Our friends at the C100 are hosting 20 Canadian companies on May 18-20, 2010 in Silicon Valley. Interesting tradeoff, accepted startups will need to weigh participation in the C100 with participation at OCE Discovery, MeshU and Mesh (assuming you don’t win the GOAP ticket from StartupCamp Montreal). It shouldn’t be a huge debate, because the opportunity to engage with Canadian mentors in Silicon Valley should be pretty straightforward for most startups.

This is a variant of TechStars for Canadians. You get the chance to connect with the most connected Canadians in Silicon Valley. You can the opportunity to pitch, receive mentorship, and gain access to business development resources. This is a great opportunity for local startups to gain access to markets, companies, and decision makers in Silicon Valley.

“These customers and markets don’t need to be located in Canada. In fact, Canada can often serve as a providing ground, an incubator, for a variety of market segments. We need to leverage the unique attributes of a diverse population of immigrants for the creative tension of differing viewpoints, and to help forge connections with remote markets.” Creating a Venture Culture, The Mark News

It is an opportunity for a Canadian startup to build locally and market globally.

Requirements

To qualify, companies must:

• Be substantially Canadian in leadership, employees or location
• Have a product/service with users/customers
• Be in a position to expand its business in the U.S. and internationally
• Be willing to cover its own expenses (flights, hotel, some meals)
• Be endorsed by a C100 Charter Member or a C100 Seed Partner
• Apply online