StartupNorth

Category: Events

  • Marketing, Robots and Startup Hacking

    Chuck Norris Approved

    These events are Chuck Norris Approved.

    The best part about a health entrepreneurial ecosystem is the diversity of events. Toronto is rocking a variety of events, ranging from conversations to socials. But there are a lot of grassroots events where designers, developers, marketers, and technologists can get involved. There are lots of things going on beyond the usual social activities. My request, is that you refer a student or a colleague that you think might be interested. This is a great way for someone to start participating and get to the next level.

    Mesh Marketing

    This one is aimed at marketers. It is happening November 7, 2012. It is not purely a startup marketing event, i.e., there is not an abundance of focusing on core core value proposition and user engagement. It is an event where there is distinct benefit to companies in the learning about Acquisition and Activation and Referral. There are a crazy number of marketers that have built and sold startups (see Jennifer Lum think Quattro Mobile) and those that are defining new techniques (see Kristina Halvorson think content strategy) and others that I think are doing a great job (see Hicham Ratnani think Frank And Oak).

    “Canada has good engineering and technical talent but a shortage of sales and marketing talent.” Kunal Gupta, TechVibes

    So, here’s a chance to gain access to world class marketing content. It’s relatively inexpensive, there are a few tickets left. And the after party is a fundraiser for our friend Michael O’Connor Clarke’s family.

     StartupWeekend Toronto is happening November 9-11, 2012. It is an event where designers, developers, marketers can come together and explore. The idea is that the artificial time constraints create the right environment to experience and understand what working in a startup is like. It might or might not produce a fundable startup, but it will produce potential founders that have experience working with each other. It’s a great event. At last check, there were a few wait list spots for non-technical individuals to participate.

    Get Your Bot On!

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    Hardware is cool again. I love seeing a rise of hardware, manufacturing and physical bit based startups in Toronto. Did you know there are companies like Upverter? Panda Robotics? Pebble (alright Allerta was a Waterloo company but headed to greener pastures before their Kickstarter campaign)? Get Your Bot On! is a three day event where you can learn along side newbies, hobbyists, and pros to build a robot. Let me repeat, you can build a robot. That’s amazing. Read Leila’s blog post about it. They will provide everything you need to build a robot.

    Friday Nov 23 – Sunday Nov 25, 2012. Register to attend.

    AngelHack Toronto, Dec 1-2, 2012

    Still looking for an opportunity to hang with Leila Boujnane, Dan Martell, Amber MacArthur, Jesse Rodgers and me. Then AngelHack is a great way to build something in a 24 hour window and have the chance to get feedback and be entered in the larger AngelHack contest. Winners will get 6 weeks of mentorship in Silicon Valley (and the prizes include travel). It’s a great way for young developers to either kickstart a company and start to build a network beyond their local community.

    “All participants are expected to work on the honor code and respect the rules below. Overall, if you come with a great idea, build something on the spot, and present us a meaningful new hack that can improve peoples lives (even if only in a humorous way) then we are pretty impressed.”

  • A Conversation with Brad Feld

     

    Oct 30, 2012 A Conversation with Brad Feld on Startup Communities

    We’re excited to be hosting a conversation with Brad Feld tonight in Toronto. There is still time to grab tickets before the event. The conversation is based around Brad’s Boulder Thesis and specifically how we as individuals, entrepreneurs can participate in meaningful ways to make Toronto a strong startup ecosystem. If you are interested in emerging technology, or emerging business model companies in the Greater Toronto Area this is an excellent chance to learn about how Foundry Group and Brad Feld build a vibrant startup community in Boulder, CO.

    PS Hope to see you tonight.

    Sponsors

    Tickets

  • Rush Week

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    The next week has a set of crazy awesome events for  startups, founders, marketers, community builders and the like in Toronto. (Check out a fuller list of events at Toronto Startup Fall Event List 2012). Personally it looks like I will be attending JoltCo Demo Day, Royal Canadian Mint Challenge Awards Ceremony and A Conversation with Brad Feld about Startup Communities. If you’re interested in understanding Toronto’s startup landscape and participating, you could consider this rush week without the complete stupidity.

    It feels like a crazy two weeks. I was in Halifax for HPX Digital last week. I skipped Hacking Health this weekend (Thing 1 learned to ride her bike this weekend, so it was totally worth skipping this event). This doesn’t event take into consideration that I’m going to see New Order on Oct 23 and there is a second show on Oct 24 with tickets still available.

