A new venture capital fund, OneVentures launches today offering companies in the clean technology, life sciences and New Media / IT&T (Information Technology and Telecommunications) sectors access to $40 million in funding.

Backed by $20 million raised from BBY Limited (as lead investor and underwriter), high net worth investors and family offices, and $20 million from the Australian Government’s Innovation Investment Fund program (IIF), OneVentures is managed by a team of former successful entrepreneurs and business builders.

The fund investors backing the OneVentures team believe the team’s experience gained over the years is key to realising a premium return for the fund.

“At the end of the day successful entrepreneurs make great business mentors. We can identify business opportunities, visualize the growth path of a business, understand how to commercialise technology, build asset value, manage market conditions, migrate the obstacle path and balance risk and reward to deliver a successful result,” said OneVentures Managing Partner Dr Michelle Deaker.

A first for the Australian market, two out of three of the Founding General Partners are women. A 2004 US study[1] found that women represent less than 10 percent of high-level venture capitalists, yet women led 28 percent of all U.S. businesses in 2002. In 2010 the statistics are similar in Australia – the launch of OneVentures makes a significant impact in terms of diversifying Australia’s venture capital landscape.

OneVentures is looking for companies it can own a share of, help build, add value to and springboard into larger global markets through its strong offshore networks.

“We see some strong growth potential for the Fund in areas around efficient use of energy, emission control, clean water technologies and low cost efficient health care”, said Dr Michelle Deaker.

Dr Deaker added that Companies who approach the Fund should have significant competitive advantage, an active R&D program, have global application, understand their market well and for the market to be of a size where the Fund’s capital can be applied to grow a strong, sustainable and highly viable business.

Prospective investee companies should be doing less than $5 million in revenue (as at 30 June 2009) and ideally would be in the commercialisation phase, which is the point where the OneVentures team believes it can add most value.

A key private limited partner for the Fund is BBY, an Australian focused stock broking, corporate advisory and asset management company. BBY acted as underwriters for the Fund and will support the Fund moving forward with critical market analysis, and market entry and exit information.  BBY’s Managing Director, Glenn Rosewall, said “the Fund provides a unique opportunity for investors to place their capital efficiently in key technology sectors in a ‘vintage’ year when very little new funding will be available in the market.  The leverage of the government capital and ESVCLP tax exemption status of the Fund was an attractive advantage for private sector investors. We are very proud and excited to be a part of this Fund, together with the other high calibre investors, Michelle and her team.”

The global recession has significantly reduced the availability of capital for young high-tech companies and this is not likely to correct itself in the short to midterm. 2010 is mooted to herald the commencement of the recovery phase in global markets. This means that OneVentures with its available capital is ideally positioned to secure investments in highly prospective companies and grow them with the market recovery.

About OneVentures (www.one-ventures.com)

OneVentures was established in 2006 as a venture capital firm managed by partners with strong operational experience and track records in founding, building, managing, investing and exiting technology based companies. The firm has offices in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia and Boston, USA. The firm specialises in the provision of funding for Clean Technologies, Life Sciences and companies in the IT&T / New Media sector.

About the Fund

The OneVentures Innovation Fund has a 10-year life and is seeking to realise its investments from year 4 onwards. The fund is backed by $20 million from wholesale investors and $20 million from the Australian Government’s Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) program. The private sector funding was underwritten by BBY Limited.

About the Fund Manager

The Fund is managed by three partners:

Dr Michelle Deaker: Michelle started her career working for and with CSIRO and Australian Universities developing a strong pedigree in the clean technology sector.  Michelle then founded two IT companies, the second company, E Com Industries, survived the Tech crash in 2000, and went on to become the leading Australian gift card and store value provider which was acquired in December 2005 by UK Retail Decisions for over $30million cash delivering an excellent return for investors  She has subsequently mentored, invested in, raised capital for and provided investment management services for a number of young companies including AdGent 007 (San Francisco), BuzzNumbers (Sydney), Datacastle (Seattle) and Mi-Pay (London).

