StartupNorth

Category: StartupEmpire

  • StartupEmpire: Somebody will get funded!

    One thing we wanted to be sure of at StatupEmpire is that there would be a chance for investment-ready startups to meet the right people.

    Are you coming to StartupEmpire? Do you have a mobile startup or an idea for a mobile startup? Do you have Blackberry development somewhere on your roadmap?

    We have a huge opportunity that I am really proud to be able to talk about.

    We have been working with the Blackberry Partners Fund to see as much as $500,000 get invested in to up to 5 mobile startups during the conference.

    Are you thinking about developing a mobile product or application? Are you coming to StartupEmpire? Fill out this form and you might just walk away with a term sheet! These are simple convertible debt deals that will help you get up and running.

    Submit your idea or startup here!

    I would like to thank our Leadership sponsors, Microsoft and HighRoad Communications.

    We are also pleased to announce our champion sponsors,

    PriceWaterhouseCoopers
    Ontario Centers of Excellence, Gowlings
    and JLA Ventures.

    Visit www.startupempire.ca for more information on the conference and to register.

  • StartupEmpire – Student & Startup Tickets

    startupempireIt’s time for startups to buckle down and really understand their expenses. We thought we’d make it a little easier for startups and students to participate in StartupEmpire.

    One thing about a downturn is that it’s not about eliminating spending, it’s about managing cash flows and making every dollar go as far as possible. We are working on putting together the best hands on workshops that will help entrepreneurs go from idea through to customer acquisition and sales – from legal issues to merger and acquisition issues. The goal is to provide valuable and pragmatic advice from real entrepreneurs, funders and service providers. Advice and examples that can help inspire you and hopefully save you the time and effort later.

    Students and startups are the reason we are hosting StartupEmpire. We want to encourage your participation. To help we’ve created a Student Volunteer program. Twenty students will get a complimentary ticket to StartupEmpire in exchange for volunteering and helping with the tasks that make  a conference run smoothly.

    We understand that students and startups are cash strapped. Our goal is been to provide an event that facilitates an opportunity to learn about the mechanics of starting up in Canada; and to facilitate connections between a community of entrepreneurs and funders.

    To this end and with the help of our sponsors, we’ve also created a limited number of Student & Startup Tickets. These tickets are priced at $199/person. They are full tickets, i.e., there are no limitations. From Day 1, this has been about helping entrepreneurs and startups in Canada.

    Student Tickets

    Are you registered full-time in an academic program? High-school, college or university? Then come on down. You might want to consider the student volunteer program. However, if you want to guarrantee your spot at StartupEmpire, purchase a Student Ticket. If you’re selected as a Student Volunteer we’ll obviously refund your fee.

    Startup Tickets

    Who is a startup? We tried to describe a bunch of parameters: privately held; incorporated less than 5 years; less than $5M/year in revenue; less than 5 employees. We just couldn’t figure out a good set of objective criteria to describe startups.

    So, the definition of a startup is kind of like pornography, I’m not sure I could describe it, but I know it when I see it.

    We will let you self-select, although, we hold the ultimate decision on whether you qualify for the startup ticket discount. We are looking for entrepreneurs and startups. You’ve got an idea. You’re building a product.  We’ll let you determine if you think you are a startup.

    If you’ve already purchased a ticket, and you think you qualify as a student or a startup, don’t worry. I’ll be going through the list of participants this weekend and contacting you individually.

    I would like to thank our Leadership sponsors, Microsoft and HighRoad Communications.

    We are also pleased to announce our champion sponsors,

    PriceWaterhouseCoopers
    Ontario Centers of Excellence, Gowlings
    and JLA Ventures.

    Visit www.startupempire.ca for more information on the conference and to register.

  • Calling all startups: Demo Pods available

    We are making room at StartupEmpire to provide free demo pods to up to 10 great startups.

    We first did this at StartupCamp Toronto and then in Montreal. Both times they were incredibly valuable and the feedback was really positive. People seemed to enjoy them more than the event itself.

    So, we want to do the same thing again. You will be expected to have someone at your pod at all times, and I suggest you have a few people during the breaks and cocktail. You will have a chance to demo your app and pitch you dream to Founders, Funders, Mentors and the people who make this community tick.

    So, please fill out this form to submit your startup.

    Spots are filling up fast, don’t forget to register at StartupEmpire.

    I would like to thank our Leadership sponsors, Microsoft and HighRoad Communications.

    We are also pleased to announce our champion sponsors,

    PriceWaterhouseCoopers
    Ontario Centers of Excellence
    and JLA Ventures.


    Visit www.startupempire.ca for more information on the conference and to register.

  • Riffing on being a startup in Canada

    I think we sound like a couple of nerds stuck in an elevator, but we gave it our best shot.

    Dave and I were hanging out last week and decided to stand in front of a camera, this is what we had to say.

    We have some big announcements to make about the conference in the next week. New speakers, some incredible opportunities for startups one of the coolest parties all year! And don’t forget, the final schedule as well.

