canadian government strongly feels that domestic research and development keeps Canada competitive in the global marketplace. The SR&ED program is therefore an investment: funding Canadian-owned companies to advance technology for a strong economy.

I think my company is eligible—what do I do now?

The SR&ED application process is becoming stricter each year and since SR&ED is about technical innovation and new knowledge, it is advantageous to engage a specialist who can understand your technical obstacles as well as what CRA requires for a successful SR&ED claim.

If you think your business could qualify for SR&ED funding, contact Enhanced Capital Recovery today for a free consultation to confirm you qualify and perhaps to see how much of your expenses can be recovered. Call Enhanced Capital Recovery at 1-800-470-0235, visit us online at www.enhancedcapitalrecovery.com  or email us at info@enhancedcapitalrecovery.com.

At ECR, a SRED firm in Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto, you will work with an industry-expert consultant who knows how to maximize your claim in your specific field. We look forward to hearing from you!