StartupNorth

Category: Startups

  • indochino.com takes new round of financing from Burda Digital

    Shanghai (by way of Victoria) based startup, Indochino.com, who we first profiled in September, and who I finally got around to ordering from a few weeks ago, has announced that they have taken a new round of financing from Burda Digital Ventures, a German Venture Capital group who have been very active in Western Canada, getting a lot of deals that Canadian VCs are missing including TeamPages, Suite101.com and Nexopia

    Indochino.com is a unique online retailer that specializes in custom-tailored suits, shirts and other apparel based on measurements done by the customer. I ordered a jacket and shirt from them a few weeks ago and I think I got a taste of both ends of the spectrum of ordering online.

    The shirt came and right out of the package it was hands down the nicest shirt I have ever bought. The fit was perfect and it looked and felt great. The jacket looked great as well, but a few of the measurements are off. So I printed off their claim form and will take the jacket to a tailor tomorrow. For the price however, the jacket is great.

    This round of financing is focused on building the operations back-end as well as scaling up to meet growing demand.

    This is a long way from where they were when I first profiled them just 8 months ago and things are looking up. I am looking forward to seeing what they do in the next 8 months with new financing and some more experience behind them.

  • SummerCamp Toronto – *campers can have fun too

    Well, as if the next week+ isn’t packed enough. With StartupCamp Toronto 2, CIX and our slightly more easy going Thursday plans, Mark Kuznicki has taken it upon himself to throw the biggest party of the year yet: Summercamp.

    It will be getting started after StartupCamp and Casecamp on the 29th. Cabs will be leaving The Carlu and heading down to CiRCA for anyone who wants keep the night going.

    CaseCamp along with its sponsors transform CiRCA into ground zero for Toronto’s creative communities: art, design, communications, technology, media, social change and entrepreneurship.

    DJs, interactive art, and the closest friends you haven’t met celebrating their passion for participatory culture, creative practice and society.

    Book off the next morning and celebrate with Toronto’s emerging creative leaders who are remaking the city. Check out the links to just some of the feeder events and groups below!

    NO COVER!

    Performers include:
    – Andrew McConachie (DJ Set)
    – Jimmy Blak (DJ Set)
    – Abdul Smooth (DJ + Visuals)
    – Gabe Sawhney (Interactive Visual Installation)
    – Newmindspace (Cool Stuff)
    – Other Guests…

  • 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.

    Our Sponsors

  • StartupNorth is a year old! How did that happen?

    It is hard to believe that its been a year since we started writing StartupNorth. It was a hairbrained idea that has grown bigger and has given us more opportunities to connect with other startups than we could have imagined. It really has been a great ride so far.

    More than anything, we wanted to start building a startup community. We didn’t try to create a “startup culture”, or “prime the ecosystem”,. we don’t try to create synergistic deals or jumpstart any fancy commercialization of innovation. We just write about what’s happening and try to stir the pot ourselves every so often. The truth is though, we take our cues and inspiration from every comment you make and every email you send us. I can’t tell you how many bad days have turned around because of an email from someone with a great idea and a truckload of enthusiasm.

    To celebrate, Jonas and I are going to go grab a drink on Thursday. We will be upstairs at the Imperial Pub on Dundas street. It’s not the most glamourous location, but you can bet the beer will be cold, the people friendly, and it never does get too busy.

    So, if you are in town, let’s say 7:30 or 8pm. Come by for a beer and say hello. Here is the Facebook Event Page

  • Weekend Reading – April 19, 2008

    What an exciting week! Financings, product launches, cross-border acquisitions, partnerships, merger talks! We tried to stay on top of all the news, but here are a few things we missed:

    Live Current acquired exclusive media rights to an Indian cricket league and Y Combinator startup Auctomatic.

    Tim Haig, CEO of biodiesel producer Biox, argues oil, not ethanol, is the source of higher food prices.

    N4 Systems, a leader in RFID safety and compliance solutions, raised a first round of private investment.

    Peter Munk, founder and CEO of Barrick Gold, gets profiled in The Economist.

    BrainPark is looking for 5 Pilot Customers.

    Trip Harbour, a cruise booking site, is getting ready for its maiden voyage.

    iBegin’s open source initiative ‘Share’ is picking up a lot of steam.

  • AideRSS partners with NewsGator

    NewsGator has integrated the AideRSS PostRank filter into their online rss reader. This first partnership is a coup for AideRSS in as far as it exposes their PostRank technology to a larger audience. NewsGator has at least an order of magnitude more users and (even more exciting) caters to enterprise customers. With any luck the NewsGator partnership will help AideRSS start to sort out their business model.

