Posts tagged: DemoCamp Hamilton

Grassroots events support the Startup Community in Ontario

Posted on October 13, 2011

by Mark Elliott

This past weekend I was up in my hometown of Elmvale for Thanksgiving and the annual Fall Fair.  Elmvale is a small town of just under 2,000 people and has a real sense of community.  This got me thinking about the startup tech community through-out Ontario.  I don’t think it has ever been a better time to be a startup in terms of the community and support that is available from a number of sources.  This will be a 2 part blog featuring the Grass Roots support and Government funded support.  Here are the some of the Grassroots options that are available.  I don’t think that one is better than the other, seeing as they provide different things to the community.

Democamp

The Democamp formula is fairly consistent, featuring a guest speaker with startup experience, a number of startups presenting their solution, the crowd asking questions, and lots of networking. In Ontario there are regular Demopcamps in Windsor, Guelph, Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton.  The grandfather of Democamp and Toronto Organizer David Crow spoke recently at the Democamp Hamilton.  His talk was about community and supporting growing companies.  This event was promoted by the Innovation Factory, a new government funded hub based in Hamilton; Innovation Factory had several of the team members out as well.  The event took place at McMaster, showing a level of commitment from the school and bringing out some students. Kevin Browne and Jim Rudnick are organizers and involved with many of the startup events in Hamilton. 

I also wanted to highlight Democamp Guelph and one of it’s organizers Brydon Gilliss.  I really enjoy the event as it reminds me of the earlier Democamp Toronto events.  Democamp Guelph gets between 100 and 200 people and takes place in a bar.  It is a lively affair with many local more established tech companies sponsoring and often looking for employees at the event.

Democamps are great for startups to demo their solution and get feedback.  It is also an excellent opportunity to network and meet other startups.

Startup Drinks

Startup Drinks occur in many communities across Ontario.  Be warned not all the chapters update their events on the site.  The best way to get updates on the events is to follow one of the organizers on Twitter.  Hamilton will be having their 1st event tonight, the Waterloo team is fairly consistent, and the Toronto Group goes the last Wednesday of the Month.  I have been to the Toronto event many times and really enjoy it.  There is a good mix of companies just starting up, established tech companies, service providers, investors, people with an idea for a company, and a few people that are looking to join a startup.  One of the people I met a few months ago was Heather Payne.  She was interested in joining a startup from a more established job and was able to join a company and had her tips on how she did so in the Globe and Mail.

Regional organizations

The VA Partners team have attended and been involved with a couple other Grassroots organizations that are more regionally based.  the Golden Horseshoe Venture Forum has been around for over 10 years and connects startups, professional service organizations, and investors.  They have events 5 times a year.

Another great regional Grassroots organization is Silicon Halton.  They organize monthly events with featured speakers and networking.  They have also branched out to provide some really interesting Peer2Peer groups including one for solo entreprenuers.  If you are in the Halton region and have a startup I would connect with Silicon Halton and its two main organizers  Rick Stomphorst and Chris Herbert.

Even more events

There are many other startup focused events that are available in major Ontario centres including ecommerce camp, Cloudcamp, Lean Coffee Toronto, and many more.

If you are a startup or thinking about creating one I recommend you go to one of the events.  They are a great source of support, information, and connections.  We try to highlight some of the upcoming events on our blog at the beginning of each month you can also check out the Techvibes events and the events at Startup North.

On Tuesday I will feature some of the Government supported initiatives that can help startups.

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Startup and small business events you don’t want to miss in September 2011

Posted on September 8, 2011

by Stephanie Goodman

For our newsletter, our team compiles a list of all the events we will be attending for the upcoming month, as well as some additional events we believe useful to the start-up and small business industry. If you missed our newsletter, we will be posting a blog with featured events the first week of every month.

The events we focus on are primarily in Toronto, the GTA, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo. St. Catharines and Hamilton. Take a look through the events we are suggesting for this month.  If you’re hosting an event or have come across one you think we should mention, please feel free to contact us with your suggestions.

Silicon Halton

When: September 13th, 7pm-10pm

Where: Artisano’s, 353 Iroquois Shore Road, Oakville

Cost: Free

Interested in iPhone and iPad apps? Do you want to learn more about how they are designed, developed and distributed? Tony Wallace of Heuristic Media Inc. will be providing the answers to these questions and to give the audience a better understanding of iOS development.

If you wish to connect with someone at VA Partners, Stephanie Goodman will be attending this event.

Lion’s Lair

When: September 14th, 5pm-8pm

Where: 1520 Stone Church, Guelph

Cost: Individual ticket ($106.99), Table of 10 ($943), Young Entrepreneur Ticket, ($64.59)

The Lion’s Lair is a celebration of entrepreneurship in Hamilton. Taking on a similar format to Dragons’ Den, entrepreneur and startup finalists face a panel of top executives, pitching their ideas/business to win $100,000 towards getting their companies off the ground.

