Special thanks to Tim and Paul at BizzMail who recorded it and ensured Tonya was sufficiently well-lit so as not to appear as though she had just punched her way out of a grave.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=COkdrLz6TN0

We are honoured and delighted to announce that The Ant Firm has won the 2011 Venture London Business Competition in the Existing Business Category and we couldn’t be happier!

The awards ceremony took place at The Best Western Lamplighter Inn here in London, ON.  The night’s festivities were integrated with Internetwork London and The Small Business Centre’s Networking Wednesdays, so it was a big crowd!  Mayor Joe Fontana was in attendance, and the keynote speaker was Antic Entertainment CEO and 2009 Venture London Winner, Fredrik Liliegren.

After being finalists last year in the Proposed Business Category, and having listened to the advice of last year’s judges from whom we learned so much, we realized several of our suppositions had to be reconsidered and altered over the last several months.  Entering Venture London again this year forced us to re-visit our business plan: we did more research, and tweaked and honed and scrapped and re-tweaked it and, ultimately, we ended up with a business plan with which we felt far more comfortable, and ultimately, it has proven to be a winner!

The Ants extend our congratulations to the other finalists in the Existing Business Category: Hudson Entry & Automotive Inc., and Riverpark Dental; and to the winners in the Proposed Business Category, Entos Pharmaceuticals, along with finalists New Ninjas and TecVana Corp.

We would also like to thank Nancy Kopriva and Steve Pellarin of the London Small Business Centre for organizing a great event, as well as their terrific, supportive staff; all the first round judges and final round judges Tania Goodine of Libro Financial Group and Nicole Raynor of PricewaterhouseCooper; all our friends and mentors at Tech Alliance and The London Economic Development Corporation; Joe O’Neill and Chuck Grawburgh at PricewaterhouseCooper; and our pal Rob “we owe you dinner and a bottle of wine” Bortolussi!

And last, but not least, a special shout-out to Gord Evans, our dear friend and business mentor: Gord, you were the very first person with any business sense to believe in us, and we’ll never forget it.

You’ll need a quick hand and a healthy dose of logic in order to guide Eddy, a lovable line being, from point A to point B without meeting a calamitous end.

We at The Ant Firm (note the “name synergy”) had the pleasure of testing The Line for the folks at the Hive and we had a blast doing it.  Despite spending 8 hours each working day testing this little gem, our test team couldn’t wait for its release so they could run out and buy it.

By the way, you can cast your vote for Eddy in the 2010 Indie of the Year Awards here.  Good luck to Ant Hive CEO Matt Orlich, creative director Florian Garcia, and the rest of their team: The Ant Firm is rooting for you!

Sid Meier’s Civilization Series

“Just one more turn to build my next city, build a granary, military unit.  One more turn to achieve a new technology, build a world wonder, be the first to blast off to Alpha Centauri.  Since the original 1991 release of Sid Meier’s Civilization, millions of fans have been uttering, ‘just one more turn’, the hours slipping away while in the throes of world domination.

Civilization I – IV, (and soon to include V as of September 2010), is a turn-based strategy PC game in which the player guides and grows a civilization through the ages from BC to 2050 AD, along the way conquering nations, settling new lands, and becoming technologically and culturally superior.

Although each iteration of this game has its own unique take on the franchise, I would pick Civ I for sentimental reasons and Civ IV for its in-depth game play.  I look forward to conquering Civ V with the addition of a hex-based map grid allowing for greater movement, as well as the streamlined interfaces and menus.” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Ant Melanie recommends:

Angry Birds

“Who wouldn’t be angry if their eggs were stolen by pigs?

Five different kinds of birds, all with different abilities, are out for revenge.  And…they are very, very angry.

In this iPhone App, players use a slingshot to fling birds at the pigs, who are avoiding the attack by hiding behind stone, wood, ice and immovable objects.  It may seem easy at first, but don’t scoff, it does get harder.  There are lots of levels and collectible items such as golden eggs and stars.

Thanks go to Rovio for Angry Birds: I can now occupy myself waiting for the kids, doctors, long trains, late planes, or anything else that causes mind-numbing idleness.”