    Oct 23 – JoltCo Demo Day
    Looks like an amazing cohort of startups presenting. Includes eProf, GreenGauge Mobile, ShelfLife, SlingRide, tout.it, Venngage. I’m excited to see the pitches/presentations and the progress that each of these teams has made. 
    Oct 25 – Royal Canadian Mint Challenge Awards
    What can I say I’m a judge…But seriously this event has an amazing lineup. David Wolman and some other big thinkers in commerce, currency and the future of money. The Royal Canadian Mint has done a great job.
    Oct 25 – AndroidTO
    This is a great lineup. Boris Chan of XtremeLabs who is on our 2011 Hot Sh!t List; Mike Beltzner of Wattpad; Oleg Kosteur of Pair – back after raising $4.3MM, etc. If you are building on Android and in Toronto. Get tickets to this event!
    Oct 25 – Startup Grind Toronto
    A fireside chat with Nikhil Kalghatgi, an NYC-based VC with Softbank Capital, whose portfolio includes Huffington Post, Zynga (back when the model was working), Gilt Groupe and Buddy Media.
    Oct 26 – TEDxToronto
    Always inspiring talks this year includes Steve Page formerly of the Bare Naked Ladies, Dr. Joseph Cafazoo of eHealth Innovation, Sonya JF Barnett and Heather Jarvis of Slut Walk (ok not purely startup but it should be interesting)
    Oct 29 – HackerNest Social
    A fun, laid back social event to connect with developers, designers, marketers, and others. Hosted by ex-Extreme Labs participant Shaharris Beh (LinkedIn) and others.
    Oct 30 – A Conversation with Brad Feld on the Starutp Community in Toronto
    We’re hosting this event. Do you love or hate the Toronto startup community? Lots of people talk crap, but this is an opportunity to participate in a conversation with Brad Feld. Brad wrote the “Boulder Thesis” about growing, building and sustaining an entrepreneurial community in Boulder, CO. Join us and help make Toronto a better place for startups.
    NOv 1 – Startup Ping Pong TO
    Ping Pong, startups, do I need to say any more? Get your tickets! And come out and hustle.

    “Community is the platform on which all of our individual actions stand.“

    There are a lot of great events happening in the next 7 days. My advice is pick one or two events to attend and participate. A long time ago, Mark Kuznicki quoted me as saying “The Community is the Platform” and others have elaborated. My advice is get out there and participate.

  • Event – Mint Chip Challenge & David Wolman #mustattend

    Interested in changing financial services, identity and the changing role of currency. The folks at the Mint Chip Challenge are hosting their awards ceremony this week. I was fortunate to be a judge for the submissions. And the awards are happening in Toronto this week. The event is open to everyone. There is a chance to talk with submission developers, the judges, and the folks at the Royal Canadian Mint. The group of attendees is unbelievable!

    It is going to be a very interesting night. The invited guest speaker is David Wolman who is a Contributing Editor at Wired and author of The End of Money: Counterfeiters, Preachers, Techies, Dreamers–and the Coming Cashless Society. It is going to be an awesome night talking about the future of currency, digital technology, and identity.

    Guest Speaker – David Wolman

    David Wolman

    David Wolman is a nonfiction author and a contributing editor at Wired magazine. He has also written for publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Nature, Outside, Time, Newsweek, and Discover, and his work has been anthologized in the Best American Science Writing series. His long-form feature about revolutionaries in Egypt, “The Instigators,” was nominated for a 2012 National Magazine Award for reporting. Wolman’s latest book, The End of Money, is a globetrotting exploration of a topic that many readers have always taken for granted: the cash in their pockets. His previous books are A Left-Hand Turn Around the World and Righting the Mother Tongue. He is a graduate of Stanford University’s journalism program and a former Fulbright journalism fellow in Japan.

    BTW how did I end up on this panel of judges:

    The group will be in Toronto at this event. It is a small intimate event. If you are interested in commerce, currency or mobile tech, I’d attend just to get access to these people.

    Reserve your spot!

  • The Boulder Thesis – A Sketchbook

    The folks at the Kauffman foundation have put together a Sketchbook video of Brad Feld talking about the Boulder Thesis. We’re hosting a conversation with Brad Feld on October 30, 2012. We hope that you will join us. Tickets are $25 and include a copy of Brad’s book. My recommendation before attending is that everyone watch the sketchbook, it provides an effective overview of the book, and the basis to participate in the conversation.

    I love this book. It captures many of my thoughts and philosophies, that I have not been able to articulate as succinctly or clearly as Brad. I have worked in high potential growth software since I joined Trilogy Software back in 1997. This was 15 years ago. I hope that I will still be working in high growth software in 15 years (that’s 2027 for those keeping track). I love the opportunities that I have had in Toronto. I am very happy to see new world-class startups that are scaling and growing in this city and across the country (go read my post on the Toronto Startup Ecosystem). I’m excited to see many entrepreneurs trying to build massive companies and stay in Canada.

    We have both leaders and feeders participating in the conversation. We hope that you will join us to learn more about what Feld says sustainable entrepreneurial communities MUST HAVE:

    • Two types of people: leaders (entrepreneurs) and feeders (people who support startups, such as government agencies, funders, service providers). While the “feeders” are the very fabric of the community, the entrepreneurs must be in the lead.
    • A long-term view and commitment to building this community
    • A philosophy of inclusiveness that welcomes everyone with an interest, not just entrepreneurs
    • Substantive activities that engage the entire community to help startups move forward

    Join us on October 30, 2012. I was speaking with Katherine Roos at Enterprise Toronto and we were talking about who should participate? Who do you think should attend?

