British Columbia Innovation Council

Now more than two month after taking home the first place prize in 2011's BCIC-New Ventures Competition: Regional, BCIC got in touch with Ashley Roulston, cofounder of Reef Safe Fish to learn what they've been up to, what they took away from the experience and how it's going to help them succeed in the larger provincial competition which is now underway.

"Our experience in the BCIC-New Ventures Competition was really incredible," said Roulston. "The most valuable part of our participation was the people we met. It was clear they [the Competition] had put in a lot of effort to assemble some of the brightest people around to share their valuable experiences with us."

And the Victoria-based startup is putting into practice the many valuable lessons they learned. Since the end of the competition, the creators of the closed-loop waste-recycling technology have hired an additional two staff and are preparing for growth.

"The competition gave our company a lot of exposure," added Roulston. "I would recommend BCIC-New Ventures Competition to anyone with an idea or early stage company. The questions you need to answer in each round are really key to knowing your business and being able to effectively explain it to others."

Reef Safe Fish, recently named a finalist for the 2011 VIATeC ‘Emerging Tech Company' award which will be handed out June 2nd in Victoria, has also entered the 2011 province-wide BCIC-New Ventures Competition which has more than $360,000 in prizing to be won. "We're looking forward to seeing what else we can learn through this competition as there will be many different faces and somewhat different criteria to keep us thinking ahead."

The BCIC-New Ventures Competition is now underway. The top 40 will be announced in May 31st. The BCIC-New Ventures Seminar Series are open to the public. Cost is $20 for each individual seminar. Student with a valid ID can attend for free.

Click here for the full seminar schedule.

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