StartupNorth

Category: Events

  • Mesh Conference – 15 Minutes of Fame

    One of the startup-focused parts of Mesh is the 15 Minutes of Fame they do evey year. Each day of the conference 3 companies are given 5 minutes each to pitch themselves or their product to the audience.

    What I love about it is that it really is completely open to whoever applies, and it is not an opportunity for the conference organizers to just give stage time to whoever will pay. (paying to do something like 15 minutes of fame is far more typical than you might realize)

    The lineup this year was solid, with some new companies and some more established startups.

    15 Minutes of Fame is a great way to get your startup in front of a new crowd in Canada, so think about doing it next year.

    • Carbonetworks, which has developed software that helps companies create effective carbon emissions strategies to reduce costs and capitalize on emerging global markets.
    • GigPark, a place to receive recommendations about a wide variety of services from friends and their friends.
    • AidesRSS, which has created technology to make reading RSS feeds more effective and valuable.
    • Well.ca, an online health and beauty store that ships across Canada.
    • OverlayTV, an interactive media company that provides a video commerce platform that lets Internet users, content owners and e-commerce sites to monetize and customize their video assets.
    • Enomalism, an open source consulting firm that focuses on solving the cost and complexity for enterprises that run large technical server infrastructures.

  • Reminder: StartupCamp Waterloo tomorrow (June 3rd)

    Just a quick reminder that StartupCamp Waterloo is taking place today, June 3rd 2008, at the Waterloo Accelerator Center at 6pm.

    I just got off the phone with Mic Berman, one of the organizers, and she says that instead of a speaker this time, there is going to be a panel to kick things off. The question for the panel is “Why start a startup?”

    Just over a year ago, I wrote something along the same line: No better time than now. It remains just as relevant today as it was then.

    All the details are here.

  • The Code Factory – Ottawa Co-Working Space

    The Code Factory is having its grand opening tonight in Ottawa. The Code Factory is a shared office space for startups and freelancers.

    Here in Toronto we had The Indoor Playground for a few years, but due to some problems with their landlord, they had to close up shop. Co-working spaces tend to be indicators of healthy entrepreneurial communities and it is nice to see Ottawa get such a great looking option.

    The grand opening takes place tonight, at 5:30pm at Suite 200 – 246 Queen Street (between Bank and Kent).

    David Crow recently covered co-working in Canada on our sister site CommunityNorth.ca where is also included a list of other known co-working spaces in Canada.

  • CVCA – "The Face of Change" – Montreal

    I am heading to Montreal next week for the Canadian Venture Capital Association’s annual conference. The theme this year is “The Face of Change”, and the idea is to look at what causes change in the VC and Private Equity worlds.

    I am excited to be going for a few reasons. The biggest one is the fact that I have been making a lot of noise recently saying that Canadian VCs need to spend more time connecting to the startup community, and Suzie Dingwell Williams recently said the same thing, so turning down an invitation to the only national VC conference in Canada would have been a little backwards.

    The other reason I want to go is to spread the word about some of the great startups that are popping up these days. We have been lagging behind on writing profiles (I know I know I know), but we are always telling people about some of the cooler ones we are seeing.

    I promise to make a few posts during and after the conference with some notes on what goes on when VCs get together. (besides Scotch tastings that is!)

    Will any of you be there, or in Montreal during those days/nights? (May 28th-30th). I would love to meet up.

  • MeshU: One day developer mini conference that rocked

    This is a guest post by Chris Long, the lead developer of Well.ca and a partner in the launch of the StartupIndex.

    MeshU, which took place on the day before the Mesh Conference here in Toronto, was a developer focused mini-conference with 3 streams of sessions. Each stream had a distinct focus such as: development, design and management. While the Mesh Conference is in its third year, this was the first ever MeshU, so I was curious to see how well things would go.

