My last blog highlighted the great grassroots organizations and events that startups can leverage in Ontario. This blog highlights the many resources and support for startups in Canada that are funded by the government. If you’re a startup you’re not alone, there’s plenty of organizations ready to help you out
Communitech
Communitech is the organization based in Waterloo Region and was started in 1997 with 40 member organizations and has grown to includes several hundred. Communitech is the organization many of the new regional organizations would ultimately like to become. They organize many startup events, training, provide advisory services, and support the incubators at the Accelerator Centre and the Hub. VA Partners has been a member since our inception five years ago and one of the best services that we take advantage of are the Peer2Peer Groups. They have many that meet frequently.
MaRS
MaRS plays an important central role for Government funded organizations and is based in Toronto. They host many different entrepreneur events including the popular Entrepreneur 101 series. MaRS has also some great online resources to help answer many startup questions. There is some incubation space, but they have a wide range of advisors that can be leveraged to help startups that aren’t in the space. It is also a great space that is leveraged by many startup and technology events including MobileMonday Toronto. There are many positive things coming with an expansion.
The Innovation Factory
I was at the Innovation Factory’s kick-off event several months ago in Hamilton and it was one of the best networking events that I have been involved in.I think everyone was surprised by the number of people that attended. The Innovation Factory provides advisory services, lunch and learns, is starting Peer2Peer groups, and has done some cool new things like the recent Lions Lair. Lions Lair was a really interesting event with one of VA Partners clients, Quant, in the top 10. One of the things that the Innovation Factory does really well is supporting grassroot events. This is a great model of cooperation that many government funded organization could aspire to.
The Schools
One of the more recent and interesting developments has been incubators that are part of post-secondary institutions. The first to get started was Velocity at the University of Waterloo lead by Jesse Rodgers. Velocity is a residence where the students work on a business idea over the term. The biggest success story is Kik that was developed by Ted Livingston a former Velocity Resident; Livingston eventually donated $1,000,000 back to Velocity. There is also an excellent incubator at Ryerson called the Digital Media Zone. They occupy two floors and are expanding to three under the leadership of Valerie Fox. They are closely aligned with the student group SIFE. George Brown has just launched a gaming incubator which is a fast growing segment of the startup space in Ontario.
Many Other Regional Organizations
There are many other organizations sprinkled through-out Ontario that can help growing organizations including, but not limited to;
- Wetech in Windsor Essex
- Innovation Guelph
- OCRI in Ottawa
- Tech Alliance in London
If you are a startup in Ontario I would suggest you check out some of the people and resources at your local organization and ones available online at MaRS. With the Government funded organizations and grassroots events and various other organizations, there is a significant amount of support for startups in Canada. Find what works for you and engage. For more information about events happening in your area, sign-up for our monthly newsletter.