Dr Paul Kelly: Paul left a successful career in medicine at Sydney’s Garvan Institute to co-found Gemini Genomics in 1997. Gemini Genomics (Nasdaq: GMNI) is still regarded today as the largest biotech listing on Nasdaq.  Paul lead the company as CEO through to its successful listing and subsequent merger with Sequenom (Nasdaq: SQNM) at which point the company was valued at more than US$250 million.  Paul then co-founded a number of companies including Agamatrix, a medical devices company (Boston) and Mears Technologies, a smart silicon company (Boston), before returning as a Nasdaq CEO to turnaround Orchid Cellmark (Nasdaq: ORCH) which he took from a market cap of US$30million to over US$300million in 18months.  He was most recently CEO of Medcentre Holdings Inc, a Latin American pharmaceutical marketing company.

Anne-Marie Birkill: Anne-Marie is regarded as one of Australia’s leading commercialisation managers.  She has worked with hundreds of early-stage technology companies as senior executive, mentor and business coach. Following an early career developing and commercialising ornamental, aquatic and forestry plants she spent five years in various executive roles at UniQuest, The University of Queensland’s award winning commercialisation company. Since 2005 Anne-Marie has been CEO of i.lab Incubator: 2006 Australian Incubator of the Year and launch pad for many successful Queensland technology companies and launch pad for many successful Queensland technology companies including Liquid Animation, Mooter Media (ASX: MMZ), Codesion (formerly CVSDude), Ephox, RedFlow Energy and Charm Health.

About BBY (www.bby.com.au)

BBY is an Australian focused stock broking, corporate advisory and asset management firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, UK and UAE along with a global presence in the USA and Asia. BBY combines the strength of an international partnership with leading Asian investment bank CIMB-GK and an equity partnership with major US investment bank, Jefferies Inc.

Contact: Mr Glenn Rosewall, Managing Director & CEO, BBY Limited, +61-2-9226-0032

About the Innovation Investment Fund program

The IIF Program is an Australian Government funded venture capital program that assists with the development of new innovation funds and fund managers with expertise in early stage venture capital investing. It invests in private sector venture capital funds to assist small companies in the early stages of development to commercialise the outcomes of Australia’s strong research and development capability.

Further information on the Innovation Investment Fund can be found at www.ausindustry.gov.au or by calling the AusIndustry hotline 13 28 46.

The world’s 5^th largest accounting network, BDO, is the latest specialist services provider to identify the growth in the knowledge-based economy on the Sunshine Coast by setting up visiting offices at the dynamic Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast.

BDO Australia has taken up a visiting office at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre, so it can form closer relationships with its existing Sunshine Coast clients.

Innovation Centre Chief Executive Colin Graham said the Innovation Centre was pleased to be welcoming BDO Australia as one of four high-calibre professional service firms now using the visiting office facilities.

“With the Innovation Centre perfectly positioned at the hub of what will be the Sunshine Coast’s newest Business and Technology Precinct, it offers professional service companies a unique opportunity,” Mr Graham said.

Mr Graham said with more than $100m being invested in the area’s infrastructure, together with the Business and Technology Precinct, the area would become the knowledge-based industry centre for the Sunshine Coast.

“It is for this reason, especially with the local economy starting to bounce back from the financial downturn, that we are experiencing very strong interest from businesses keen to position themselves here,” Colin said.

BDO Australia, an established Queensland firm since 1913, has a strong presence in South East Queensland, and is one of the state’s largest and most experienced accounting and business advisory firms.  BDO provides both traditional and contemporary business advisory and consulting services across a broad range of industry sectors, including Government.  Specifically, the firm’s services include Audit, Business Recovery & Insolvency, Tax, Corporate Finance, Forensic Services, Performance Improvement Consulting and Risk Advisory.

BDO partner Bernard Curran said the Innovation Centre’s visiting offices offered the firm a great opportunity to increase their presence on the Sunshine Coast, which was one of Queensland’s leading areas of major growth.

