What's going on at TeamPages?

TeamPages Inc., the one year old social networking company for amateur sports run by UVic students and graduates, scored high with soccer enthusiasts in Pittsburgh this weekend at the US Youth Soccer Conference. Three employees of TeamPages, Mike Tan, Jonathan Kerr and Derek Story, collectively signed up administrators on the spot and secured over seventy leads with different league administrators from all over the United States, some managing over 40,000 athletes. After one day, the exhibitors were eager to get a live demo booked with the guys and their hands on a TeamPages promotional tee shirt.

Kids were spotted running around sporting the promotional tee shirts, competitors were shyly walking back to their own booth after admiring the giveaways and a crowd of soccer devotees sat watching the TeamPages informational video: ". . .watching people buy into our idea was such a memorable part of the weekend. Seeing them get excited about TeamPages first hand was so inspirational," says Tan.

Sometimes the glimmer and glam of these impressive booth designs don't speak to the audience as well as a simple tee shirt. Word spread quickly about the little company and its ability to help teams communicate easily and build cohesion away from the field/turf. It was the little company that could, and it did!

TeamPages Inc. teams up with Tagzoom Blog Consulting to create a one-of-a-kind blog for all sports fanatics and bloggers. The first post went up on Friday February 8th, and the writers are hungry for sports news they can use to create a chain of mini conversations. Whether it's the cleverest hockey move, the newest 'hot-item' in sports wear, or an update on your favorite team, if you're a sports lover you need to start posting your thoughts on the TeamPages blog. Different communities and books on sports will be featured from week to week, and we will be looking to our users for inspirational stories from their communities - we want to hear about your favorite sports moments.

Let our blog kick start your morning, noon and night; why hold your opinions inside when you have a free resource to express thoughts that other people will be interested in. You'll be amazed at the comments you're posting will receive, and you can guarantee there are other sports lovers out there on the same page as you! Check it out: blog.teampages.com.

For the 25 year-old CEO of TeamPages, arriving home to an invitation of a lifetime made seventeen hours of tedious traveling a breeze. Tan has been asked to speak at the Dow Jones VentureWire Conference in the Silicon Valley. His company's story is making its way across North America, and has a prestigious crowd in California wondering about the young company's capabilities. With creative ideas continuing to stem from ambitious entrepreneurs across the world, Mike is determined to keep his #1 priority well ahead of the competition and driven towards becoming the next market leader. According to Forbes.com, there are seven distinct growth traps that a business can get caught in, preventing it from reaching its next level. TeamPages has successfully avoided these growth traps, demonstrating its drive to exceed expectations. With these milestones under his belt, Mike is keen on 'hitting one out of the park' when speaking to expert entrepreneurs of the Silicon Valley and thankful to have the opportunity to hear their thoughts.

By making conscious decisions, TeamPages has acquired the interest of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders in Canada and now in California. TeamPages has discovered some great ways to ensure a step in the right direction when going for gold in a competitive market:

1. Taking time to Estimate the Cash-Burn Rate: Mike and COO, Jonathan Kerr, are determined to stretch their current investment dollars as far as they'll go. "We have a duty to our shareholders to use their money effectively", says Tan. As such, they make it a priority to review the costs of all scenarios and alternatives. "You can't make good projections without good estimates", says Kerr.
2. Knowing How to Allocate Capital: Understanding where to put all your apples; investing in worthwhile assets, not overspending on marketing material and office luxuries, and defining what is worthwhile to the company is an everyday priority for Mike and his team.
3. Not going on an Acquisition Spree: "We feel our cash is best spent on developing our own product as opposed to purchasing someone else's", says Kerr.
4. Taking the Time to Understand the definition of Good Customer Service: Mike has all his business development managers working with Sales experts helping them establish credible customer service skills. Delivering what the customer wants and ensuring that their suggestions are appreciated and considered is a crucial factor for a company's success.
5. Willing to Delegate Authority: A new round of hiring for 2008 was essential for the continued growth of TeamPages. Mike hired new employees to take on marketing, business development, and software development. "It is about placing your trust in individuals who want to get the job done and having faith that they will do their best. . ." says Tan.
6. Preserving Equity: Although the opportunity to acquire more capital is at his reach, Mike knows he isn't ready to entrust his entire company to someone else. Preserving equity will allow him to completely define the direction TeamPages is supposed to go. Nonetheless, he is so thankful for the opportunity to speak in California and hear what these experts have to say about his company.
7. Avoiding the temptation to pocket perks: It's about doing what's best for your company. "We win as a team", says Tan.

These decisions have helped acquire thousands of users and supporters across North America. By prioritizing the company's needs, TeamPages has increased its profile in the business and sports communities across North America and is working towards achieving market leader status.

[Some title material quoted from Forbes.com: 7 Growth Traps, Lionel Laurent, 05/03/07, http://www.forbes.com/2007/05/02/ups-starbucks-walmart-ent-mange-cx_ll_0503growthtraps.html]

Amateur sports teams have long relied on one or two volunteers to manage the overwhelming amount of paperwork, statistical calculation and coordination that goes into running a team effectively. TeamPages aims to let the net do the heavy lifting, by creating a hub for teams to organize, build community and facilitate communication between athletes, parents and team organizers. The site also gives sports teams an organized space where they can post videos and photos of past victories, and athletes can create and maintain their own profiles. The company is already maintaining team pages across North America, including several universities.

TeamPages was also on hand at Launch Party 03 at the Lamplighter in Gastown to demo their site.

"Our goal is to make the lives of league administrators, coaches, parents and athletes easier, all by providing all the relevant information in one place. We also make it easier for coaches to make last minute changes, since every change is automatically emailed out," TeamPages Co-founder and CEO Mike Tan said.

Ten recent university grads and Co-op students are celebrating today! After a year of living off Kraft Dinner, working out of the founder's cramped apartment, and experiencing many sleepless nights writing software code, a young group of ten entrepreneurs are excited to launch a newly improved product free for coaches and league administrators across North America! On another exciting note, "TeamPages" (http://www.teampages.com, also known as a popular new site for coaches and team managers to manage their teams online) is celebrating it's 1st birthday today!

"TeamPages provides a suite of league and team management tools designed specifically to help coaches and league administrators for amateur sports!" says Mike Tan, CEO and Co-Founder of TeamPages in a recent interview.

When it comes to organizing team schedules and communicating effectively, TeamPages has identified the secret recipe to success and it's completely free! Like many of the other thousands of coaches, Russ Layton, coach of the Castaway Juniors of the Vancouver Island Soccer League, has seen the benefits of using TeamPages since it launched in January 2007. He says: "TeamPages not only keeps myself and my team organized, but focused too. Our team can mentally get ready for upcoming games and practices, because they are all outlined in one place."

The annoyance of putting together last minute schedules, organizing the team, and making sure enough players are going to show up is an unpleasant thought for coaches, no matter the sport. TeamPages has identified these pains, and is driven to eliminating the frustrating aspects of being a coach. Driven by a love for sports, this website is created for coaches by coaches!

TeamPages is going to be showcased at the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Conference in Austin, Texas with over 3,000 spectators and coaches. Mike and his team are also looking to visit Florida, Connecticut, and Baltimore over the next year to spread the word, a big step for a company consisting of ten young entrepreneurs all under the age of 30.

With exciting ventures in the works for 2008, TeamPages is looking to expand its user count to 30,000 users over the next few months. Now that these determined youngsters have differentiated their product from their competitors, they are looking to focus their efforts on securing teams and leagues from all over North America and they aren't stopping there! Individuals from Germany and Japan have already jumped on board with TeamPages, ready to kick start their sports season with the right foot! In the end, TeamPages was created to benefit the global sports community and is looking forward to working with world renown sports hero's to help them achieve this goal.

Victoria, BC (January 15, 2008): Ten recent UVic grads and Co-op students are celebrating a special birthday today. After a year of living off Kraft Dinner, working in the founder's cramped apartment, and experiencing many a sleepless night writing software code, the young group of entrepreneurs are excited to be celebrating the 1st birthday of their little baby, "TeamPages" (http://www.teampages.com, also known as a popular new site for coaches and team managers to manage their teams online).

Adam Palmblad, Co-founder of TeamPages, can recall the many sleepless nights and fond memories from their first office in Mike's apartment. ". . . although I miss Mike's occasional home cooked meals, the new space is really great!"

"It has been quite the year for our little ol' TeamPages," says Mike Tan, CEO of TeamPages. "We're so excited and thankful for the thousands of different teams across North America who have used TeamPages over the past year to post their schedules, scores, and exaggeration memories online."

Started as a business plan put together by two Uvic Entrepreneurship students, Mike Tan and Nikolas Laufer-Edel, which won the IDC Challenge [a student run business plan competition] the idea has now turned into a serious reality gaining significant awareness from leagues and teams across North America.

