The 2007 iGNITION $1K Pitch Competition, taking place on January 12, 2007 in the Senate and Board Chamber, is designed for both students and community members. It provides future entrepreneurs with the opportunity to present their business ideas in a safe and constructive environment.

Competitors have 90 seconds to present their business idea to a panel of judges. The top three teams will walk away with $1,000 each with no commitment to start their business.

The deadline to enter is Friday, December 8 at noon; both individuals and teams can sign up online at www.launchpad50k.ca.

iGNITION $1K serves as a warm up for entry into the LaunchPad $50K Venture Creation Competition that runs in May. LaunchPad $50K is a platform designed to develop and encourage entrepreneurs in the Kitchener, Waterloo, and Guelph communities. The competition strives to bring students and community members together in business ventures leveraging participants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Over the course of the year, LaunchPad $50K participants attend a variety of networking events and workshops designed to assist with business plan development and team formation. Upcoming events to assist with pitch formation are:

January 9, 2007 - Workshop #3: Perfecting Your Pitch at 5:30-7:00pm, Senate & Board Chamber

January 11, 2007 - Pitch Practice / Feedback Session at 5:30-7:00pm, Senate & Board Chamber

All workshops and events are free.

For more information, please visit www.launchpad50k.ca or contact James Nadeau at organizer-wlu@launchpad50k.ca.

Sonia Ghandhi presents Dr Akula
with the Social Entrepreneur of
the Year Award

SKS Microfinance, based in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, applies global business practices to the field of microfinance. Known as the ‘Starbucks of Microfinance’, SKS standardizes microfinance processes and uses technology to accelerate growth. Indeed, SKS was the fastest growing microfinance institution from 1998 to 2004 with a 300% growth rate. SKS has lent over 3.2 billion rupees in income-generating loans and has benefited approximately 1.5 million individuals. Their loan members improve their economic well-being by 11% yearly − often breaking the cycle of poverty within three years. Vikram was born in Hyderabad and grew up in the United States. He witnessed poverty on numerous family visits to India and made a promise to himself to eradicate it.

The Schwab Foundation and the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and UNDP, worked together on the selection and award process. An eminent jury including representatives of the partners as well as Anu Aga of Thermax Ltd, Ashok Khosla of Development Alternatives, Byrraju Raju of Satyam Computer Services and Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express selected the Social Entrepreneur of the Year in India from among four finalists. The other three finalists are:

Amitabha Sadangi is the CEO of International Development Enterprises India (IDEI) based in New Delhi. Since 1992, IDEI has developed and marketed affordable micro-irrigation technologies to 800,000 marginal and small farmers of India. The irrigation technologies have vastly improved their agricultural productivity, strengthened their food security bases and integrated them into rural markets. This often lifts the user out of poverty by raising income by 33 to 50%.

Padmanabha and Rama Rao are the co-directors and co-founders of Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resources (RIVER) based in Madanpalli, Andhra Pradesh. RIVER has developed a multigrade, multi-level (MGML) methodology that turns the many problems of rural education into advantages. RIVER has worked with the government to adopt the MGML methodology in more than 25,000 schools and provides quality education to 7.5 million children.

S. Rajagopalan and Svati Bhogle are the chairman and CEO respectively of Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE) based in Bangalore. TIDE identifies economically rewarding, environment-friendly technologies and adopts them to be sold by rural entrepreneurs to demonstrate the local economic benefit of technology use and overcome socio-cultural obstacles. This has led to improved livelihoods for 15,000 individuals and the conservation of 150,000 tonnes of natural resources.

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship was started by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, and his wife, Hilde. Since its inception in 2000, the Foundation has been searching for the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, who implement innovative and pragmatic solutions to social problems by tackling the root causes and creating a social transformation. The current network of the Foundation spans 105 social entrepreneurs and their organizations from more than 40 countries. A recent evaluation study showed that the budgets and the number of beneficiaries reached of the selected social entrepreneurs grew three times faster while part of the network. In one year alone, the Schwab social entrepreneurs raised close to US$ 80 million as a direct result of the contacts and opportunities offered by the Foundation.

