Natalia Mainprize

Natalia Mainprize had spent most of her career in the corporate world, but the idea of being an entrepreneur had always appealed to her. So when she learned about the Westlink Technology Commercialization Internship Program, it seemed like a natural continuation from her recently-earned MBA in Entrepreneurship.

It was a good choice. Today, Mainprize is a partner in Venture Intelligence Institute, whose products include a research-based system for new venture evaluation and tools to help entrepreneurs get started. The company has developed an international following of advisors, professors and institutions since its inception in 2006.

Mainprize's first placement with WestLink was at Telus Foundation/ Telus Ventures, the strategic venture investment arm of Telus Communications. Her duties included creating investment summaries, developing venture capital scorecards and managing three debt portfolios of the Telus Foundation. During her time there, she also managed to close five interim financing deals.

"It was very interesting to network with other investors," says Mainprize. "We met with syndicated investors and it was interesting to start thinking like investors do. I walked away with a really tangible benefit."

Her second posting was with Beanstream Electronic Commerce, a young technology company in Victoria, British Columbia that provided payment, risk management and authentication services for Internet merchants. In a business development role, Mainprize completed the company's strategic plan which is still used today. She also conducted market analysis and evaluation for a new product launch.

Her final WestLink placement was with the Innovation & Development Corporation (University of Victoria's Technology Transfer Office), where Mainprize helped two spin-off companies get off the ground. For one specific technology - a biometric mouse recognition that assigned a specific signal to somebody using the computer - she collected numerous revenue leads and market potential.

Throughout her two-year internship, Mainprize continued to consult on the side and when the program wrapped up in April 2005, she took on a large contract with Bell Canada's Security Innovation Practice to source new technologies. In 2006, however, she and two other partners started a business, Venture Intelligence Institute.

The company provides venture evaluations, software, entrepreneurial education, investment training, as well as consultant services using research-based principals of new venture success. Their flagship product is Venture Intelligence Quotient (VIQ), a venture evaluation tool that gives entrepreneurs and investors a quantified likelihood of potential business success. VIQ™ focuses on the proven critical attributes of venture success that have a disproportionate effect on a venture's ability to attract investment and its ultimate performance. It offers a framework for opportunity assessment, venture planning and investment decision-making. Mainprize built on the academic research of her business partners and commercialized it into a series of software programs and consulting packages.

So far, the Venture Intelligence Institute has been well received. Denmark's Ministry of Economics and Business Affairs, through International Danish Entrepreneurship Academy, is using the software as a dialogue tool between entrepreneurs and advisors armed with the task of promoting development of innovative companies. First Nations groups across Canada are using the tool to evaluate potential projects. Mainprize and her partners also self-published a book, "Venture Intelligence: How Start Investors and Entrepreneurs Evaluate New Ventures," that is now in discussion with a publisher for an updated edition.

"Westlink was a big part of increasing my motivation and interest," she says. "It was beneficial for me to triangulate my experiences - I took something from each of my placements."

While Mainprize continues to make her business a priority, she has recently become a new mom to son, Mykhailo, and is concentrating on being a full-time parent first. "It's busy, but it's all worth it," she says.