Like many of the other thousands of coaches, Russ Layton, coach of the Castaway Juniors of the Vancouver Island Soccer League, has seen many of TeamPages benefits since it launched in January 2007. He says:

"TeamPages not only keeps myself and my team organized, but focused too. Our team can mentally get ready for upcoming games and practices, because they are all outlined in one place."

TeamPages has also received great support from the local business and technology community. Many of Victoria's top business leaders have been involved with the TeamPages since the very beginning as advisors, mentors, and investors. Some of the names include: Robert Bennett (Founder of Municipal Software), Eric Jordan (Founder of Pure Edge Solutions), Hannes Blum (CEO of AbeBooks), Steven Dagg (CEO of Copeland Communications), Chris Taylor (Past Director of Finance for Pure Edge Solutions), Tony Melli (Chairman of Triton Logging), Stacy Kuiack (Founder of Vigil Health Solutions), and Boris Wertz (Past COO of AbeBooks).

TeamPages is going to be showcased at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in Baltimore on the 16th of January, with over 3,000 spectators and coaches. Mike and his team are also looking to visit Florida, Connecticut, and Texas over the next year to spread the word, a big step for a company consisting of ten young entrepreneurs.

With exciting ventures in the works for 2008, TeamPages is looking to expand its user count to 30,000 users over the next few months. Now that these determined youngsters have differentiated their product from their competitors, they are looking to focus their efforts on securing teams and leagues from all over North America and they aren't stopping there! Individuals from Germany and Japan have already jumped on board with TeamPages ready to kick off their sports season on the right foot! Despite the stressful environment and keeping up with all the changes, the amount of learning is irreplaceable for these go-getters.

TeamPages (www.teampages.com), the online tool assisting coaches, team managers, and league administrators to organize their teams and athletes announced last week that it has completed its Series A round of financing led by Burda Digital Ventures and several local angel investors.

"With this round of financing and help of Burda Digital Ventures, we will be able to grow our great team, improve the design of TeamPages to make it even easier to use, and really begin to expand our marketing and sales efforts across North America," said Mike Tan, Founder and CEO of TeamPages Inc.

TeamPages is pioneering an online athletic community through solving two major pains common in all amateur team sports: team communication and scheduling. TeamPages provides teams and athletes with a central online location to post and share their athletic information, such as: schedules, announcements, contact information, statistics, and photos. TeamPages saves coaches, parents and players time and headaches when it comes to team management and communication.

"We have designed and built TeamPages with the focus of making the lives of the millions of coaches, parents, and athletes who are involved in amateur sports easier when it comes to managing their teams and athletic lives," adds Tan.

After an initial start from taking first place at the IDC Challenge Business Plan Competition and recently second place in the New Ventures BC Competition, TeamPages has secured close to a half a million dollars from Burda Digital Ventures and several local angel investors. "We are extremely excited to be a part of TeamPages going forward. They are offering a unique product that addresses a clear market need for amateur sports teams." says local Internet entrepreneur and investor Boris Wertz. "Together with Burda Digital Ventures we plan to build a larger portfolio of Consumer Internet investments in the Pacific North West and TeamPages is a great addition to our existing portfolio."

TeamPages is currently in its beta phase and will be launching nationwide in the New Year.

Amateur sports team planning site TeamPages Inc.has raised $477,000 in first-round financing from Burda Digital Ventures and several angels. What's interesting is how forfeiting soccer matches led the founders to a Series A.

TeamPages CEO Mike Tan credits business plan competitions for getting the startup from a bare-bones idea to a fully functioning company. Tan got the idea for TeamPages in 2005 when he and his co-founder Nikolas Laufer-Edel were leading an amateur soccer team at the University of Victoria.

Getting team members information about practice times, games and playing fields was a challenge, and the team forfeited several games because of communication snafus. They made it to the playoffs, but when hardly any team members showed up, the team forfeited yet again. At that point Tan and Laufer-Edel decided to build TeamPages as a cross between social networking site Facebook Inc. and educational software company BlackBoard Inc.

The two wrote a business plan in spring 2006 while both holding down 9-to-5 jobs in the technology industry and won $10,000 in their first business plan competition in September.

"We had an idea and knew the best way to test out the idea was to put it in the business plan competition, which we won," Tan says. "We gained cash and credibility, and I found my technical business partner who was our mentor in the competition."