What: Official competition launch to find Canada's Next Top Ad Exec

When: Tuesday November 28, 2006

Time: 10:30 am - 11:30 am

Where: McMaster University DeGroote School of Business (Atrium) 1280 Main Street West Hamilton, Ontario

Who: Larry Futers, Director of National Marketing, Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada, Inc.
Dr. Milena Head, Associate Professor & Associate Dean Professor
Mandeep Malik, Director of bizX Program for Student Exchange & Lecturer Adam Vespi, CNTAE Chair
Matt Gould, CNTAE Executive Business Students, Faculty and Staff of McMaster University

TORONTO - The winners of the fourth annual Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100(TM) will be announced today by the Women's Executive Network(TM) and co-presenting sponsors Scotiabank and Richard Ivey School of Business. The awards in eight categories will be presented during a sold-out Awards Luncheon - the focal point of a daylong professional development Summit that takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. For a complete list of this year's winners, please go to our website at www.wxnetwork.com.

Over 1000 executives and future leaders will gather at the awards ceremony to celebrate the achievements of the most influential women in Canada. Attendees will hear a variety of award winners including: Government of BC Deputy Minister to the Premier and Cabinet Secretary Jessica McDonald, Lakeport Brewing & Income Fund Chair and Chief Executive Officer Teresa Cascioli, Canada's National Ballet School Artistic Director Mavis Staines, Free the Children's Chief Operations Director Dalal Al-Waheidi and Scotiabank's Executive Vice President and Group Head, Global Transaction Banking Alberta Cefis.

The full day Summit kicks off with a breakfast keynote address from Top 100 award winner Petro-Canada Senior Vice President North American Natural Gas Kathleen Sendall, one of the most senior female corporate executives in Canada. There will be interactive sessions throughout the day featuring Top 100 award winners including: panel discussions on the myths of worklife balance in the executive suite, how women can build their mentoring networks and what it takes to build a career as a board director. Featured Top 100 panelists include TELUS Quebec and TELUS Partner Solutions' Executive Vice President & President Karen Radford, Court of Appeal for Ontario Honourable Justice Eileen Gillese, and Alliance Atlantis President & CEO Phyllis Yaffe. The day rounds out with an inspirational session with Pier 21 Foundation Chair Ruth Goldbloom.

"This year we are thrilled to have over 80 of our Top 100 winners and alumnae joining us," said Pamela Jeffery, Founder of the Women's Executive Network and Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards program. "The caliber of this year's winners and featured panelists is an amazing testament to the incredible talent we have in Canada - across all sectors."

"Canada has a wealth of talented and experienced businesswomen who make outstanding contributions to the growth of their organizations and the Canadian economy as a whole. Whether as managers in large organizations or as entrepreneurs in their own companies, women in business are making great strides," said Carol Stephenson, Dean, Richard Ivey School of Business.

"Ivey recognizes the importance of women in leadership roles. Through our programs we encourage women to seriously consider careers in business. This event is an important initiative to celebrate the impact that women are making in industries across Canada and Ivey is pleased to again be part of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100," said Stephenson.

Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100(TM) Awards and Summit recognizes exceptional women in eight categories: Corporate Executives, Entrepreneurs, Public Sector Leaders, Trailblazers & Trendsetters, Professionals, Champions, Future Leaders and new this year - Arts and Communications. For category descriptions and nomination criteria, please visit www.wxnetwork.com.

"Scotiabank is pleased to continue our involvement at the fourth annual Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards," said Sylvia Chrominska, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Public, Corporate and Government Affairs, Scotiabank. "We are continually working hard to create opportunities for all of our employees, and to look for avenues to support the women who work for our organization. Scotiabank is dedicated to ensuring that there is a level playing field, so that women can explore their full potential, grow, advance and succeed in their efforts to rise to senior leadership positions in the organization."

