Stay tuned for the new 2012 program - Check it out!

Extreme Venture Partners presented another round of Extreme University in the summer of 2011. At “ExtremeU” selected companies got a chance to bring their great idea to life, and draw upon the technology and business expertise of the EVP team.

We’re looking for:

Early Involvement: Whether you are pre-revenue or expanding, we want to be involved as early as we can so we can provide the most support and impact possible.

Disruptive Businesses: We’re looking for companies that can effect change, can impact a market or change the way people go about their lives.

Vision & Leadership: We aren’t just looking for new technologies. We want to invest in people who show a clear sense of where they want to go and how to get there.

Market Potential: A great idea is interesting, but a great idea with a sizeable or untapped market is irresistible.

We firmly believe that keeping initial start-up costs as low as possible allows a business to move ahead while keeping the most exit strategies open. Some may find sustainable success right out of the gate. Some businesses may proceed with an IPO, although fewer and fewer companies are taking this route. And others may seek out additional financing to take their business to the next level..

By keeping initial investments small enough to preserve ownership, yet large enough to seize opportunities, we find our approach maximizes the opportunities and returns for EVP and our portfolio companies.

What: A summer technology start-up program that focuses on industry networking, technology mentoring and above all delivering a product to potential follow-on funders after only 12 weeks.

How: Each company:

• * Received $5,000(US) + $5,000 (US) per founder in exchange for a 10% ownership stake in their company
• * Moved their team to our shared ExtremeU office space at Yonge & King (downtown Toronto)
• * Had weekly mentoring sessions by industry experts in technology, funding, legal, public relations, marketing and human resources
• * Met a who’s who of experts at our monthly socials and had an opportunity to practice their pitch and demo their in-progress prototype
• * Had access to local shared resources to accelerate product development

When: The program ran for 12 weeks starting June 22nd, 2009.

Press: “Startup University” Pays Off for VC

Weekly Mentorship

ExtremeU 2009 Companies

Extreme University is led by Farhan Thawar, Dean of ExtremeU. Farhan has over 12 years experience in the technology sector. He is currently the VP Engineering at Xtreme Labs and is also leading the efforts behind the ExtremeU. Prior to joining Xtreme Labs, Farhan was the Chief Software Architect at I Love Rewards Inc and previously the Head of Search & MSN Platform for Microsoft Canada. Prior to that Farhan spent 7 years at Celestica Co. and Trilogy Software Inc. coding and running development teams. Farhan has a degree in Computer Science with Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Rotman School of Business.

How: Each company:

• * Received $5,000(US) + $5,000 (US) per founder in exchange for a 10% ownership stake in their company
• * Moved their team to our shared ExtremeU office space at Yonge & King (downtown Toronto)
• * Had weekly mentoring sessions by industry experts in technology, funding, legal, public relations, marketing and human resources
• * Met a who’s who of experts at our monthly socials and had an opportunity to practice their pitch and demo their in-progress prototype
• * Had access to local shared resources to accelerate product development

When: The program ran for 12 weeks starting July 5th, 2010.

Weekly Mentorship

ExtremeU 2010 Companies

Extreme University is led by Farhan Thawar, Dean of ExtremeU. Farhan has over 13 years experience in the technology sector. He is currently the VP of Engineering at Xtreme Labs.

Amar Varma
Amar has over 12 years of experience in the technology and investment arenas. Before founding EVP, Amar was a Director at VenGrowth Capital Partners where he focused on investments in the technology sector. Prior to that, Amar worked at a number of public and private technology companies in both Canada and the US including Jetstream Communications Inc., Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, ATi Technologies Inc. and Newbridge Networks Corp. Amar has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute sponsored by the NVCA.

Sundeep Madra
Sundeep has over 10 years of experience in the technology sector. Before founding EVP, Sundeep was the Chief Technical Officer at Spongefish Inc. Prior to Spongefish Inc., he spent six years at Cisco Systems Inc. working on core routing platforms. Sundeep has a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa.

Ray Sharma
Ray Sharma is a veteran of the mobile technology sector. Mr. Sharma’s industry accomplishments include: #1 ranked wireless technology analyst based on Greenwich and Brendan Woods International surveys of fund managers for five of eight eligible years; visionary research on the mobile device representing the next evolutionary wave of computing; leading the most successful tech IPO in Canadian capital markets history; one of the world’s first BlackBerry users. Mr. Sharma is considered a leading authority in the current evolution of the mobile application layer.

Previously Mr. Sharma spent over 11 years in technology investment banking research, including positions at the CSFB Technology Group, BMO Nesbitt Burns, and most recently GMP Capital Trust. Mr. Sharma has a degree in Business Administration from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Imran Bashir
Imran Bashir has spent 28 years working in the technology sector as an entrepreneur, and he is currently President & Chief Executive Officer of Envision Mobile Inc. Prior to his work at Envision Mobile Inc., Mr. Bashir was President and Chief Operating Officer of Octanewave Software Inc. Previously, Mr. Bashir was President and Chief Executive Officer of ISG Inc. Mr. Bashir has a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Ken Teslia
Ken Teslia has spent 23 years working in the investment industry at RBC Capital Markets, Credit Suisse First Boston and most recently with GMP Capital Trust, acting principally within the Institutional Equity markets. Mr. Teslia has an Master’s degree of Business Administration from York University.

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Extreme Venture Partners is located at:
69 Yonge St, Suite 600
Toronto, Ontario M5E 1K3
Canada

170A University Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
USA

Submit proposals to us here.

Extreme University will be led by Farhan Thawar, Dean of ExtremeU. Farhan has over
11 years experience in the technology sector. He is currently the VP Engineering at Xtreme
Labs and is also leading the efforts behind the ExtremeU. <click for full bio>

EVP is kicking off the summer with a new program – Extreme University. At ExtremeU you’ll get a chance to bring your great idea to life, and draw upon the technology and business expertise of the EVP team.

What: A summer technology start-up program that focuses on industry networking, technology mentoring and above all delivering a product to potential follow-on funders after only 12 weeks.

Who: We are looking for four smart and fast moving teams to participate. Typically all members of the two-three person team will be deep technically, but at least one of the founders should have a technical background.

How: After you apply and are accepted you will:

• Get $5,000 (US) per founder in exchange for a 10% ownership stake in your company
• Move your team to our shared ExtremeU office space at Yonge & King (downtown Toronto)
• Have weekly mentoring sessions by industry experts in technology, funding, legal, PR, marketing and HR
• Meet a who’s who of experts at our weekly socials and have an opportunity to practice your pitch and demo your in-progress prototype
• Have access to local shared resources to accelerate product development (mentors, servers)

When: Applications are due by Friday June 12th, 2010. The program starts Monday June 22nd, 2010 to Friday September 4th, 2010 at the ExtremeU offices in Toronto at Yonge and King. The final demo day will be Tuesday September 15th, 2010 at Demo camp.

Why: Let’s face it we need a program like this in our community!

Apply Now

Questions? Ask farhan@extremevp.com.