    AideRSS lost a few team members over the last couple weeks including: Kevin Thomason, Jeff Fedor, and Terry Goertz. Best of luck to Kevin, Jeff, and Terry in their new ventures and congratulations to AideRSS on the NewsGator partnership.

  • b5media + Technorati merger talks over?

    This morning a slide from a PowerPoint deck outlining a potential merger between JLA-backed blog network b5media and blog search engine Technorati was leaked.

    Techcrunch says that the deal has been called off. Toronto based b5media has been looking to raise a significant series B and seems to been exploring doing the deal as part of a merger, hence the Technorati talks. We have an email out to Blog King Jeremy Wright, CEO of b5, to find out more.

    Till then feel free to play armchair quarterback in the comments.

  • Founders and Funders Montreal – May 14th 2008

    The second Founders and Funders Dinner has been announced for Montreal. Tickets are $100

    This dinner, like the last one and the Toronto event is still by invitation only, but some changes have been made to make sure that everyone has a chance to participate.

    To help expand the community of people we can be invited, we are opening up a registration system for invites allowing anyone who is a founder, angel investor or VC investor to register for an invitation.

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

    Given the interest we received after the first event and the fact that we won?t be able to invite everyone who has expressed interest to the dinner. As a result we are also going to be hosting an after dinner open cocktail networking (A nice roof top terrace party). The networking event will cost $20 and include two drink tickets.

    Announcements for Toronto and Vancouver dates will be made very soon.

  • MediaScrape – Will Montreal give us another Capazoo?

    TechCrunch is asking some questions about Montreal-Based MediaScrape. I don’t know anything about them, but it seems like they are either stretching the truth or things aren’t as simple as they seem.

    Being an aggregator of video (letting other people pay for all that pesky production and things like reporters) doesn’t seem like a terrible idea on first blush, but the execution in the case of MediaScrape feels little amateurish. That said, things like “Related Videos” and a handful of other features are useful and relevant.

    Anyone know anything about this company? (UPDATE: I think Heri lays it all out well. I look forward to seeing MediaScrape grow)

  • Radiant Core acquired by Zerofootprint

    Radiant CoreRadiant Core has been acquired by Zerofootprint Software. Radiant Core was a Toronto-based web design and development shop led by Jay Goldman and Mike Glenn.  Zerofootprint is a Toronto-based company that “provides information, products and services for the global network of consumers and businesses who wish to reduce their environmental impact”. Radiant Core is best known for the visual design of Firefox 2, and has been recognized by Taschen as a leading web design agency. Jay and I have presented together at Web2Expo, FSOSS and Ignite. We’re also co-conspirators in this whole DemoCamp thing.

    zerofootprintsoftwareZerofootprint has been a client of Radiant Core. Radiant Core designed, built and launched the Zerofootprint Calculator Facebook application (add the application). Zerofootprint has a laudable goal to empower people and change their collective footprint.

    Our goal is to mobilize and empower large groups of individuals and organizations worldwide, to reduce their collective carbon and ecological footprint. We do this by harnessing the power of social networking, the Internet and software.

    Why acquire a consulting firm? It’s a great acquisition method, Ron and the Zerofootprint team really managed their risk by engaging Radiant Core to evaluate capabilities, working styles, and the quality of team deliverables. In Radiant Core they get a world-class design firm with strong experience designing and building accessible web and social media applications. Radiant Core also has deep roots in participating and building vibrant, open creative communities. Jay and Mike have been involved with TorCamp, DemoCamp, TransitCamp, FacebookCamp/Facebook Developer Garage and other activities here in Toronto. The Zerofootprint team had the opportunity to evaluate the Radiant Core team and their ability to deliver on the design and development of the Zerofootprint Calculator Facebook application.  Zerofootprint and Radiant Core have worked together and can begin to have informed conversations about cultural compatibility and employee integration based on real experiences.

    No financial details have been released.

    What does this mean for Toronto?

    • One less world-class web design shop.
    • One more awesome software startup, now with world-class web development team!

    It means that Zerofootprint just acquired one of the best web development shops in Canada to be their product team. Running a consulting business is a tough slog. It’s a linear growth business, i.e., you grow revenues by increasing the number of billable hours, increasing the billable rate, or increasing the number of people. It hopefully gives Jay and Mike an exit. It gives Zerofootprint a huge accelerator to continue to build products and services that will help to change the world.

    Interested in what it really means, try calculating your footprint at http://toronto.zerofootprint.net/ and see how Zerofootprint is working with the City of Toronto to create a greener city.