Other sponsors of this year's Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100(TM) Awards and Summit are Ernst & Young, TELUS, Mercedes-Benz Canada, TD Bank Financial Group, Cisco Systems, Palm Canada, The Globe and Mail, Miller Dallas, MICA Consulting Partners, Andrew's and Sandra Ainsley Gallery.

WXN is Canada's most influential female audience and the country's leading organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of executive minded women in the workplace. WXN continues to expand our presence in Canada with the 2006 launch in Edmonton. WXN's over 10,000 members are women leaders in business, government and not-for-profit sectors who attend our exclusive by-invitation-only breakfast series, Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100(TM) Awards and Summit, and professional development programs. Over the last year, WXN has expanded offerings to provide a brand new peer-mentoring program - WXNWisdom(TM) - exclusively for Top 100(TM) winners, alumnae and senior executives.

Democrats, the big winners in this year’s election, advocated broad legislative efforts at lightening the burdens of Sarbanes-Oxley, which was rushed through Congress in response to the bankruptcies of Enron and WorldCom in 2002. “In their rhetoric, they outflanked GOP leaders who said no legislative changes were necessary,” notes John Berlau, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship.

“Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, John Kerry, and, ironically, incoming New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer have said throughout the election season that Sarbanes-Oxley is too burdensome,” said Berlau.

Additionally, House Republicans who had signed on to a 2006 bill to scale back some of the law’s most costly provisions were all re-elected to office. In fact, some of the bill’s sponsors, like Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY), and Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-NY), were competing in some very tough races. Not one of the 25 GOP sponsors of Rep Tom Feeney’s COMPETE Act, which would scale back Sarbanes-Oxley’s most onerous provisions, suffered defeat.

Just prior to the election, House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi said that the law had “unintended consequences” and indicated she was open to throwing out some sections. Of the law, she told CNBC’s Larry Kudlow, “You need the transparency. You need the focus on it. But you don’t need—I don’t think you need the whole package.”

“Election 2006 shows that scaling back Sarbanes-Oxley has proven to be good politics as well as good policy,” said Berlau. “Billions of dollars and thousands of man hours have been spent by entrepreneurs and employees complying with burdensome mandates that are often counterproductive for shareholders. The returns are in, and Sarbanes-Oxley overhaul is a winner.”

CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. For more information about CEI, please visit our website at www.cei.org.

Lifestyle Entrepreneur Offers Tips and a Gift to Women

San Diego - The hustle-bustle of the holidays often leaves many women frazzled, frustrated and overwhelmed. But according to one lifestyle entrepreneur, you can reduce the stress by celebrating Give Yourself a Gift Day on December 13.

"You'd think that stores were giving away gifts, the way shoppers flock to malls during the holidays. But for most families, gift buying typifies just one holiday activity that can lead to seasonal stress," says Lifestyle Entrepreneur Heather Moore.

When the holidays come along, people already predisposed to stress can find themselves feeling blue and more stressed out than usual. For those who don't ordinarily feel stressed under the pressure of events or deadlines, the holidays can still play havoc with our lives. "That's why I created Give a Gift to Yourself Day - to find a way to treat yourself during the stressful holiday season."

To celebrate the day, Moore is offering a free lipstick. "One of the best ways women can feel less stress is to feel better about themselves," she says. "And what better way to feel great than with a new lipstick?" The lipstick is available to anyone by going to http://www.women-in-biz.com/home_gift.htm.

Moore also points out several ways to give yourself more gifts, without spending anything:

- Eat Right. A healthy diet is important any time of year, but perhaps even more so during the holidays, when an assortment of treats, sweets and high-fat foods are all too tempting. Instead, focus on healthy alternatives such as fruits, vegetables and lean meats, and drink plenty of water, which helps curb appetite.

- Exercise. Regular exercise is always a priority, even during hectic times like the holiday season. Studies, in fact, have shown that exercise reduces stress.