After that proof point, Tan incorporated TeamPages in October 2006 and formerly launched the site in January. In April TeamPages won $25,000 of cash and $15,000 of in-kind services after winning the New Ventures BC competition. That money, plus credit card debt and funding from friends and family, kept TeamPages going to the point where Burda Digital Ventures, the venture capital arm of Germany's Hubert Burda Media, stepped in.

Tan says TeamPages will seek to raise more capital before the close of 2008, but he's unsure of the amount he needs. The site has nearly 3,000 local teams using the service, and with its latest round, Tan aims to go nationwide. The seven-member startup gets revenue from selling advertising, but doesn't disclose those sales figures.

It's my pleasure to inform you that teampages.com has been featured in the Monday November 26, 2007 edition of AVTV (American Venture Television).

AVTV provides you with the latest on venture capital funding, appointments and event news, so click on the link below and remember to keep connected!

http://www.americanventure.tv/index.php?seccion=ver&id=156

Victoria-based TeamPages announced today that it has completed its Series A round of financing led by Burda Digital Ventures and several local angel investors. TeamPages is an online social network that assists coaches, parents, and athletes in organizing their teams and athletes. This round of financing will be used to grow the TeamPages team, improve the usability of the TeamPages site, and expand marketing and sales efforts across North America.

TeamPages is pioneering an online athletic community through solving two major pains common in all amateur team sports: team communication and scheduling. TeamPages provides teams and athletes with a central online location to post and share their athletic information, such as: schedules, announcements, contact information, statistics, and photos. TeamPages saves coaches, parents and players time and headaches when it comes to team management and communication.

Since taking first place at the IDC Challenge Business Plan Competition and second place in this year's New Ventures BC Competition, TeamPages has secured close to a half a million dollars from Burda Digital Ventures and several local angel investors.

Disclosure: Techvibes Director Boris Wertz is an investor in TeamPages.

TeamPages, a niche online social network start-up out of Victoria, BC today announces their Series A round of financing, as led by Burda Digital Ventures, and several local angel investors. The amount invested has not been disclosed, but was to be directed towards growing the team, upgrading the look and feel of the site, and "really expand the marketing efforts," according to CEO and founder Mike Tan.

TeamPages bills itself as "an online social network for parents, coaches, and athletes of sports teams that helps all participants stay in touch with each other and keep up to date with the team's schedule of games and events." I took a look at the service, and it lives up to its promises, and has a fairly complex system in place for everything from communication to scheduling to even statistical tracking. It's a great system.

I get the feeling, though, that calling it a social network is a bit of a misnomer. Perhaps it is just me, and my social networking fatigue, or perhaps the feeling is actually pervasive to everyone else, but but I take a deep breath and sigh every time I see a new one pop up. It's not that I don't enjoy writing about the space, but there is so much stuff popping up these days being passed off as the next big thing in social networking, when it's really just an incrementally better solution than the last one.

VANCOUVER -- A North Vancouver company with a new method for measuring joint damage from arthritis is this year's winner of a $60,000 first prize in the New Ventures BC competition. The test designed by Augurex Life Sciences Corp. could reduce the need for X-rays and help pinpoint which arthritis drugs will work best for patients. Other winners announced Wednesday are:

- TeamPages Inc. of Victoria for creating an online network that helps amateur sports teams set up event and volunteer schedules, arrange carpools and track game scores and e-mail team members.

- Bean Services Inc. of Vancouver for offering a secure online system for digitizing bills and managing them online.

- Biometals Recovery Systems of Vancouver for developing a biologically-based technology for treating mining and petroleum industries wastes.

UVic Intramurals is using a web application to eliminate the clutter associated with organizing sports teams.

Called TeamPages, the product is a social networking application that lets users post league information, statistics, events, videos, photos and game schedules like a Facebook for sports teams. After a soft-launch over the summer, TeamPages is now being used by a number of teams across Canada.

UVic alumni and amateur athlete Mike Tan, 25, and visiting UBC student Nikolas Laufer-Edel, 23, came up with the idea in spring 2006 when they were in charge of a UVic intramural team that was missing practices and forfeiting games because of scheduling problems. They wrote the TeamPages business pch won the best new venture award of $10,000 in cash and services at the Innovation Development Committee (IDC) challenge in September 2006. The IDC challenge is meant to give students a chance to showcase their business plans and network with others in the business community.

