Launch Party Vancouver

The results are in!

The votes have been counted, and it's time to announce a winner in the LPV5 Startup Contest . A panel of seven judges cast their votes for the "Startup Most Likely to Succeed," and awarded the $1000 cash prize, sponsored by Bootup Labs, to Clarity Accounting . From Judge Andrew Lugsdin 's comments: "I really like the web site, it gave me the belief that the product itself is strong. Certainly, there is a market for this." 

The people's choice was Urbantastic , whose well-produced video (and charming commentary) made them the favorite among voters (who ranked them 3.82 stars out of 5 overall). They'll enjoy luxury box seats an upcoming Vancouver Giants game, courtesy of Fasken Matineau . 

As for the party itself, the fifth instalment of Launch Party Vancouver was again a huge success. The six demo companies were hopping busy well into the night, Gregor Robertson stopped by to address the crowd quickly, and the red carpet was a big hit. Photos of the action can be viewed by searching the tag "LPV5." Major thanks to Tris Hussey, who worked the paprazzi beat on the red carpet and got some excellent snaps of the party goers. Stay tune for more info about our next event, happening in November. 

*photo of LPV Organizer Maura Rodgers by Jordan Behan

Mayor Candidate Gregor Robertson is booked to address the crowd tonight at Launch Party Vancouver.

His presence does not constitute an endorsement for his mayoral campaign, but does give him a chance to talk about his technology platform, which many of our frequent LPV guests agreed was a topic worth hearing about. If you want a preview of Mr. Robertsons stage presence and a word or two about his policies, cast your gaze at this Youtube, video, found embedded on the home page of his campaign site.

Get ready to get your vote on , because the Strutta-powered LPV5 Startup Contest is live , and our contestants are ready to prove that they've got what it takes to go the long haul.

The judge's choice wins a cool grand in cash. Bootup Labs sponsored the $1000 prize, and Fasken Martineau has donated box seats at a Vancouver Giants game to the startup that wins people's choice vote. Your votes could mean a swank night on the town watching hockey for a hard working tech founder, so be generous with spreading the word on their behalf.

90 lightning fast seconds. 90 seconds to convince you and our panel of judges that they're worthy of your votes. Just enough time to prove their passon and give you a sneak peek at what they're up to. As our VIP guest at LPV5, you get to stroll along the red carpet and get to know these folks up close and personal at their event. Look for the signs and laptops, and tell them how much you loved their video.  

And now, without further delay, it's time to get your clicking finger ready. Rock the vote . Peace.  

Following the success of our last two events, we received loads of applications from BC companies to demo at Launch Party 5. The LPV panel selected the following start-ups to demo September 18, 2008 at Unwine'd:  

Clarity Accounting - an online accounting software created for small businesses and self-employed professionals.

Make Five - make a top 5 list for anything. Then discuss, share and connect through your interests.

PeerFX - an online peer-to-peer currency exchange

Tagga - a mobile bookmarking platform that lets anyone create, find or store information on and off the web using their mobile phones.

Urbantastic -  helps you discover local events that match your interests.

Zinepal -  Select content from your favorite blogs, websites or RSS feeds and create your own magazines (zines) that you can read online, print, or share with friends. 

Many thanks to our sponsors: BC Renaissance Fund , BDC , Bootup Labs , Fasken Martineau , Layer 7 , NowPublic , and Strutta , for making our one year anniversary party possible and to our media sponsor, Techvibes for spreading the word. 

It's hard to believe that over a year has passed since Danny, Dimitri and I first got together to talk about organizing LPV. We had been chatting about it for months and finally decided to commit and pull the trigger on the party in  August 07. 

Thanks to your interest and our sponsors support, our first mixer at Section 3 last September was a big success with over 150 people in attendance and 5 featured start-ups on hand demoing their products and services.  By the time we co-hosted Launch Party with a Twiist with our friends in LA, the attendance had doubled and we knew that Launch Party was becoming an anticipated and enjoyed community event, promoting Vancouver and the rising tech stars in and around the city. 

Join us to celebrate our one year anniversary at LPV5, on September 18, 2008 at the intimate Unwine'd, 1180 Howe Street, Vancouver.   Register here: http://launchpartyvancouver.eventbrite.com/

Update:  The event also features a contest for the companies demoing. Check out the details in this video: