StartupNorth

  • StartupCamp Toronto 2: Leila Boujnane

    I am excited to announce that Leila Boujnane, CEO of Idée, will be closing the evening. Idée, who we have previously profiled, is one of Toronto’s biggest startup success stories, and the wonderful thing is that they are just getting started.

    Leila is constantly providing help and guidance to other entrepreneurs, myself included, and she has even been known to take a whip along when a startup isn’t hustling as much as they should be.

    I am going to send Leila 5 questions next week, so I want your help. Post or email your questions about starting a company and growing it to be as great as Idée.

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  • stopfinder.com – Should you take transit or take the car?

    stopfinder_small.pngThere have been a handful of Parking-Finder map sites lately. They were all neat, but seemed to lack that extra bit of information I wanted to know: How much is this going to cost?

    As you would have it, I have a meeting today up in the hinterlands that is Young and St. Claire. Because it is pouring rain I thought about taking the car. Because I don’t know the area, StopFinder popped in to my head. The founder of the site, Michael DiBernardo emailed us a couple of days ago to let us know that it launched.

    Stopfinder offers a huge amount of information, but it is all presented incredibly clearly. Subway and Bus stops are placed with nice big markers, and parking lots are easy to spot.

    With StopFinder you enter the address of where you are going and the time you will arrive, as well as how long you will be staying. StopFinder then calculates the closest parking lots, how much they cost in total, and which is the best combination of distance and cost from your final destination. Pretty cool, but what I love is that it also shows you public transportation options for getting there as well. In this case, we are basically right beside a subway stop. So I will do the right thing, leave the car in the garage and jump on the subway. That’s fine by me. I hate driving.

    Michael pointed out two kinds of pain that StopFinder helps solve:

    StopFinder finds the closest, cheapest parking lots and the surrounding TTC stops for a Toronto destination. This eases two kinds of pain:

    (a) There aren’t many good ways to figure out how to get where you’re going on the TTC right now. We think StopFinder beats what is out there.

    (b) When planning a get-together, some guests will come by car and others by transit. You can provide everyone with a single link that helps them get there.

    I am pretty happy with this service so far. The amount of data they seem to have aggregated is incredible. They also have an API that other developers can use to access their data.

    StopFinder might not have the largest audience yet, afterall it is Toronto-centric, but they are solving a real problem. Finding parking was never the problem for most of us, it turns out that it was knowing when to take a car and when to take transit. Even I didn’t know that until I experienced the solution, but I can tell that StopFinder will become a part of my toolkit from now on.

    Give it a try and let us know what you think. Post in the comments below.

  • Launching TalentEgg

    Two months ago we received an email from TalentEgg’s founder, Lauren Friese, brimming with excitement about her latest venture into the world of online recruitment. TalentEgg, which just hatched, is a website that connects high quality Canadian employers with students and recent grads that are looking for meaningful work.

    Job seekers using the site will be able to build TalentCards (Resumes), ask for advice using Grad Q&A (Forum), and read up on how to land a job on the TalentEgg Insider (Blog). Employers can create a free profile, but have to pay to advertise specific job openings, create awareness with site sponsorship, search through TalentCards, and send out targeted emails to job seekers. For the month of April the site is free on a trial basis to employers. TalentEgg hopes to cater to small and medium size employers who can’t make it to every campus recruitment day.

    This is a tough market to crack, TorStar’s Workopolis dominates; even the venerable Monster has had trouble getting traction in Canada. And TalentEgg faces a classic chicken or the egg problem: job seekers are interested in sites with lots of jobs and rational employers will only pay to advertise once the site’s user base reaches a certain threshold. Despite all this, something tells me it is only a matter of time before Lauren Friese figures out how to make this site lay some golden eggs. Congrats on the launch!

  • Reminder: CIX and StartupCamp Deadlines

    Time is running short to apply to pitch at CIX, and also to get help with your pitch at StartupCamp.

    The deadline to apply to CIX is April 4th, you can apply here. It is worth noting that the pricing structure has changed based on feedback and it is now half the price it used to be for startups who present.

    StartupCamp Toronto 2 is happening at the same time as CIX, and you can apply to present here, you have until Sunday April 13th for that one.


    We’d like to thank our first confirmed sponsor as well, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, as well as service providers who have purchased tickets: Mike Middleton (Q1Capital Partners) and Frances Fast (Q1Capital Partners), and Daniel Shapiro (Microsoft)

  • AideRSS Announces Google Reader Integration

    AideRSS, who we originally covered last July, and who recently took funding from TechCapital Partners in Waterloo, are announcing integration with Google Reader today.

    The extension, which comes in the form of a Firefox plugin, gives AideRSS its first opportunity to hook in to the everyday workflow of heavy RSS users. Until now, You more or less had to go to AideRSS.com to make use of their tool. Building a Firefox extension like this will give them additional reach.

    The appeal to the end user is that you can use AideRSS as an initial filter for your feeds. Getting up in the morning and seeing that you have 500 unread items is painful, and I know that I will enjoy having a first line of defense.

    So, we have for you, our lucky readers, 50 invitations that will get you in on the ground floor of the beta. Get em while they’re hot.

  • April Fools: We are funded! StartupNorth takes a $3.2 million series A financing

    Well, the time has arrived. We can finally take the covers off of what we have been working on and give you an idea of where we plan to go with StartupNorth.

    Today we are announcing that we have taken an initial round of financing to expand StartupNorth, launch new startup focused projects and to further expand our blog-related publishing business. Most of you are aware of our first addition to the SUN network: wirelessnorth.ca

    Our new CEO and former Microsoft employee David Crow sums it up best:

    File Photo

    “Running a startup community has been very lucrative for StartupNorth (now known as SUN, INC) in the last year and we feel that we have been leaving a lot of money and opportunity on the table. In order to maximize the potential and reach of our media properties and to enable further growth in to other markets, we have decided to take this round of funding. To further accelerate this expansion, we have acquired several blog networks, including a Canadian one, and we will be announcing that formally quite soon”

    In a sense, this is eating our own dogfood. We encourage startups to take as much money as they can early on in order to grow as rapidly as possible, which will bring with it a solid business plan. By expanding rapidly and letting the business plan emerge, we believe we can show fellow Canadian entrepreneurs how to do it, and our new VCs, Apprentice Partners from London, UK and placements from two Canadian pension funds, have helped us make this decision.

    Jonas and I would like to thank all of you for your support in the last year. Without you guys, we couldn’t have done this.

    Everyone welcome David aboard. And remember: with all this money, we’ll be hiring soon!

  • iNovia launches a new fund – Seed and early stage venture capital

    iNovia is announcing their new fund today. The new fund, which comes in at $107million is focused on Seed and Early Stage deals in the information technology, life sciences and cleantech sectors.

    iNovia, who most recently participated in the funding of StandOutJobs, has been engaging the startup community pretty directly lately and are usually visible at events like StartupCamp, blitzweekend and others. iNovia promotes itself as “Entrepreneurial Capital”. By they mean that they come from diverse and relevant backgrounds. Instead of being full of ex-banker, iNovia tends more towards entrepreneurs and people with experience working with startups.

    With its recent additions, the iNovia Capital management team now comprises a diverse group of professionals, all of whom have operational or financial backgrounds, coupled with strong technical and business expertise. iNovia has also established a network of Venture Partners and Entrepreneurs in Residence, who provide industry insight and expertise, along with access to a large network of collaborators.

    “Entrepreneurial Capital” can mean something else as well, and I think iNovia just might deliver. My definition of “Entrepreneurial Capital” is an Angel or VC who is just as hungry and hustles just as much as any startup. From coast to coast we hear complaints about poor dealflow for VCs and that this hurts their business. This may be true to an extent, but it is about to get a lot worse for those VCs who don’t show that same Entrepreneurial Spirit. Firms like iNovia, Montreal Startup, EVP and others are all going to be scooping up more and more of the best deals at very early stages simply because they will be engaged closely with the very communities that are giving birth to these startups.

    Technology Venture Capital is a startup business in Canada. It is young, the players are largely inexperienced and the market is small but emerging. This is a good thing. If you are a VC with money to spend, you can still win. There is a massive community forming that is almost exclusively to your benefit and that community is working harder than ever before now.