"[Winning the IDC competition] gave us the seed capital we needed to actually launch our business to incorporate, to buy the initial computers and servers that we needed to get started up. It got us our introduction to Jonathan Kerr, a key part of our company right now," said Tan, a former president of the commerce student society and a former UVSS director-of-services.

Paul Smith, the Vikes Recreation intramural programmer, has worked with TeamPages all summer. Vikes Recreation is using TeamPages for all the intramural stats, team communication and scheduling.

"It's been fantastic. It's making life easier for everyone [and] making things more efficient. People can find their schedules [and] make social groups. Some of the teams are really into it," said Smith.

UVic students can either sign up to TeamPages on their own and start individual teams, or are automatically registered through UVic intramurals and the appropriate leagues.

The University of Calgary, UBC, SFU, the Professional Inline Hockey Association, Gorge Rowing and the Vancouver Island Soccer Association are all using TeamPages.

Saanich Police Officer Nick Ross first heard about TeamPages from one of his player's parents. He coaches two soccer teams. He has four boys and has always been involved with managing their sports teams and activities.

"The first question I asked was, 'How safe is it?'" said Ross, concerned about what player information was available online. Ross says that the way TeamPages is set up, parents can register instead of their children, and only members of the same team or league can view each other's profiles, making the site safe for users.

One of the biggest problems with team sports is staying in touch with parents and players, who want to know scores, social events, game times and statistics. Ross said that TeamPages allows him to distribute all of that easily and efficiently.

"On the events page I can add practices. I can list what time, location and the skills being worked on. If there's a game, I can list the opponent and the location," said Ross. Google maps are also included on event pages.

Ross also uses the software to send tasks to parents, such as "Can you be a linesman?" or "Can you bring orange slices?"

A feature currently in development is a text message to team function that Ross said will be useful for when a game is cancelled.

Angela Hodgson has used TeamPages as both a parent and a team manager. She found the software useful because it let everyone know where they were going, how many people were going and what time they were going to be there.

"It pulls the team together to look at scores and stats, and really helps with their communication," said Hodgson. "It's great. It really is."

Smith, Ross and Hodgson agree that TeamPages reduces time-consuming phone calls and e-mails by facilitating mass communication through event listings and messages sent automatically when an event is changed.

"Our big focus right now is on intramural sports across Canada," said William Oliver, 20, TeamPages business development manager. "We want students across Canada to know about the site, check it out and determine if it's something useful to them. We've got 20 to 30 organizations that are using the software at this point."

TeamPages doesn't cost users anything, generating revenue off advertising.

Tan credits the UVic business program for helping him realize that what he's most passionate about is working with communities, sports and technology. He said TeamPages lets him do all these things.

It's one thing to come up with a great concept for a new product or business, but its something else again to get prospective investors interested enough too put their money behind it.

The Innovation and Development Corporation is holding a competition to help young entrepreneurs develop business plans that will stand out from the crowd. The University of Victoria-based agency's technology transfer program assists post-secondary students and faculty in bringing the results of their research and innovation to the marketplace.

The 2007 IDC Challenge is aimed at students in grades 11 and 12 and at the post-secondary level, with about $33,000 worth of prizes up for grabs. Entrants are required to write a comprehensive business plan that will cash the attention of investors and could lead to the establishment of a new company.

"Last Year, we had 30 teams from UVic, nine from Royal Roads, two from Camosun, three from Malaspina and one from North Island," said IDC Challenge competition manager Kirsten Vilet, adding that a combination of technical know - how and business savvy can contribute to a winning strategy. "Creating a business plan on your own is quite a hard feat, so they do it in teams."

The "new venture" category of the contest is aimed at students who intend to launch their business idea within a year and are already looking for start-up capital. The "new business idea" section is for students who think they have a winning idea buut either don't want to start a company right now or just want to go through the experience of writing a complete business plan.

The IDC Challenge program offers four workshops over three months to help keep entrants on track: Identifying Business Opportunities, Market Research and Analysis, Protecting Your Idea and Creating Realistic Financials. It also calls on people active in the Vancouver Island business community to serve as advisors to the budding entrepreneurs.

"The mentors are fantastic," Vilet said. "They've gone through the experience before, they are very entrenched in the community and they can really offer that expertise."

Throughout the process, the students learn fundamental budgeting, marketing and planning skills they can then use to complete a viable business plan - and hopefully take home a share of the prize money.

Since the IDC Challenge was launched in 2005, five completed business plans have led to the formation of companies that have gone on to attract tens of thousands of dollars in additional investment and now employ 13 people on Vancouver Island.