    Thanks to everyone who has registered so far. There was a big rush before the early bird deadline, and we are watching the remaining tickets as the go. This is going to be a lot of fun, and we hope you will walk away with everything you need to go to the next level.

    This has been a lot of work, the blood, sweat and tears kind of work you all put in to your own startups every day. Seeing your smiling faces will be the reward! 😉

    If you haven’t registered yet, head over to StartupEmpire.ca and do it now!

  • StartupEmpire Early Bird pricing ends this weekend

    Just a reminder that you have until Sunday, October 12th to purchase tickets at the early bird price. You can get your tickets here.

  • StartupEmpire – New speakers and tickets are selling fast

    Things have been coming together quickly for StartupEmpire. I am excited to announce some incredible new speakers, and we will keep announcing others as they are confirmed.

    The interest so far has been pretty amazing. There have been so many speaker submissions that we have had to completely revisit the agenda for both days of the conference. You still have a chance to submit your proposal in the next few days, and we will still take a look for anything that we think we need to get on the program.

    We have just confirmed that Don Dodge, Hugh MacLeod and David Cohen will be joinging us as keynote speakers.

    Don Dodge is currently the Director of Business Development for Microsoft’s Emerging Business Team and was recently a panelist at the TechCrunch50 conference. Don calls Microsoft ?the biggest start-up in the world? and his job is to work with VC’s and start-ups to help them build great companies.

    HughHugh MacLeod has been an inspiration to many of us. His work with English Cut and Stormhoek were some of the earliest successes in using blogs to communicate a message cheaply and efficiently, which are much needed lessons for new and old startups alike.

    DavidDavid Cohen is the founder and CEO of TechStars in Boulder Colorado. TechStars has been one of the most successful seed stage funds in the world. David is also the founder of ColoradoStartups.com, a blog focused on tracking Colorado Startups.

    Don’t forget to get your ticket before the early bird deadline, or ASAP before we sell out. The venue is small enough that we really can’t add more.

    Thanks for all your support, we are working hard to create something that is valuable and that you will leave from feeling energized and ready to do something great.

    We would also like to thank our Leadership sponsors, Microsoft and HighRoad Communications.

  • Have something to say? StartupEmpire call for speakers

    We have launched the official call for speakers for StartupEmpire (more on the name change from Dave later tonight — you are going to have a chuckle).

    We are looking for great workshop and panel proposals as well as keynote nominations. You can fill out the form here to make your submission. We have already had an overwhelming amount of submissions, so if you have emailed us already, please consider re-submitting through this form. I will try to dig through my emails, but I am bound to miss some.

  • StartupNorth, the Conference, is off to a great start!

    So, we’ve had a bit of a name change, so forgive some of the logos, etc as we make the switch. When you run a conference like your startup, you have to learn to iterate quickly! I am sure it is not the first change we will be making.

    Tickets sales have been going on steadily since yesterday, I am really excited about it and if we run out of early-bird tickets before the deadline, we will add some more at the early bird price up until the deadline.

    We’ve received a lot of feedback through comments, twitter, email and blogs and it has almost all been really constructive and helpful. If you have emailed us about leading a session or volunteering, we will have more information for you next week. Some really incredible people have stepped forward.

    There is still a lot of work to be done to make this a great conference. While it is in Toronto (which is purely logistical for us in doing our first conference), we are trying to make this as national as possible by bringing in more speakers from across the country.

    You can get your tickets over on the website and we will be posting more updates next week.

  • Announcing StartupNorth – Canada's Conference for Startups – November 13-14

    A lot of you have probably been wondering why we haven’t announced any events lately. That’s because we have been working on something really fun.

    I am happy to finally go public with StartupNorth, the Conference.

    David and I wanted to create something that would give us all a place to come together, connect, learn and that we would all walk away from feeling inspired.

    We will be making announcements here over the next few months as we get closer to the conference. We are still working on bringing on more great speakers and a day of pragmatic, hands-on, workshops.

    We are going all out to give you a world-class conference right here at home, and we will be asking you for your help, a lot. In the next few days and weeks we will taking your votes on what sessions and workshops you want to see and really need.

    What is it? Canada’s conference for Startups
    Who will be there? Students,?Entrepreneurs?and Funders
    When is it?? November 13th and 14th, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario
    Day 1: Practical hands-on workshops and speakers to help entrepreneurs learn how to get started or, for those with a startup, how to take it to the next level.?Workshops will include:
    ? Asessing your market opportunity ? Why should I use your product?
    Strategies for getting users
    ? Presentation skills for developers ? Legal pitfalls for startups
    ? Shaking the money tree ? Pricing Models
    ? Product Design ? First customers and other business development pitfalls?
    ?
    Day 2: Networking, speakers and in-depth panels with a focus on Canada’s role in the international startup ecosystem.
    ?
    Speakers include:

    Can’t wait to see you there, this is going to be fun!