    We will be watching iNovia closely to see if they live up to all my hype.

  • Angel financing – Term sheets (part 1)

    A term sheet is used to outline the main terms under which investors make an investment in your company. It is usually introduced part way through the due diligence process. A typical sequence of events (assuming this is your company’s first outside financing round) would be:

    • You make your investment pitch to a group of angels
    • Interested angels form a due diligence team and start due diligence activities
    • At some point in the due diligence process, if angels reach a comfort level in the investment opportunity, they will introduce a term sheet to start the dialog on the conditions under which they will invest
    • Due diligence investigation into the company will continue in parallel with discussions on the term sheet
    • Once both activities reach a satisfactory conclusion, the legal paperwork will be drawn up for the investment, the papers will be signed, and the funds will be transfered

    • An important thing to understand about a term sheet is that it is not necessarily a binding document. Meaning just because the investors and the company have reached agreement on the term sheet (which outlines how much money will be invested and under what terms), investors are not bound to following through with the investment. The main point of a term sheet is to ensure both sides are comfortable with the terms under which the investment will occur. As discussed above, this is usually introduced part way through the due diligence process – when investors have a comfort level in the investment but before they have completed the full due diligence process. Investors will want to get a term sheet on the table so they can ensure both sides are comfortable with the terms of the investment. i.e. there is no point to spending the time to finish a full and detailed due diligence investigation, only to find out at the end that the investors/company cannot agree on the investment terms. So just because you have a term sheet from potential investors, don?t consider the investment a done deal.

    Although the term sheet is not necessarily binding, if the investment proceeds to closing it will be used by lawyers to incorporate the terms of the deal into the closing documents, shareholders agreement, etc. So it is important to ensure you understand and are comfortable with the contents of the term sheet before you indicate acceptance of it to the investors. You should get legal advice on the term sheet as it will most likely contain conditions on board makeup, management oversight, voting rights, etc. These conditions will be incorporated into your company’s shareholder agreement so will impact all current shareholders of the company. Depending on how your current shareholder’s agreement is written and how many shareholder’s you have, you may need a majority of your current shareholder’s to approve any new changes to the shareholder’s agreement to accommodate the new investors. Part of good investor relations is to ensure your current shareholder’s are aware of your financing activities and are on-side with the implications of new investors and how it will impact them.

    In my next article I will talk about some of the common terms usually found in a term sheet. To view an organized index of all angel financing articles as well as sees a roadmap of future articles, click here. If you have any comments or suggestions for future articles feel free to contact me: craig at mapleleafangels.com

  • StartupCamp Montreal 2 – May 15th, 2008

    startupcamp_eve2.jpg

    StartupCamp Montreal 2 has been announced. It is taking place May 15th and will be at the SAT again. I am a little sad that I will have to miss it because of another conference, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun!

    Make sure you sign up, and if you are a startup, you should consider presenting. StartupCamps are one of the few places you can get no-holds-barred feedback on your business plan. If you are interested in presenting, add yourself to the wiki.

    Date : May 15th, 2008
    Time : 6pm to 10pm EST
    Location : SAT – Société des arts technologiques

    They are really stepping it up for this event as well and will provide a bunch of help and support for the startups that are chosen to present.

    1) The top five startups selected to present at the event will have the opportunity to participate in a one-day pre-event workshop session. The goal being to have ?pitch? experts help the companies prepare ahead of the event. The workshop will be hosted by Austin Hill, John Stokes, Vincent Guyaux, and 2 other VC / marketing experts.

    2) Presenting companies will have 8 minutes to present, with 10 minutes of follow-up questions from the event Gurus and the audience.

    3) We will have ambassadors on hand prior to the event and during the event to help with match making and networking.

  • Weekend Reading – March 23rd 2008

    We use the weekly reading post to link to things we didn’t cover, but are probably worth hearing about. If we are missing something, please post it in the comments below!

    Capazoo lays off 60 employees and closes shop (Make sure you read the comments!). Also, Valleywag linked to us in their post about the collapse.

    DemoCamp Edmonton is set for March 26th and it’s looking great.

    OCRI is sour, grapes by David Crow, and a response: No ‘sour grapes’ for OCRI

    ICE08 is taking place this week in Toronto