  • A Conversation with Brad Feld – Oct 30, 2012 in Toronto

    A Conversation with Brad Feld on Startup Communities - Oct 30, 2012 in Toronto

    On October 30, 2012 we are hosting an event with Brad. The event starts at 6:00pm. It is at the Toronto Reference Library. Tickets start at $25/ticket and include a copy of the book (either hardcopy or a DRM protected PDF). We will have a few cocktails, some networking, and a discussion about how we make Toronto a better place for startups. We’re just working out the details for the event.

    Great list of sponsors and supporters:

    We’re excited to hear more about the Boulder method and the efforts of Brad Feld , . We’re huge fans of this book, check out William Mougayar’s review. The Don’t Panic: A Guide to the Toronto Startup Ecosystem post was inspired inspired by the desire to (see Brad’s comments on StartupRev).

    The first step is joining in the conversation.

    Buy a ticket

  • Toronto Startup Event List Fall 2012

    Getting ready for startup event fatigue? Toronto is an active ecosystem (based on total activity in the Startup Genome database). But there are a lot of upcoming events, here is my inital tracking of Toronto startup events list for fall 2012. The question is which events to attend and which ones to stay heads down and work. An actual guide would breakdown the benefits of each of these events. But I’m being lazy, I’ll add some commentary around each event. Or please feel free to add events and commentary. I’ll update the post.

    And for those of you thinking about attending everything, go read Mark Suster’s Be Careful not to become a Conference Ho.

    September 2012

    October 2012

    November 2012

    December 2012

  • Waterloo Region StartupFest

    Update: The team at Communitech recognize the gafoo. They are rebranding the event Tektoberfest (which I think is an amazing fun brand that is a fun play on Oktoberfest). Great work by Phil, Iain and a group of people that should be collaborating. 

    Update 2: Looks like the Communitech folks have updated their branding. Calling the event Techtoberfest and the previously mentioned Tektoberfest. They’ve also rounded out the line up with more great speakers including Devon Galloway and Michael Litt from Vidyard, Carol Leaman of Axonify. This means you’ll get 2 Hot Sh!t Listers (Devon and Eric) and 2 more incredible CEOs as part of the line up. Shaping up to be a great event.

    Techtoberfest, Waterloo Region, Oct 11-13, 2012

    Apparently the Communitech team went to the rip, mix and burn school of branding. Founders & Funders – check. StartupFest – check. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I gave permission for the Communitech team my support for using Founders & Funders in Waterloo Region. No bitching about that. Not sure how Phil Telio feels about his trademark being reused. I’d be upset. But I digress, maybe serves as evidence that more of the operational money goes directly to entrepreneurs and companies that Communitech helps, because it’s not going into new branding.

    It looks like an amazing event!

    They have a great line up featuring:

    Given the strong history of Entrepreneur Week. And the speakers and types of events lined up, it is set to be a fantastic week.

  • Startup Ping Pong TO

    Startup Ping Pong TO - Nov 1, 2012 at SPiN Toronto The team at massively scaling Wattpad is hosting a ping pong tournament. The event is intended to bring together the startup community in Toronto by creating a inter-company ladder for ping pong.

    “We really want to start creating a dialog between startups in the city – no better way than to create some healthy competition!” – Tarun Sachdeva

    Companies will compete at the main event will be at SPiN Toronto on November 1st.

    There’s two ways to participate:

    1. Register a startup team
      The top 2 players will represent the startup in a single-elimination tournament. These are $50/team and are on sale now.
    2. Attend for casual play
      Anyone can buy tickets just to come play and network with others in the community. These are $10/person, and go on sale once team registrations are complete.

    In case you’re wondering, both of these include drink tickets and appetizers too.

    The bracket is filling up quickly. This includes Wattpad, Zynga, Jetcooper, FreshBooks, BNOTIONS, and others.

  • CIX Top 20 – 2012

    CIX Top 20 Canada's Hottest Innovative Companies

    We’ve written about CIX Top 20 Follow @CIXCommunity in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. So you’ll be shocked to find that I’m writing about it again in 2012.

    What is CIX?

    “The CIX Top 20 is an elite index of the most forward-looking companies in the Canadian innovation ecosystem, and connects the key players driving technology-based business both in Canada and beyond.”

    Who should apply?

    “The CIX Top 20 is open to any Canadian company working in Digital Media or Information and Communication Technology with annual revenues under $10 million.”

    Why do you care?

    These are some of the leading companies in Canada. Don’t believe me, past participants include:

    Alright, there probably is a correlation between the success of these companies and their CIX submission and attendance. But CIX is an amazing opportunity for Canadian startups to generate attention, drive awareness with investors and media, get input and feedback in a safe environment and start to build connections.

    “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Wayne Gretzky

    Nothing is foregone conclusion, as in past performance is not an indicator of future success. But you can’t win if you don’t apply (follow the directions on the bottom of the page).