UVic commerce student Mike Tan won the "new venture" competition last year and his partnership is now busy setting up a company called TeamPages. It's developing a website (www.teampages.com) to help coaches, parents, and athletes organize their teams' activities - everything from setting up games schedules to posting up-to-date statistics and photographs.

"They have a great program where they walk you through all the steps of putting together a business plan," Tan said. He added that his business probably wouldn't have developed as far if he hadn't gone through the IDC Challenge experience, nothing that wining the competition helped hive his new venture more credibility with investors.

The contest is open to undergraduate and graduate students from UVic, Camosun College, Royal Roads University, Malaspina University-College and North Island College. Grade 11 and 12 students from Vancouver Island high schools are also welcome to enter. It's free to sign up, but the deadline is May 31. For more information, check the website at www.idcchallenge.com.

Mike Tan remembers vividly the stress his parents endured as they endeavored to transport he and his siblings to various sporting events and practices as youngsters.

Now a University of Victoria grad whose love of sports continues unabated, Tan and a group of fellow amateur athletes have created a web-based resource designed to give athletes, parents, administrators and others easy access to practice and game schedule information, important team notices, and even create personalized profiles.

"Our vision here is to bring together the world of amateur sports," Tan said.

"We're bringing together teams, leagues, and organizations from across the country."

TeamPages had its official launch April 7 and a short list of their initial clients include Lambrick Park Baseball, UVic intramural sports and the Vancouver Island Soccer League.

The group has also teamed up with the Vancouver Island Tech Park on its fitness challenge, as a way of publishing a workout schedule and tracking participants' results.

The project, with its accompanying business model, was the winning entry among 30 entries in the IDC Challenge, stages last fall by the University of Victoria's Innovation Development Corporation.

The resource could provide college- or university-bound athletes a web-based resume of their athletic career to send scouts and coaches, Tan said.

TeamPages Inc. has been selected as a finalist for the 2007 VIATeC Technology Awards in the category of Emerging Technology Company of the Year. The award recognises "a Vancouver Island company that has the greatest potential to demonstrate excellence in innovation and a commitment to the technology community while embracing sound business fundamentals. This category is reserved for operations that have been established for less than three years."

Out of the 31 companies that presented at the 21st Angel Forum in Vancouver, TeamPages was selected as the Third Best Pre-Revenue Company for the Investors Choice Awards by the 90+ investors in attendance.

For the past 7 months we've patiently been waiting and keeping our fingers crossed in hopes of securing the TeamPages.com domain name. After a 72 hour auction through Snapnames, over a hundred browser refreshes, and many exciting moments during the bidding, we are now the proud owners of TeamPages.com.

After only a month of development, TeamPages launches its first prototype to its beta community. TeamPages is looking forward to receiving feedback from its users and providing new features in the near future.

Only 10 days into its friends and family round, TeamPages has already received $35,000 in financing.

We are pleased to welcome Adam to the team. Adam joins the team as Lead Developer. For the past eight years, Adam has branded himself and has become known as a talented and proficient web developer. He began professionally developing websites in high school, working summers and after school on an e-commerce website that specialized in marine supplies. Later, Adam partnered with a friend, Patrick Wilkerson, to create an on-line league management portal for the Vancouver Island Soccer League, an adult soccer league with around one hundred teams from around Vancouver Island. Finishing an initial version in 1999, Adam helped make the Vancouver Island Soccer League one of the most technologically advanced leagues in the BC soccer association.

After graduation, Adam moved to attend the University of Waterloo, where he enrolled in the inaugural year of the school's Honours Computational Science program, a program focused on combining computer science with the hard sciences. Preferring a stricter computer science approach, Adam elected to move to the University of Victoria, where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in computer science. During university, through the coop program and as a graduate, Adam became involved with the Victoria-area startup Advanced Economic Research Systems. AERS' flagship product was Terapeak, a web-based application that was to become the foremost research tool for eBay buyers and sellers, analyzing over 1.9 billion transactions that take place on eBay a year. While working with AERS, Adam worked on the web front end, honing web scripting skills; on the database, gaining valuable experience working with massive data sets; and writing the back-end that kept the system running.

Adam Palmblad is responsible for the product development of the TeamPages software including both front and back ends of the system. Adam will build the infrastructure for the TeamPages content management system and will continue to build out the TeamPages feature set. Adam will be responsible for managing and integrating any new developers into the workflow.