“The visiting offices at the Innovation Centre will allow us to be more responsive to our existing Sunshine Coast clients while also being a part of the growing cluster of innovative and dynamic companies locating themselves in the precinct,” Mr Curran said.

Mr Graham said the other professional service firms also using the visiting offices at the Innovation Centre offer specialist services in key areas such as intellectual property and patents, commercial legal services and Research and Development incentives.

“BDO Australia already have very strong business relationships here on the Sunshine Coast so they are a welcome addition to the Innovation Centre and another asset to boost business on the Coast,” he said.

For more information about the Innovation Centre and the businesses located there, visit www.innovation-centre.com.au.

Additional background information:

About the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast:

Established in 2002, the Innovation Centre, a University of the Sunshine Coast company, aims to create new jobs in new industries for the Sunshine Coast region.

Located on the edge of the USC campus, the Innovation Centre is currently home to over 30 private companies in the clean-technology, digital and creative industries and offers world-class business support for entrepreneurs and growing companies.  To date, the Innovation Centre has supported the start-up and growth of over 55 businesses, creating around 350 jobs.

The Innovation Centre facility includes a Business Incubator and Business Accelerator which provide serviced offices, high speed fibre connections, consulting support, investment readiness and networking for both start-up and growth businesses.

The Innovation Centre is at the hub of the Business and Technology Precinct taking shape around the University of the Sunshine Coast. Over $100m has been invested in infrastructure in the last two years – including roads, a bus station and dark fibre optic cabling – to help advance the Precinct which has the potential to provide high level skilled jobs for over 6,000 people in the next 10 – 15 years.

The Innovation Centre also runs an extensive program of business events designed to help local entrepreneurs to connect with each other and the University and build a productive network. Over 4,000 people have attended these events and represent dynamic and valuable network.

For more information visit www.innovation-centre.com.au.

About BDO:

BDO is the world’s 5th largest accounting and advisory network whose strong client relationships have helped deliver proven results for clients.

BDO is one of Queensland’s largest and most experienced accounting and business advisory firms, providing both traditional and contemporary business advisory and consulting services across a broad range of industry sectors, including Government.  Specifically, our services include Audit, Business Recovery & Insolvency, Tax, Corporate Finance, Forensic Services, Performance Improvement Consulting and Risk Advisory.

A long-standing Queensland firm, BDO can trace its continuous history here back to 1913.  What sets us apart from our competitors is the way we see, listen and think about our clients. It’s this dedication and commitment to our clients that helps us deliver distinctively different relationships and results.  For more information visit www.bdo.com.au.

All over Australia this Easter, families will hitch up their trailers, check the oil and tyres and head off for quality bonding time away from the daily grind. Unfortunately, it is also one of the busiest times on the road. Campsites often burst at the seams and spontaneous adventures are becoming a thing of the past. Right now is the time to think ahead and plan your escape.

Written by Sunshine Coast mum, Sarah Pye, Kids Welcome to Queensland, is the perfect resource and it can save hours on the Internet. Without annoying advertising, this guidebook reviews over 500 kid-friendly things to do in Queensland. Most were visited personally by Sarah, and her chief expert 10-year-old daughter Amber, and many are cost free. A handy traffic light rating system indicates suitability in three different age groups: preschool, primary and teen.

Terri Sanderson used the family-friendly guidebook over the Christmas holidays. “It really made life easier,” she said, “and the colourful pictures and easy-to-read style makes it possible for the whole family to help plan their holiday”.

Kids Welcome to Queensland has been enjoying unparalleled success since its launch last October. Over the Christmas period, Sarah said the first 1000 copies flew off the shelf. “I have been amazed at the positive feedback at book signings,” she said, “it just goes to prove parents want to know more about places to explore with their kids”.

Why not download a backseat treasure hunt to keep the kids amused on your journey? Sarah has developed seven wonderful quizzes for different Queensland regions. All are free and, for a limited time, kids can send back their answers for a free prize pack! Visit: www.kidswelcome.com.au for more details.