- Rest Up. Not enough rest feeds stress, and can leave one feeling grumpy, unfocused or overwhelmed. The amount of sleep a person needs varies, but a good target is seven to eight hours.

- Get Real. Stress often is caused by the void between the way we think the holiday season ought to be and the way life really is. Letting go of the Leave It to Beaver images of families and relationships during the holidays can help ease feelings of disappointment, anxiety or anger.

- Remember What's Important. Despite the barrage of commercialism in the media throughout the holidays, remind yourself that the holiday season isn't about armfuls of presents and keeping up with the neighbors. It's about family, and friends.

Heather Moore is a lifestyle entrepreneur who teaches other women to have success in their businesses on their own terms. She worked in the cubicle world of corporate America for more than 10 years. Although she enjoyed her work very much, she was looking for something new, exciting and challenging.

Over 100 entrepreneurs speak out on the impact of Vancouver's robust economy

VANCOUVER - Vancouver entrepreneurs face considerable challenges despite operating in a robust economy according to a survey conducted by Coach Kevin, a Vancouver-based business coach and the Canada Export Centre, a full-service export marketing and exhibition facility. The survey indicates nearly two thirds of entrepreneurs are on a quest for greater revenue with almost half stating they are challenged to achieve revenue goals; over one third of respondents stated that finding top talent is a challenge; and, only 21 percent of entrepreneurs stated their businesses are successful and they are having fun in 2006.

"When only 21 percent of entrepreneurs are having fun in what everyone considers a hot economy, there is something tremendously wrong," according to Kevin Lawrence (Coach Kevin). "One of the perceived benefits of being an entrepreneur is the ability to have more ownership over your professional and personal life, not less. Our findings clearly indicate that the majority of entrepreneurs are consumed - and overwhelmed - in 2006."

"Thriving in a Hot Economy: Entrepreneurs speak out on the impact of Vancouver's robust economy in 2006 is the inaugural report on the professional and personal impact of Vancouver's business climate on entrepreneurs and business leaders. More than 100 entrepreneurs and business leaders were surveyed to better understand their top priorities, top challenges, the resources they find most effective in overcoming challenges, and the impact the current business climate is having on their lifestyle.

Highlights include:

- Increasing revenue, improving profitability and attracting more customers are top goals in 2006.

- The top three challenges cited are increasing revenue, hiring top talent and attracting new customers.

- Managing people, the administration of day-to-day activities and information management (email and phone calls) top the list of things that consume the majority of entrepreneurs' energy.

- Over three quarters of respondents consider personal experiences to be one of the most valuable resources in helping them overcome challenges, while 57 percent indicated advisors and mentors are essential.

- Setting and communicating a strong vision of success, working with top talent, advisors and suppliers and regularly setting goals are paramount in helping entrepreneurs deal with challenges.

- One half of respondents stated exercising is an important part of their ability to run a successful business.

The survey also details the impact of work on entrepreneurs' personal time. Most notably, an overwhelming 94 percent of respondents stated they either always - or sometimes - work on weekends. Furthermore, only 13 percent of respondents indicated their vacation time is completely free from work with absolutely no blackberry usage, calls to the office or attendance at tradeshows.

Coach Kevin continues, "Essentially, if an entrepreneur wants to overcome challenges and prosper, regardless of the strength of economy, they need to look at other entrepreneurs and business leaders that are thriving. And, in most cases they will find that entrepreneurs that do well in business are simply doing things that we all know are broadly accepted as good habits and smart business strategies. Our experience confirms that entrepreneurs who thrive share a common set of traits, management styles and guiding principles, giving them a strong sense of entrepreneurial stewardship over the businesses they operate."

Thriving entrepreneurs tend to structure their business environment in a way that helps them focus on what they enjoy, employ the best talent possible and use smart retention strategies to keep talent, and use feedback mechanisms, such as surveys to continuously improve the way they do business. In addition, they have a firm understanding of key performance indicators in relation to revenue growth and the bottom line. Thriving entrepreneurs also take work-free vacations, exercise and find time to have fun.