Jonathan brings technical and leadership experience and skills to the TeamPages team. He joins the team as Chief Operating Officer.

Jonathan is an energetic entrepreneur with a knack for getting things done. In 2002, he co-founded GenoLogics Life Sciences Software, which now employs over 50 people and is a leader in open bioinformatics solutions for life sciences research. Over the years, he has developed skills in technology, human resources, project management, marketing and interpersonal communication. Jonathan had the opportunity to learn from the best while working for various industry leaders like Power Measurement and Kodak. In 2006, Jonathan Kerr and James Degreef, founders of GenoLogics Life Sciences Software Inc., were awarded the Craigdarroch Entrepreneurship Award and were nominated for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. He is a seasoned triathlete who uses competitive sports to hone his intense drive and focus. As their Chief Operating Officer (COO), he's ready to help TeamPages "hit one out of the park!"

Jonathan Kerr is responsible for the day to day operations of the company including providing technical direction, project management and directing human resources. Jonathan will develop the software map and constantly update development plans based on customer feedback while ensuring development milestones are met. Jonathan works internally to ensure feedback and ideas are properly conveyed between developers and the rest of the organization. Jonathan will be in charge of attracting and screening all technological hires.

TeamPages has officially incorporated as TeamPages Inc.

Mike Tan, a 24-year-old UVic graduate, was awarded $10,000 by UVic's Innovation and Development Corporation's (IDC) annual entrepreneurial competition on Sept. 19.

The IDC Challenge, which is open to anyone attending a post-secondary institute on Vancouver Island, was created to encourage students to explore their business ideas.

Competition manager Kirsten Vliet said students are full of brilliant business ideas, yet they rarely put them into action after graduation, due in large part to the debt associated with a degree. By combing three seminars, hooking each team up with mentors and giving away over $23,000 in financing, IDC has created a way for students to move on their ideas.

'It's like correspondence: they give you a little bit of framework to do it, but it's up to you to keep pushing,' said Tan, who has won the competition two years in a row.

This year he worked with Nikolas Laufer-Edel on an online content management system marketed towards amateur sports teams. The project, called Team Pages, is still 'really, really rough,' but when completed, it will give teams the opportunity to post stats, photos, news and player profiles on their own website.

"Think of it as MySpace or Facebook for sports teams," said Tan.

ESPN has recently launched eteamz, a similar product with big-name backers such as Lance Armstrong.

Yet Tan is far from intimidated by the sports-entertainment giant's product.

'It's MySpace 20 years ago,' he said. 'There is huge room to move in.'

While Tan's 2005 winning venture never panned out (the prize money was invested into his consulting firm), he is committed to Team Pages' success. Currently, he is working alongside two website designers (his original partner, Laufer-Edel, moved away for a student exchange) to finish a prototype.

'It's gonna happen.... Right now we're bootstrapping it,' said Tan. 'We are just pouring sweat equity into it, working on the weekends, trying to get this together.'

Tan's entrepreneurial prowess was forged long before he won the IDC Challenge, entered UVic's bachelor of commerce program or set up an Indonesian Satay stand on Government Street. His first business in 'Grade 2 or 3' was started in his Catholic school days in Ottawa.

'I was riffling through the Sears catalogue and all of the sudden I stumbled over the lingerie section,' he said. 'So, what I did is: I ripped it out, went to all my neighbours, ripped out all their lingerie sections, went to school the next [day] and sold them for like three bucks apiece.'

Tan has recently given notice to his full-time employer, Advanced Economic Research System, in order to pursue the Team Pages project, a move that his parents question. Tan sees the risk involved with Team Pages as part of the journey.

Tan said he realizes he will 'make a lot of mistakes, but in the end it's going to be something that's mine.... I can be really happy making no money doing this, as long as teams are seeing the value.'

We first met young entrepreneur Mike Tan selling Indonesian satays to tourists on Government Street a few summers ago. Now, we are watching to see what his future holds.

Relying on secret family sauce recipes, Tan and another University of Victoria commerce student, did a brisk business cooking grilled meat and serving it on wooden skewers. The cheerful duo working out of an on-street cart charmed passersby with their delicious food and outgoing personalities.

Aside from cooking, Tan has been busy studying and participating in UVic organizations. He has served as president of the Commerce Students Society and director of services for the UVic Student Society. He plays a wide variety of sports and rowed for UVic.

At 24, he has collected an impressive number of business awards while working as part of teams with fellow students.