    There was a lot of variety in attendees, with people from management, sales, and development and from varying sizes of companies in attendance. One of the biggest reasons people had for coming to MeshU was the unique lineup of speakers, especially for a Canadian conference.

    After much deliberation and coin flipping, I settled on attending: Avi Bryant’s “Turning the Tables: Moving Beyond Relational Storage”, Daniel Burka’s “Iterative Design Strategies”, Alistair Croll?s ?Watch It ? How to Monitor Web Applications?, and Ryan Carson’s “How to Start Your Own Start?up”.

    Avi Bryant really did change my view on relational databases. For most web applications, storing data is done with databases such as MySQL, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL. Avi challenged this and described how large web companies (Yahoo, Google, Amazon) approach this, and then described what smaller companies can possibly learn from the large companies.

    The “Iterative Design Strategy” session was packed, and I ended up joining more then half the audience on the floor. Daniel Burka did not disappoint his audience, as he explored what iterative design meant to him. The example he used was the iterations of Digg’s comment system.

    Alistair Croll’s powerpoint on monitoring web applications numbered 135 slides, he just had that much information. The slides covered the types of tools available for monitoring web sites and the kind of information they give. He weighed the pros and cons of every type of monitoring tool, and left everyone with an understanding of why and how they should monitor their websites.

    I finished off my day with Ryan Carson?s presentation on starting/running a startup. At the end of it, I think a lot of people had the urge to apply for a job at Carsonified (they give iPhones, 30″ screens and Aeron Chair to all their employees). His ideas and comments, while not revolutionary, were still of use to a lot of people. I can summarize it in two words: “Be Friendly”.

    The MeshU organizers did a good job of getting an awesome lineup of speakers, and promoting a relaxed more workshop feel to the day. I will certainly be there next year.

  • TSX Venture Exchange Entrepreneurial Bootcamp

     tsx-bootcampModerated by Sean Wise, Wise Mentor Capital

    Decide if Public Venture Capital (PVC) is right for you. TSX Venture Exchange’s Entrepreneurial Bootcamp is tailored for CEOs and CFOs of aggressive growth companies considering raising capital from the PVC marketplace over the next few years. This workshop will explore the use of PVC as a growth tool for emerging companies.

    Topics include:

    • How to decide if going public is right for your company
    • The Capital Pool Company® (CPC) Program
    • Picking the best and most cost-effective advisors
    • How to pitch for public capital
    • Why PVC may work when private VCs are not interested or an attractive option

    Register, Cost: $65.00

    What: TSX Venture Exchange Entrepreneurial Bootcamp
    Cost: $65.00 Moderated by Sean Wise, Wise Mentor Capital For more information please contact: Debbie Bamforth, TSX Venture Exchange, at (416) 947-4411 or [email protected]
    When: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM
    Where: MaRS Centre

    101 College Street, Auditorium B
    Toronto, ON   Canada

  • 2008 ACE Exposition

    acecanadaAdvancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) held their showcase of entrepreneurs at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  ACE is a charitable organization that delivers programming to higher education students to inspire them to make meaningful contribution to words their community by building real world businesses and entrepreneurial ventures.

    ACE submissions are from major Canadian schools including BCIT, University of Calgary, Ryerson University, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo amongst others. The Student Entrepreneur Competition requires that students be a founder (or 50% owner of a business) and are selected based on financials and subjective judging criteria. The goal is to submit an operating venture that is ready for growth.

    ACE announces 2008 National Student Entrepreneur Competition Champion – Joseph Moncada, Sweet Tooth Candy Emporium

    Since 2006 Joseph, a Business student, has owned and operated Sweet Tooth Candy Emporium, a network of stores and kiosks offering rare, unique, retro, and imported sweets from around the world. What started as a summer project through the Ontario Government “Summer Company” program has grown exponentially into a successful franchise.

    Now in operation for only two years, Sweet Tooth Candy Emporium employs over 25 people and has grown into three stores based in prominent locations around the Greater Toronto Area and Wasaga Beach.

