Traditionally, it is well-known that around half of business startups will fail within 5 years, with almost all of them eventually dying out practically exhausted by failed attempts to survive in the sea of other businesses, whether beginners like themselves or industry bigwigs. Business people know how difficult it is to really make it in the dog-eat-dog world of business, where many initial efforts fail. There are numerous reasons why some startups fail and others don’t, but that shouldn’t discourage entrepreneurs who know they have something - this early promise is what some detect and invest in exchange for equity in the startup, or venture capitalism. Called the envy of the world as an engine for economic growth, this funding or financing system works like a loan where wealthy investors invest their capital on small businesses they think have long-term growth potential, and which when becoming successful, would make them - the venture capitalists - impressive returns.

A venture capital firm is likewise self-explanatory: it is a firm that specialises in this.

Venturing from a trail of small-scale businesses, Matthew Keezer and his team established venture capital firm Momentum Ventures in 2007, whose mandate is to build winning businesses. In 2012, they launched their most successful brand to date: flagship online travel agency FlightHub whose four global offices employ 400 people, and which serves 1 million customers and Canadians in a year. FlightHub is one of the three recent travel-related businesses, other businesses being online affiliated. Momentum Ventures is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a technology company which now houses the brands Keezer had been busy with prior to the firm.

The Momentum Ventures Challenge
If venture capitalists look at promising early-stage businesses with potential, Momentum Ventures has officially opened its “Momentum Ventures Challenge” which is a search for the next business leader to take the reins of their next online business. This initiative of the firm attracts professionals and students alike eager to have business experience with the company through this opportunity to learn and manage a business that’s funded and treated just like any other startup by Momentum Ventures. The challenge winner will be given $500 K towards their new online venture, as well as complete access to Momentum Ventures’ people, talent, and business support systems. “At the end of the day we’ll be treating this like any other business we start, meaning we hope we have the incentive to invest even more capital into it as development progresses and the outlook improves,” says Keezer of their close involvement in the competition and its long-term success.

The Momentum Ventures Challenge closely follows Momentum Ventures’ most recent low-cost online travel agency Alio, which focuses on the US demographic. Like the rest of the humble startups that Keezer’s company helps, the venture capital firm can launch the career of the most business-savvy contestant and add to their record string of successful business attempts. Those interested in joining the challenge can visit Momentum Ventures’ official website and click on the challenge link to officially enter.

A business idea is just the beginning on the road of entrepreneurship where majority of the startups end up failing within a few years, leaving only a few promising ones in the long run. In spite of this phenomenon, Momentum Ventures boasts seven successful businesses that the Momentum Ventures Challenge can add to if this new business succeeds.