In 2005, Tan and his team placed third in the International Undergraduate Case Competition held at Royal Roads University. The same year, Tan was part of a UVic team winning the business department's Innovation Project award for making close to $5,000 by creating and selling note cards.

Last fall, his team won first place in the new venture, non-tech category in UVic's Innovation and Development Corporation's first Challenge competition. Their VE Media idea proposed brokering agreements between sports video game producers and advertisers.

This month, Tan hit the winner's circle again. Tan and partner Nikolas Laufer-Edel won first place in the new venture category in IDC's Challenge contest, winning $1,500 cash and another $8,500 in seed capital.

Their business plan is called Team-Pages, an on-line content management system geared to sports teams and leagues.

Tan, who completed a bachelor of commerce with distinction as well as a psychology degree from UVic this year, is temporarily working at Advanced Economic Research Systems on business development and sales and marketing.

With Laufer-Edel in Europe for several months, Tan is hoping to launch TeamPages in a few months with two partners, one experienced in creating a content-management system and the other with expertise in starting up companies. In that time, he's planning to contact 250-plus teams 'to find out exactly what the teams want.'

He recognizes that other web systems have been launched for sports but plans to focus initially on local service with an easy-to-use format. Free web sites would be offered to get feedback and in the future, fees functions, which have yet to be determined.

Sports have been a part of Tan's life since he was five. That gave him the idea that volunteer coaches could use a computerized system to make team management, communication and fundraising easier.

Information could be posted about team news, including profiles, scores, schedules, maps to games, tips and drills and more.

UVic business professor Brock Smith said Tan is the sort of student they want to see graduating in the faculty.

When extra assignments were offered, 'He basically took them all on and tried to learn as much as he could.'

Tan was at UVic for more than high grades, he was there for an education, Smith said.

He is a hard worker who participated in the life of the university. 'There are a lot of people here who can get good marks, but not everybody is fully involved with the experience.'

On top of that, Tan is personable. 'He's a good listener. He is genuinely interested in the ideas of other people ... He is just an easy guy to be around and very likable in that way.'

Kirsten Vliet, IDC Challenge competition manager, said the launch of this year's event at the Vancouver Island Technology Park in May attracted 45 teams, representing more than 170 post-secondary students competing for more than $20,000 in prizes.

By the time the contest ended in September, the number of teams was whittled to 16. That's not unusual.

Last year, 30 teams, representing 70 students, entered at first and 13 had business plans at the end. Students plans change as months go by, she said.

Teams are offered coaching all the way along.

Networking events and workshops are held on topics such as identifying business opportunities, market research, and preparing their business plans.

IDC CHALLENGE WINNERS:

• New Venture Gold: TeamPages, Mike Tan and Nikolas Laufer-Edel. UVic . Silver: MeshView, Patrick Tuckey and Neil Burroughs. MeshView is a web-based 3D visualization tool aiming at markets such as tattoo previewing. UVic. Bronze: Blue Box Storage, Derek Story, Aidain Henry, and Saare Adams. This proposal was designed to improve the self-storage industry though innovation and service. UVic.
• New Business Idea Gold: FlashAdz, Mike Begg, Julie Lustner, Ryan Douglas, and Jody Purba. This idea is to put LCD screens in the back of taxi headrests and run advertisements. Royal Roads University. Silver: Special Dates, Ryan Mackey, Abeed Virani, Andy Polzl, and Craig Morton. The plan is to establish a retail store offering everything needed for a special occasion, carrying a wide variety of high quality, unique products and services." Royal Roads. Bronze: Hit the Ground Self Publishing, Traci Frost, Nathan McLaughlin, Kevin Beatty, Lindsay Gibson, and Shakir Karim. This consulting company was designed to help self-publishing authors get their books to market more efficiently than doing it solely on their own, and while still retaining full rights to their material." Royal Roads.
• Coast Capital Impact Award: Clean Slate. Jenny Schoenberger. Clean Slate takes on homelessness by proposing a resource centre to hire homeless people in exchange for a range of services that meet their needs. UVic.

The 2nd annual IDC Challenge: Vancouver Island Student Business Plan Competition concluded on September 19th at the Vancouver Island Technology Park (VITP) with a final Awards event. The finalist student teams each gave an elevator pitch with the hopes of winning $500 in addition to the $23,000 in cash and prizes awarded to the winners.

TeamPages placed first in the New Venture category, winning $1,500 cash and $8,500 in seed capital.