StartupNorth

The Value of Community

Written by

David Crow

in

,

Are you curious about what being a startup is really about? Do you think there are too many events in Toronto?

“Being in the community is important to you, but being in front of your customers is what is important to your startup.” –  Jevon MacDonald

Well, we’re trying to help connect entrepreneurs, designers, developers and others interested in starting new high potential growth companies. Why? Check out Paul Graham’s What Startups Are Really Like. In particular, 17. The Value of Community. We’re trying to create a peer group, people that are facing similar obstacles in creating new tech, software, mobile, social Internet startups.

“One of the most surprising things I saw was the willingness of people to help us. Even people who had nothing to gain went out of their way to help our startup succeed…The surprise for me was how accessible important and interesting people are. It’s amazing how easily you can reach out to people and get immediate feedback.” – comments on What Startups Are Really Like

I want a vibrant, connected, accessible community of founders, investors, advisors and others in Canada. And I’m not alone. There are great communities across the country in Ottawa, Montreal, Waterloo, Guelph, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver (and be sure to check out StartupDrinks).  Here’s what we’re doing locally:

  1. Consider attending DemoCamp Toronto # 25 on January 27, 2010.
  2. Are you looking for a social opportunity to connect with the individuals that fund high potential growth startups in Canada? You should consider applying to attend Founders & Funders on February 15, 2010.
  3. StartupEmpire is happening on May 20, 2010. Stay tuned for details.

So it’s not about partying, but it is about finding others facing similar challenges and those that might be able to help your startup.

I hope you decide to participate.

Comments

6 responses to “The Value of Community”

  1. kenseville Avatar
    kenseville

    Community is everything! I moved from Hamilton to Ottawa in Sept. to increase my access to decision makers in my space, think military.com for Canada. What I didn't know was that I was going to join a community of amazing tech. people who really help one another. About a month after I arrived in Ottawa I was very lucky to discover and be selected for Lead to Win, a business development/accelerator program led by Dr. Tony Bailetti and administered by Carleton University. In the process of joining the Ottawa tech. community I connected to great founders like Scott Lake, formerly of Shoppify.com, more recently from Swix: swixapp.com, who took time from his already busy schedule to make a connection for me to a key individual that I needed to meet. I have also met many really interesting visionaries like Nick Desberats of choicebots.com who has thought so deeply on how people make purchasing decisions, and Craig Schoen of ucoursepack.com, who is redrawing how students interact with their learning materials. If I had stayed in Hamilton I would have met none of these people and not been energized as I have been by joining the groundswell of exciting tech. that I have in Ottawa. I cannot emphasize enough how empowering it is to be part of a tight tech. community that goes the extra mile for one another. If you don't have that yet, move to where there is one, you will not regret it.

    Reply
  2. kenseville Avatar
    kenseville

    Community is everything! I moved from Hamilton to Ottawa in Sept. to increase my access to decision makers in my space, think military.com for Canada. What I didn’t know was that I was going to join a community of amazing tech. people who really help one another. About a month after I arrived in Ottawa I was very lucky to discover and be selected for Lead to Win, a business development/accelerator program led by Dr. Tony Bailetti and administered by Carleton University. In the process of joining the Ottawa tech. community I connected to great founders like Scott Lake, formerly of Shoppify.com, more recently from Swix: swixapp.com, who took time from his already busy schedule to make a connection for me to a key individual that I needed to meet. I have also met many really interesting visionaries like Nick Desberats of choicebots.com who has thought so deeply on how people make purchasing decisions, and Craig Schoen of ucoursepack.com, who is redrawing how students interact with their learning materials. If I had stayed in Hamilton I would have met none of these people and not been energized as I have been by joining the groundswell of exciting tech. that I have in Ottawa. I cannot emphasize enough how empowering it is to be part of a tight tech. community that goes the extra mile for one another. If you don’t have that yet, move to where there is one, you will not regret it.

    Reply
  3. jon chui Avatar
    jon chui

    David – I couldn't have said it better myself.

    And I'd know because I actually tried. 😉

    I wrote a recent post on my blog, jonchui.com, entitled “What Vancouver’s Startup Scene Needs (part 1): Real Community. Better PR.”

    As a recently minted UBC Engineering Physics + Computer Science alumni, I was idealistic & naive with no idea what the startup culture was like in Vancouver. Similar to @kensville, I was lucky enough to met many great people like Nicole Sheldrake of InnovationCamp.org, Mack Flavelle of CompassEngine.com & Ryan Holmes of Hootsuite.com who really demonstrated the genuine openness to help with little to nothing in return for themselves. However, I've also met many people who weren't.

    I just wanted to thank you for your posts & the encouragement that there do exist genuine, open people like you building real startup community in Canada.

    Reply
  4. Jon Chui Avatar
    Jon Chui

    David – I couldn’t have said it better myself.

    And I’d know because I actually tried. 😉

    I wrote a recent post on my blog, jonchui.com, entitled “What Vancouver’s Startup Scene Needs (part 1): Real Community. Better PR.”

    As a recently minted UBC Engineering Physics + Computer Science alumni, I was idealistic & naive with no idea what the startup culture was like in Vancouver. Similar to @kensville, I was lucky enough to met many great people like Nicole Sheldrake of InnovationCamp.org, Mack Flavelle of CompassEngine.com & Ryan Holmes of Hootsuite.com who really demonstrated the genuine openness to help with little to nothing in return for themselves. However, I’ve also met many people who weren’t.

    I just wanted to thank you for your posts & the encouragement that there do exist genuine, open people like you building real startup community in Canada.

    Reply
  5. What’s the value of Community? (inspired by David Crow….) « Jon Chui

    […] my conversations. For a while, I was quite discouraged. So you can imagine my catharsis at reading David Crow’s recent post where he addresses the very question & quotes Paul Graham’s What Startups Are Really […]

    Reply
  6. What’s the value of Community? (inspired by David Crow….) « Jon Chui

    […] my conversations. For a while, I was quite discouraged. So you can imagine my catharsis at reading David Crow’s recent post where he addresses the very question & quotes Paul Graham’s What Startups Are Really […]

    Reply

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