KMH Founders recognised as Ontario's Entrepreneurs of the Year for Health Sciences

MISSISSAUGA, ON - Neena and Vijay Kanwar were named as Ontario's Entrepreneurs of the Year in the Health Sciences Category at the 2006 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Gala on October 19.

"Neena and I had the honour of accepting the Entrepreneur of the Year
award on behalf of all of the staff at KMH who continue to make the company an incredible success," said Vijay Kanwar, President and CFO of KMH. "The Award is a testament to the hard work, dedication and inherent entrepreneurial
spirit of the management and staff at KMH."

"The commitment to our work continues to benefit those in need, while our
research has grown to impact a global network of health and science
professionals," said Vijay Kanwar on accepting the award at the Awards Gala.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards were created to
recognize and raise awareness of the benefits of entrepreneurship to
organizations. The Entrepreneur of the Year Award is the premiere recognition
of innovative business leaders in Canada.

Neena and Vijay Kanwar were announced as Ontario finalists on July 6,
2006. In considering the awards, Ernst & Young looked at four key indicators
including how a spirit of entrepreneurship guided decision-making at KMH, the
performance and future prospects for the company, a profile of the management team and the people-friendly philosophy at KMH. The company's commitment to innovation and the highest-possible standards was obvious across each of the categories.

"The success of KMH is a constant focus on innovation and commitment to
providing our patients with the highest-quality service," said Neena Kanwar,
President and CEO of KMH. "I am proud that we have taken KMH from a
one-employee operation to a dynamic and service-oriented company today."

Founded in 1988, KMH Cardiology and Diagnostic Centres has established
itself as a benchmark of consistent, high-quality service and has grown to
include eight locations across Southern Ontario, performing over 75,000
diagnostic tests annually. KMH is North America's largest provider of nuclear
cardiology services.

Globe and Mail Report Examines Corporate & Income Trust Governance

TORONTO - In the fifth year of its annual Board Games ranking, The Globe and Mail examines how far board governance has come and where issues still exist. The special report runs in the newspaper today and tomorrow, and detailed, interactive content - including a roundtable discussion with leading governance experts - can be found at www.globeandmail.com.

Led by Globe reporters Elizabeth Church and Janet McFarland, Board Games
examines hot topics around board management including: compensation disclosure and the implications for Canada of recent changes in the U.S.; the impact of mandatory director share ownership; and the merits and risks of majority voting.

This year, Manulife Financial Corp. leads the rankings with a score of 96 out of 100. And Reitman's Canada Ltd. is at the bottom with a score of 33. For the first time, this year Board Games also examines governance standards at the country's trusts, and finds them inconsistent and often weak. "While Canada's corporate boards have pulled up their socks on governance practices in recent years, many trust practices are in need of substantial improvement," comments Janet McFarland. "This has huge significance for investors and the industry as a whole."

Board Games includes rankings of corporate boards and income trusts on
best practices. A fully interactive chart of the rankings and methodology can
be found on the web site.

MONCTON, QC - BDC will honour top young business people from across Canada at the Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA) ceremony to be held this evening in Moncton. The event is a major feature of Small Business Week, which runs from October 15 to 21 under the theme: "A world without boundaries, open to new markets".

"These entrepreneurs represent the best of the next generation of Canadian innovation," said BDC President and CEO Jean-René Halde. "They've tapped into fresh ideas to meet emerging needs, opened up new market opportunities and are making a significant mark in their communities."

"Canadian entrepreneurs are the very heart of Canada's national economy and young entrepreneurs are our future. They play a vital role in helping us achieve a more prosperous society," said the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for BDC. "I am committed to helping entrepreneurs continue to grow successful Canadian firms that become increasingly competitive in the global marketplace."