    The focus of the ACE programs is on economic impact on local communities. The submissions are diverse ranging from software to franchises. The 2008 regional winners included software companies, an online retailer, a French language publishing company and a walking stick manufacturer.

    • Ryne Flood, 6am Software – Online Parent-Teacher Interview Scheduler
    • Grahm Watts, Nature Trails – A company that manufactures walking sticks, twig pencils, bird hourses, etc.
    • Brad LeBlanc, Engaging Entertainment – Event mangement, event production and strategic marketing
    • André Wilson, Editions Court-Circuit – A French language publishing company
    • Jill Lennox, Stuffitbag – Custom designed laptop bags with online retailing
    • Brett Patrontasch, Scholars At Your Service Inc. – a student organization offering residential and commercial painting, window washing, and on site automotive detailing to their customers

    While most of these ventures probably aren’t venture fundable, the opportunity for students to see entrepreneurship as a career path is needed in Canadian post secondary educational institutions. ACE offers a great structured set of programs for students to get involved and inspired by entrepreneurs in their communities.

  • CIX – Our chance to create something great?

    I think a lot of people considered CIX, held in Toronto last week, to be a simple extension of the defunct Canadian Venture Forum. The Canadian Venture Forum, which was dealt a fatal blow last year with the death of the Toronto Venture Group, did look very similar in a lot of ways. A slew of companies were all hawking their wares and pitching for financing from Canada’s Venture Capitalists, and while there were at least 20 startups there vying for attention, actual VCs seemed to be hard to come by regularly.

    The CIX is not perfect. The concept of pitching a room full of VCs for money has some serious flaws, not the least of which is the fact that the majority of the VCs who attended CIX in the morning did not stick around to see the pitches in the afternoon. Add on top of that the likelihood of this conference giving birth to a successful deal directly from the pitches, and you are in for a lot of disappointed attendees.

    It is my hope that CIX will look a lot different next year. Normally that would be too much to ask, but in the last few months I have gotten to know Robert Montgomery, the invisible hand behind the CIX conference, and he gives me hope.

    In order to remain relevant, the CIX organizers need to now connect with the community and find out what was relevant, and what wasn’t. The two communities that the CIX touches, Startup Entreprenurs and Angels/VCs, will have different needs, and the trick will be to address both.

    I do not believe that what the two groups need is either pitch sessions with 10 back-to-back pitches, nor does either community want a series of panels that offer little real value. What we need are connections, rapidfire demos and a venue for the best and most aggressive Startups AND VCs to stand out.

    The way I see it, Robert and his staff have a lot of work ahead of them, but they aren’t the only ones. If Robert will step up and listen, we have to be ready to pitch in and do our part.

    In the next few days I will post a few of my experiences at CIX. Some were very positive and some were a lot less encouraging.

    What would you change? Is this a hopeless beauty contest? Should we boycott CIX next year, or should we embrace it?

  • Founders & Funders Toronto – June 4, 2008

    Jevon MacDonald and I are please to announce the second Toronto Founders & Funders dinner on June 4, 2008.

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    What: Founders & Funders Toronto
    Founders & Funders is a private, invite only social event. Founders and Funders is dedicated: to helping Canadian entrepreneurs to meet each other; meet potential funders: angel, VC or other money sources; to have fun; and see how we can help each other create the NEXT BIG successful company.
    When: Wednesday, June 4, 2008 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM

    The inaugural Toronto event sold out. And we’re expecting this event to reach capacity very quickly.

    We are limited to 100 seats. The fee for the dinner is $100 which will include drinks and dinner.  This is a private networking event and we are selecting the audience to ensure a quality group of attendees. And to provide the best chance to network together.

    How do I get an Invite?

    If you would like to attend the dinner, please fill out the following form and let us know who you are.

    We will be contacting those invited with details on the registration and attendance details for the dinner in the coming weeks.