Kids Welcome to Queensland is endorsed by Tourism Queensland and Playgroup Queensland. Its handy A5 size fits in your glove box and it comes complete with Hema maps covering the entire state. Kids Welcome to Queensland is available through bookshops, your local library or www.kidswelcome.com.au. RRP 29.95.

A fine lineup of big-hearted Brisbane bands will be gracing the stage at the Sunshine Coast’s newest live music venue, Club Envy on Sunday March 28 for Big Haiti Hug, a fundraising concert in honour of the people of earthquake devastated Haiti.

Garage country rocksters Mexico City, avant-garde folk ‘n’ rollers Golden Virtues, reggae groove merchants The Rooftops, and alternative rock trio Dear April will be coming together for an all-in musical embrace.

There’s plenty of love for everyone: Caribbean cocktails served by
gorgeous models, giveaways galore including double passes to four big festivals, Tsunami Mag showbags and a lucky door prize that will knock your socks off.

Dear April will get the party started with their progressive and unique rock tapestry, followed by Golden Virtues electro-acoustic folk rock. Mexico City will deliver their roaring epic garage rock tunes right before The Rooftops bring the night to a climatic end, stepping up the beats with their deep rooted grooves and soul searching vibes.

Big Haiti Hug organiser and Sunshine Coast local Jonas Ramone recently returned to his native soil of Haiti to see fi rsthand the devastation that continues to affect the country. “Aid is bottle necked and is just not getting through to those that need it most. Recovery and reconstruction is far from over,” Jonas said.

The early evening affair will kick off at 7pm and organisers urge Sunshine Coast music lovers to step out and show some love for the people of Haiti, to let them know the Sunshine Coast has not forgotten.

Tickets are $15 and available at the door. Club Envy is situated at 19 Ocean St, Maroochydore.

With a stellar cast of international speakers the LearnX E-Learning Training Conference will showcase the cutting edge tools and resources available in e-learning to more than 400 industry professionals.

This year that includes demonstrating how companies can use social media as a training tool.  International renowned trainer, social media strategist and author of the new book Social Media for Trainer, Dr Jane Bozarth will in her keynote address offer an overview of social learning and take conference attendees on a tour of social media tools while offering real world ideas to help training professionals refine existing skills, develop new ones and remain vital and viable in the new world.

Now in its fifth year, the LearnX E-Learning and Training Conference on the 9^th and 10^th of June at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, is the premier e-learning conference in Australia with a jam packed two-day program.  The focus is on presenting the best-practice in e-learning including presentations such as finding the X factor to achieve Xcellence, how to infuse learning into the culture of your organisation, aligning employee learning with your business strategies and much more.  There will also be informative panel discussions with Learning Leaders.

Event organiser Rob Clarke said the speakers were leaders in their fields coming from Argentina, Canada, Germany, India, NZ, Singapore, the UK and USA along with the best of Australian talent.  To view the complete conference program visit http://www.learnx.net/learnx/DownloadBrochure.html.

“With 60 learning executives who have advised and successfully dealt with training challenges that relate to a modern workforce presenting, attendees will learn what’s working, why and get practical ideas and strategies they can use for their learning team,” Rob said.

The Exhibition will present and demonstrate the latest innovations and technologies available.

Talented professionals working in the e-learning and training sector are also being urged not to miss the opportunity to be recognised through the LearnX E-Learning and Training Awards.  Entries for the awards, which focus on recognising excellence in the industry, close in just over two weeks on Friday 2^nd April 2010.

The winners will be announced at a special Awards Luncheon (on 10^th June) during the Conference in front of the who’s who of the industry attending, including Learning Leaders from corporate, academia and public service sectors.

Rob said they felt the awards were especially important this year because they would acknowledge organisations, teams and individuals who had dedicated themselves to training, in what has been a tough year economically.

“As Australia gears back up from the economic downturn there are more Australians looking for training opportunities – particularly online – that give them an edge in a competitive market,” Mr Clarke said.

