I was trying to flip the switch on the new design before Launch Party last night, but called away to do ‘networking’: you know, the kind that has you lasso’ing ethernet cables over a bar’s rooftop We’ll see if the switch does in fact get thrown today — at left a fun image that is going to be on the new home page.

In any case, the clock has flipped over to September 19th, so we are officially in Talk Like a Pirate Day. And of course, our oh-so-staid parent site, ye old Bootup Labs, has gone piratized in celebration! The about page is a nice demo:

A Vancouver-based startup accelerator designed t’ help founders build tech startups an’ take them t’ their first round o’ fundin’ o’er th’ course o’ a nine month placement.

The nine months be split into three trimesters - because we all know that growin’ a startup is like raisin’ a child! Each three month period has different deliverables in th’ areas o’ business, marketin’, an’ product. Founders will come in with different strengths an’ weaknesses, bein’ matched with th’ right set o’ scallywags at Bootup Labs or external Advisors t’ reach each deliverable.

Oh, I really never get tired of that …

Thanks as always to Richard, the scallywag at Raincity Studios that created the pirate module for Drupal.

Launch Party Vancouver 5 is hosting a start-up contest sponsored by Bootup Labs and Fasken Martineau. The contest is open to LPV featured companies only and will go live the morning of September 18.

All it takes is an entrepreneur + Macbook/webcam, clearly communicating what their start-up does and how far they will go to make their company succeed in a 90 second or less video clip. The videos will be judged, not for their production value or the quality of their pitch but on whether or not the panel of experts believes the idea has the legs to go the long haul.\

Bootup Labs is putting up a $1000 lunch money (cash) as the grand prize, which will be awarded to the start-up deemed “Most Likely to Succeed” by our esteemed panel of judges including:

• Paul Kedrosky, Investor, Writer, and Entrepreneur
• Andrew Lugsdin, Director, Venture Capital, BDC
• Tanner Philp, CFO & Partner, Lions Capital Fund
• Boris Wertz, W Media Ventures
• Boris Mann, Managing Director, Bootup Labs
• Steve Hnatiuk, General Partner, Yaletown Venture Partners
• Rick Segal, Partner, JLA Ventures

And the People’s Choice, chosen by YOU, will win box seats to a Giants game courtesy of Fasken Martineau.

So, be sure to stop by lpv5.launchpartyhq.com to pick your favorite on the 18th and come by LPV5 at Unwine’d, 1180 Howe Street to meet the founders behind the ideas. The party starts @ 5:30pm.

Photo of Boris Mann by Duane Storey
Photo of Boris Wertz by KK+
Photo of Paul Kedrosky by dfarber
Photo of Andrew Lugsdin by damclean

We just set up a Bootup Labs YouTube account and a Bootup Flickr account on the shared iMac next to the kitchen and had a bit of fun today.

The Bootup offices are getting a wee bit fuller, and we’ll be talking more about that next week. And Launch Party on Thursday! Man, September is going to be busy….