    Special Guest  – Dan’l LewinDan'l Lewin

    We’re incredibly lucky to have Dan’l Lewin scheduled to be in attendance (Dan’l is the Corporate Vice-President, Strategic and Emerging Business Development for Microsoft). Check out GigaOM’s interview with Dan’l where he talks candidly about his role in Microsoft and how Microsoft works with other emerging technology companies.

    Dan’l Lewin is corporate vice president of Strategic and Emerging Business Development, responsible for managing worldwide strategic business relationships with venture capitalists and emerging venture-capital-backed businesses, as well as managing the business relationship with leading global industry partners such as SUN, Adobe, Intuit and BEA to ensure their applications interoperate with and run well on the Microsoft platform – for the benefit of the companies’ common customers. Lewin is based at Microsoft’s Mountain View, Calif. campus.

    A 25-year Silicon Valley veteran, Lewin was most recently CEO of Aurigin Systems Inc., an enterprise software company focused on intellectual property asset management. He also spent 18 years as an executive, leading sales and marketing divisions for companies including Apple Computer Corp., NeXT Inc. and GO Corporation. In addition, Lewin has served as a consultant for emerging companies, venture capital firms and corporate joint ventures.

    Lewin holds an A.B. in politics from Princeton University.

    Sponsors

    We’re working with a number of great organizations to sponsor the event.

    If you would like to sponsor this event or other Founders & Funders events across Canada please feel free to contact David Crow or Jevon MacDonald.

  • StartupCamp Toronto 2 – What we expect from you

    Pitching is never easy, and every pitch is different, but there are a few basic pieces of information that every audience would like to hear, so I decided to throw together an outline of the critical components that your pitch should cover.

    This is not an outline of your entire pitch, but a starting point to help you make sure that you have the most important parts in there.

    This is based on the audience feedback from StartupCampToronto 1.

    Market Analysis

    The audience needs to have some context. The easiest way to answer the majority of the audience?s questions is to define as tightly as possible who you plan to sell to.

    Relevant data includes

    • Estimated Market Size
    • Rough demographic information
    • Geographic limitations or focus
    • An idea of how your market will grow and change during the time you are targeting them

    Marketing Plan

    How will you communicate with your customers? ?We will get written about in blogs? is a popular but ultimately bad answer.

    If you have done the ?Market Analysis? work and have an idea of who you will be selling to, then the best way to get a decent first marketing plan is to look at the ways in which you can communicate with that market.

    Sales

    Not everyone will need this, but if your customers go through any sort of ?purchasing process? (ie: Enterprise customers, or small businesses), then it is a good idea to demonstrate how you will handle that sales process. What are your points of contact?

    How will you find a lead, test it and then follow through on communicating with them? Think about showing how you go from cold leads to getting the sales rolling in.

    Product Development Vision

    A lot of startups get so caught up in demoing what they have built so far that they forget to get people excited about what?s coming next. Telling people your vision for the product says a lot, but more than anything it shows that you aren?t going to sit still. People have trouble getting excited about a startup that has built something great but might not do much of interest going forward.

    • How will your product change?
    • How will the market change?
    • How will the product address that change?

    Don?t be that guy

    Occasionally there is a really smart group of people who have the product nailed, but are weak on the marketing and biz dev side of the startup. If you fit that profile, the audience is going to be hard on you about this, so you have to prepare to be as open as possible to the advice you will get.

    What you don?t want to do is to become defensive and start relying on the product as your savior in each case ?it will sell itself?, etc.

    Don?t be ?that guy? who won?t admit his shortcomings. Knowing your weaknesses is a critical part of being a great entrepreneur. So get real about where you fall down and get ready to be grilled about it.

    Relax

    Relax. Startupcamp could be the opportunity of a lifetime for your startup. Mentors, investors and other entrepreneurs (who may be your most valuable connection) are all there to help you build something great. So relax, you are among friends.

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