“In 2009, the Awards were hailed as the best in the South Pacific region and were celebrated by more than 400 Learning Leaders. The Awards have a hugely positive impact on the individuals, teams and organisations that enter,” he said.

Australian Red Cross Blood Service National Learning and Development Manager Les Lisz said they were delighted to receive the prestigious 2009 LearnX Award for Best Training Team.  “To be recognised externally for our achievements was wonderful confirmation that we are applying industry best practice in how we partner with the business.  It was a great motivator for the team and created much excitement within our organisation,” Mr Lisz said.

2009 winners can be viewed http://www.learnx.net/learnx/2009awardwinners.html.

The LearnX Awards include 50 categories recognising excellence in the areas of Best Talent, Best Practices, Best Services, Green Training, and for the first time this year Best use of Social Learning Tools.

Nominations are also being sought for Best in Class Technologies – you can nominate your preferred technology used in learning online at http://www.learnx.net/learnx/awards_nominate.html.  Deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 2 April 2010.  All entries can be submitted on-line or you can download award forms via the website.  To Download the Awards Brochure and for detailed information visit http://www.learnx.net/learnx/awards_nominate.html.

The LearnX Asia Pacific E-Learning & Training Solutions International Conference & Expo will be held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre on the 9^th and 10^th of June 2010. For enquiries regarding the Awards, Conference & Expo please contact Rob Clarke rob@learnx.net, call 1300 880 326 or visit www.learnx.net.

As elite athletes are being put through their paces at the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival this year, Bloomhill Cancer Help will be continuing its work to support people with cancer throughout the Sunshine Coast, to live well with their illness.

This is why Bloomhill is grateful to USM Events for once again nominating Bloomhill as the Triathlon’s nominated charity for this year’s festival from 26^th to 28^th March to help support the work the local Sunshine Coast charity does.

Bloomhill Cancer Help is operated by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers and relies on the generosity of the public and funds generated by its several OP shops throughout the Sunshine Coast.

At this year’s Triathlon Festival, Bloomhill will be fundraising in a variety of ways.  You can show your support by purchasing raffle tickets at the Twilight 5km run on Friday night, by visiting the Bloomhill booth at the Triathlon expo, donating at the gear tent and registration area or donating to one of the Bloomhill volunteers, who will be wearing blue Bloomhill t-shirts.  Also, come and enjoy the Bloomhill breakfast barbecue on Saturday morning in the park in Foote St.

“The support we receive each year at the Mooloolaba Triathlon is overwhelming and has helped Bloomhill to support and assist more and more clients every year”, Bloomhill Committee Member and Triathlon competitor Brett Graham said.

“USM events, organisers of the Mooloolaba Triathlon have shown tremendous support for the charity by giving us this opportunity to raise funds and awareness at the Triathlon. They truly recognise the importance of Bloomhill to the Sunshine Coast”, he said.

Bloomhill offers both emotional and practical support for people with cancer and their loved ones by offering complementary therapies transport to appointments, support groups and counselling. We focus on improving the quality of life and support our clients through every stage of the illness.

The Mooloolaba Triathlon is running from Friday the 26^th to Sunday the 28^th of March at Mooloolaba, Queensland.  To find out more about Bloomhill, to donate or volunteer, visit www.bloomhill.com.au or call 07 5445 5794.  For more information about the Festival visit www.usmevents.com.au/mooltri.

Aspiring writers wanting to learn the art of writing short stories are invited to attend an inspirational workshop hosted by the Sunshine Coast Literary Association on Saturday 20 March.

Brisbane-based short story expert Stephen Irwin will present ‘It’s not the length, it’s what you do with it: Writing the short story’ and guide participants through the essential ingredients needed to craft a compelling short story.

SCLA president Hari Kotrotsios said the workshop was the second of two being held to help writers as they prepared entries for the Association’s WARM Writers Competition in 2010.

“The SCLA aims to nurture, showcase and celebrate literary talent on the Sunshine Coast by continually holding events that educate writers in the different genres and provide skills development.  We also seek to recognise talent with our competition,” Hari said.