BDC's Young Entrepreneur Awards, an annual event in its 19th year, celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and business success of Canadian entrepreneurs between the ages of 19 and 35. The winners - one from each province and territory - are selected by a committee, based on criteria including success, growth potential, innovation and participation in new economy activities and community involvement. The committee also considers export performance, the entrepreneur's age when the business was started and any special challenges overcome.

Special awards

YEA winners were also eligible for two additional awards. Martin Lamontagne from Quebec has won the Export Development Canada Export Excellence Award. Shane Patelakis of Prince Edward Island has received the WestJet Creative Mind Award for daring and originality in the creation, marketing and promotion of a product. The recipients will each take home a $15,000 grant to be invested in their business.

The company W.P. Griffin Inc. and its current President John Griffin were recognized with an award introduced for the first time this year - the CFIB Business Ownership Transition Award - which recognizes the seller and buyer of a business that has successfully changed hands from one generation to the next. It comes with a $20,000 grant to help the company meet its growth objectives.

On Monday, YEA recipients were gathered with business leaders and academics at the BDC Forum, an event in which participants have the opportunity to share knowledge and experience on issues facing Canadian entrepreneurs.

The 2006 Young Entrepreneurs, listed by province and territory, are as follows.

Newfoundland and Labrador - Danny Tuff, 31, Blue Line Innovations Inc., St. John's.
The brainchild of Danny and his brother, Maurice, Blue Line's Powercost Monitor(TM) is a table-top unit that works like a "speedometer for energy consumption", displaying in real-time and dollars and cents how much electricity the consumer is using. The device has caught the attention of a number of power companies and is currently being deployed by Ontario's Hydro One to 30,000 customers. "Our technologies help people make better use of electricity, water and gas, on a global basis," says Danny.

Nova Scotia - Ron Lovett, 27, RFL Group of Companies, Halifax.
Developing new concepts and creating new markets is what drives Ron Lovett, an entrepreneur whose businesses include security services, a bring-your-own-wine restaurant, event marketing, general contracting services and a soon-to-be opened late night noodle restaurant. "It's about being innovative all the time, not giving up and working really hard," says Ron of his constantly-expanding business ventures. His flagship company, Source Security, employs some 250 part-timers who provide security services for a wide variety of events throughout Atlantic Canada on a regular basis.

New Brunswick - Jenny Scott, 27, Ambiance Day Spa, Saint John.
Owner of the city's largest spa, Jenny has built a business that in three years has grown from a staff of eight to 27 and is consistently booked solid. Jenny, who started the spa when she was just out of school, has seen business results double in the first and second years of operation and continue to grow at a steady pace. "Our philosophy is to make sure the entire spa experience relaxes and re-invigorates each and every client," says Jenny.

Prince Edward Island - Shane Patelakis, 32, Progressive BioActives Inc. (PBI), Charlottetown.
Developing a new application for extracting natural extracts to be used as bioactive animal feed, Shane has built a business that is emblematic of PEI's new generation economy. PBI's ProVale(TM) agent, which stimulates the immune system of certain animal and aquatic species, works as both a disease management tool and an alternative to growth-promoting antibiotics. PBI produces and sells its product to the swine, poultry and farmed fish markets in Canada, has licensed its technology to a U.S. company and is negotiating a similar agreement with a group of investors in Thailand.

Québec - Martin Lamontagne, 33, Creaform, Québec City.
Martin founded Creaform four years ago as a distributor of reverse engineering products. The company soon gained a foothold in Europe and opened a subsidiary - Euroform - in Paris. In 2005, Creaform launched its own product
- the Handyscan 3D(TM), an easy-to-use, hand-held 3D laser scan camera. That same year, Creaform doubled in size and saw its export volumes go from 9% to an astounding 51% of sales. With a one-of-a-kind product, superior customer service and a growing international reputation, "the future looks very bright," says Martin.

