British Columbia

There are 34 posts filed in British Columbia (this is page 5 of 12).

Open House at Bootup Labs

Bootup LabsJevon, Jonas and I are all heading to Vancouver for Grow Conference happening Aug 19-21, 2010. But I’m hear in Vancouver hanging out at Bootup Labs.

Bootup Labs is holding open office hours this week. Basically if you’re a startup and you’re in Vancouver and you want need some touchdown space, you should visit Bootup Labs.

Bootup Labs
163 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC

David Crow at Bootup Labs

Hanging out in the middle of Bootup Labs

This is a fantastic place. There is a fantastic vibe. There seems to be real evolution and growth of Bootup Labs since the dark days. I’ve been hanging out the past day or so with:

There are a lot of companies, entrepreneurs and things to like happening at Bootup. I am really impressed with a few things.

  1. The space – it is gorgeous. It’s the right mix of location and finish. The offices are safe, comfortable, and interactive. There’s a great mix of open working areas, private meeting rooms, a kitchen and private offices with sliding doors. The natural light. And it’s nice but not posh. As companies demonstrate traction, there is incentive to find different space, for example Dimerocker has moved out. Having Mozilla and Strutta as “anchor tenants” also reduces the risk to Bootup Labs. It also means that there’s a lot of fun interesting people flowing through.
  2. The location – it is right on the edge of Gastown. There is a great mix of restaurants and other things going on. I had breakfast at the Medina Cafe just around the corner from the office (best breakfast I’ve ever had). There’s the Fluevog store. It’s a great neighbourhood that has come a long way since I first visited Bryght in 2005.
  3. The companies – all of these companies and the entrepreneurs working there are pushing really hard and demonstrating traction. There are exits, see Layerboom acquired by Joyent. And there are a lot of good things happening.

My recommendation is that if you’re in Vancouver you come hang out at Bootup Labs with us. Ping me @davidcrow or @startupnorth or just drop by 163 West Hastings St in Vancouver. I’ll be here until August 20.

Twitter acquires Smallthought (the dabbleDB people)

Twitter announced today that they are acquiring Smallthought, the company behind DabbleDB and Trendly.

About 4 years ago, Avi Bryant landed at Democamp 5 and blew us all away. Not only did he show off one of the sexiest apps we had seen yet, his demo set the bar for everyone that came after.

This does not seem to be a large acquisition by any stretch, and neither side is playing it up as such, but it is a well deserved kudos to Avi and the team for what they have built.

It is hard to argue: For Canada: it sucks. More of our top talent going south and disappearing from the Canadian scene.

Those days are over however, with the C100 and an increasingly healthy startup community here in Canada, there will be many opportunities for the Avi’s of our community to contribute back, and perhaps return some day better than ever.

Grow – A Conference – Aug 19-21, 2010

Grow 2010
Our friends at C100 and Bootup are bringing Dealmaker Media to Vancouver for a great event in August. If you don’t know Dealmaker, you should. It’s run by a Canadian, Debbie Landa. They produce 2 of the most valuable events for startups in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles – check out Under the Radar for a list of events and companies.

Dealmaker MediaThey are producing an event, Grow 2010, in Vancouver on August 19-21, 2010.

The event is a 3 day event with an invite-only Day 1 to connect Canadian founders with the best and brightest from Silicon Valley and across CAnada. Days 2 & 3 feature great speakers and the opportunity to build unique lasting relationships.

 If you’re an entrepreneur and you missed MeshU in Toronto (and it’s really too bad, this was one of my favourite events of the past 2 years), you should attend Grow 2010. Buy your ticket today and it’s $185, if you miss the super early bird (or as I like to call it the just getting in from a late night), you can grab an early bird ticket for only $230. This is unbelievable! Add in an approximately $700 flight it’s possible to do this for less than $1500. It’s worth the opportunity to meet the companies, build the connections, and help grow your company.

We’ll be coordinating shared hotel rooms for entrepreneurs from Toronto, Montreal, Waterloo, Ottawa, Halifax and anywhere. If you’re not local to Vancouver we’ll help you find a shared room to manage your costs. Add a comment if you are attending and we’ll try to help you find a roommate.