“This year’s competition has four categories and with a cost of just $5 per entry it is easy to be a part of it. This workshop, and the one in February  ‘Architecture of the Novel’, aim to help writers get cracking on their entries,” she said.

Hari said the SCLA was privileged to have been able to attract such a talented writer to present this workshop.

Stephen Irwin has lived in and around Brisbane, Queensland all his life. At an early age, he was discovered to be a notably lousy swimmer and an outstandingly poor cricketer, but fortunately he found and fostered a love of reading and writing.  His tertiary study in film production led to a career in restaurant and handyman work.

He says his love of writing overcame his interest in cupboard repairs. His portfolio of documentary and film projects resulted in a reputation as a respectable, if shabbily dressed, screen-writer and director. His short stories, films and poems have won numerous national and international competitions and awards. THE DEAD PATH is his first novel.

The Short Story workshop will be held on Saturday, 20 March from 9.30am to 3.30pm at the Lake Kawana Community Centre, Sportsman Parade, Bokarina.  Working face-to-face with Stephen will inspire writers through discussions about this different, exciting genre.

The cost is $55 for SCLA members and $65 for non-members. Participants are asked to bring their own pen and paper and lunch or they can drive to nearby shops during the lunch break. For bookings phone 0414 635 407, email info@scliterary.org or visit www.scliterary.org for more details.

Details about the WARM Writers Competition are also available on the SCLA website www.scliterary.org.

Innovation Centre client, Quality Systems Network, is taking its operations from a regional level to a global one with the help of a Federal Government COMET grant.

Quality Systems Network which provides software as a solution to the ISO9001 market received a grant of $70.400 in the latest round of Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) grants announced by Senator Kim Car, Minister for Innovation, Science and Research. The grants total $774,400 in national funding to help bring 11 innovative Australian projects to market.

Quality Systems Toolbox^TM, a web based ISO 9001 Toolbox for SMEs, was one of two winners based in Queensland.  ISO 9001 is an international standard that defines requirements for quality management systems.

Quality Systems Network company director Ian Clark said a well functioning quality management system meant that a business can consistently deliver the product or service they promise. “That is important to potential customers and, for larger contracts, supplier certification to ISO 9001 is often mandatory,” he said.

“ISO9001 is often a requirement to service government or larger company contracts, hence there are over 9,000 Australian certified ISO9001 companies. We find that many small to medium enterprises (SMEs) struggle to meet the requirements of the standard with traditionally paper-based systems, often resulting in poor maintenance and difficult audits.  Our Toolbox makes the process much easier to manage, saving companies time in management, the platform more accessible to employees and audits far easier to pass.”

“Quality Systems Toolbox has successfully passed audits for clients in a range of industries including mining, electronics, food processing, and manufacturing. One of our first international clients, a Singapore based company offers security risk management services and they used our software to become ISO 9001 compliant and certified in 4 months.  The Toolbox is very flexible and suits all kinds of businesses.”

“We’ve been working with the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast in their business Incubator program to access expertise we don’t have in-house.  The COMET grant will help us engage other specialist providers to assist in market research and marketing, while executing on the strategic business planning work done with the Innovation Centre to take Quality Systems Toolbox to a wider market.”

Innovation Centre Entrepreneur in Residence, Nigel Hall said “Quality Systems Network is a great example of a small coast based business that is punching above its weight. With 15 active local clients now using the system it is time for the company to focus on market penetration and look at national and international opportunities. Winning the COMET grant will enable them to do the market research and engage professional marketing support to access those markets. Winning the Singapore client and demonstrating how effective the Toolbox is in the market gives the company real proof of concept even in International markets. We look forward to great things from Quality Systems Network”.

About Quality Systems Network

After many years building paper-based quality management systems and seeing the difficulties they presented, business consultant Ian Clark thought that there had to be a better way.  Bringing together his knowledge and his son’s expertise in web development, Quality Systems Toolbox^TM was developed as a web-based application that addresses all of the requirements of ISO 9001 and makes it easier to manage.