Ontario - Bob Hoang, 35, Vy Hoang, 33, Grace Baba, 31, i(3)DVR International, Toronto.
This entrepreneurial trio has built a leading-edge surveillance equipment business that numbers 135 employees, the majority of whom are new Canadians. Boasting the largest research group in its industry, their business has a worldwide distribution network and realized $20 million in sales in 2005. With clients as varied as casinos, military bases and the U.S. Federal Reserve, i (3)DVR provides state-of-the-art equipment with video analytic software that adds value to captured video data. "Our customers love the integration and innovation of our products and the flexibility of our staff," says Bob.

Manitoba -Jeff Ganczar, 31, Capitol Welding Ltd., Winnipeg.
Jeff has come a long way since leaving a salaried position to strike out on his own with one welding machine and a truck in 1998. Today Capitol Welding is a multifaceted structural steel business that employs 60 people, occupies a 35,000 square-foot facility and regularly takes on multi-million-dollar industrial and commercial construction projects for clients in Western Canada, Ontario and into the U.S. "I intend to continue to expand as aggressively as I can," says Jeff.

Saskatchewan - Marc Paquette, 34, DyMark Industries Inc., Saskatoon.
Founded by Marc in 2003, Dymark has rapidly gained a reputation with commercial contractors as a top-notch steel supply and installation business. An unwavering commitment to keeping to schedule has become DyMark's trademark and attracted contractors in Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and as far as Mexico. With a young staff of 20 employees all under the age of 35, DyMark sales have tripled since its first year in business. "I am living my dream," says Marc of his business success.

Alberta - Arnon Levy, 35, Guest-Tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd., Calgary.
Providing high-speed internet access to 530,000 hotel rooms around the globe, Guest-Tek is a dominant player in its field. A public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Guest-Tek doubled its previous year's revenues to $44 million in 2005 and has expanded services to offer an integrated suite of products: internet access, video and voice systems. "This business has become a significant part of my life," says Arnon, of the company he founded 10 years ago in his Calgary basement and which today numbers 300.

British Columbia - Todd Dunlop, 27, Dave Arnsdorf, 29, Jordan Visco, 26 and Greg Bate, 26, Neverblue Media Inc., Victoria.
Taking the online advertising world by storm, these four young entrepreneurs have realized 10,000% growth for Neverblue Media in just two and half years. Starting with web-based search marketing, they've expanded their offering to include co-registration campaigns, affiliate marketing and specialized, lead generation campaigns. In December 2005, they spun off a direct contact company. "We were all hoping to be successful, but if you'd asked us two and half years ago where we'd be today, I don't think we would have projected this far out," says Jordan.

Nunavut - Tara Tootoo Fotheringham, 31, Sugar Rush Café, Rankin Inlet.
Tara has converted an existing business that she purchased just one year ago into a local hot spot. Sugar Rush, her 1950's-style café, caters to the local population with extended hours, a menu that offers exotic choices such as arctic char sushi and caribou chili, a gift store and a wedding supply business. Tara also owns and operates a Bed and Breakfast, was instrumental in opening a local daycare centre, has acted as a hamlet councilor and works for the local government as a custom adoption commissioner.

Northwest Territories - Holly Norris, 26, Delta Sun Services, Inuvik.
Holly started a catering business in 2003 and soon saw demand for her services boom. Building on that success, the company took over the concession service at the local arena and purchased a restaurant in 2005. Delta Sun Services, 100-percent Aboriginal-owned, provides opportunities for young people to gain work experience and pursue careers in the cooking trade. Holly says she hopes her own success shows aspiring young entrepreneurs, "you can do something like this if you really want to."

Yukon - Katrina Russell, 33, Mail Boxes Etc., Whitehorse.
Katrina saw a need and quickly moved to fill it when a mailbox location in Whitehorse shut down in 2002. She stepped in by opening a Mail Boxes Etc. store that provides clients with an alternative mailbox solution as well as a full range of business management services from printing and photocopying to packaging and desktop publishing. Working hard to promote the store's services, Katrina has turned her business into a flourishing, one-stop business service centre that is an integral part of the downtown business community.