If the startup community is of interest to you and you’re eager to see the news ideas emerging, this event would be worth attending.

Quant Interpretations, one of VA Partners clients, will be presenting at this event. Quant has invented a web based tool for the interpretation of consumer research. This tool significantly speeds up the process of making sense of consumer information over traditional methods and for a fraction of the cost.

If you wish to connect with someone at VA Partners, Steve Gruber will be attending this event.

DemoCampGuelph18

When: September 21st, 6:30-9:30pm  

When: 575 Ontario Street South, Milton

Cost: Free

If you live in or near Guelph, or would consider making the commute for an event, DempCamp Guelph is a great event for those in the technology industry. Whether you are the entrepreneur, working at a start-up or just live and breathe tech stuff, there is something for you at DemoCamp. Companies are encouraged to present if they have a company they think others should know about, however, you can attend whether you are a presenter or just a visitor.

If you wish to connect with someone at VA Partners, Mark Elliott will be attending this event.

Startup Drinks Windsor

When: September 21st, 6pm-8pm

Where: Mick’s Irish Pub, 28 Chatham Street East, Windsor

Cost: Free

Startup Drinks is all about engaging and sharing information with start-ups peers in a local pub or bar. On September 21st, Startup Drinks Windsor welcomes local startup Blab! Media to kick off their celebration of Social Media Week 2011. Don’t forget to bring your smartphone!

DemoCampHamilton3

When: September 28th, 7pm-9pm

Where: Twelve Eighty Pub at McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West Hamilton

Cost: Free

DemoCamp involves a keynote speaker and on average of 5 software demos. Each demo presentation will consist of demoing and Q&A. The event concludes with socializing among your peers within the community.

Quant Intrepretations will also be presenting at this event. Quant has invented a web based tool for the interpretation of consumer research. This tool significantly speeds up the process of making sense of consumer information over traditional methods and for a fraction of the cost.

If you wish to connect with someone at VA Partners, Mark Elliott will be attending.

Startup Drinks Toronto

When: September 28th, 6pm

Where: Grace O’Malley’s, 14 Duncan St. Toronto, ON

Cost: Free

Startup Drinks Toronto provides an open space for entrepreneurs and small business owners to connect and share ideas. There are no presentations or pitches, just conversation and networking. To meet some of the up-and-coming people in the startup community, this is a great event to attend.

*Note: The eventbrite registration has not yet been posted for this event

Golden Horseshoe Venture Forum

When: October 5th, 7:15am-10am

Where: Burlington Golf and Country Club, 422 North Shore Blvd East, Burlington, ON

Cost: $40

The GHVF provides the a space where ideas and resources connect. Whether you are a business owner, angel investor, or simply interested in business, the GHVF suits all different professional backgrounds. The theme of this session is “Investing Opportunities and Challenges in an Indebted World.” The guest speaker for the event is Jonathan Wellum, President of Rocklinc. The event starts out with a breakfast buffet, followed by 3 featured firm presentations and a presentation by the guest speaker.

If you wish to connect with someone at VA Partners, Stephanie Goodman and Steve Gruber will be at this event.

 

 

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Next new Canadian tech startup hotspot….Hamilton

Posted on June 30, 2011

by Mark Elliott

Venture Accelerator Partners started almost 5 years ago and since then we have been involved in the Hamilton Tech Community.  Our first client was from Hamilton.  When we started our business many of the local activities were organized by Mark Chamberlain and Ty Shattuck from Trivaris and Dr. Laurence Hewick. The events were the Golden Horseshoe Venture Forum and the occasional innovation night.  The community seemed to be overshadowed by Toronto and the fast growing Waterloo Region.

Fast forward 5 years and there is plenty going on.  The Trivaris team is still there in a new building at McMaster Innovation Park and PV Labs, one of their companies, is one of the fastest growing organizations in Canada. Dr. Hewick and VA Partner’s Steve Gruber  are still organizing GHVF events.  There are many other things going on as well.

The Innovation Factory has launched within the past year and is modeled on the successful KW based Communitech.  They are providing mentoring services, lunch and learns targeted at startups, and helping to organize events like the revamped innovation night.  It was at the Open House Innovation Factory event that my eyes were opened to what Hamilton was becoming.  There were hundreds of people in attendance, with many entrepreneurs talking about their solutions.  It was one of the best networking events I have ever been to.

The story does not stop with the Innovation factory but builds from there.  Mohawk and McMaster are becoming more focused with entrepreneurship on the campus and in the community.  There are also a couple of grass roots events being organized by Kevin Browne a PHD student at McMaster.  He is the driving force behind the Democamp Hamilton and Software Hamilton. I have not been able to attend Democamp Hamilton as my first attempt was blocked by a sold-out event, a good indication of the pent up demand.  I was able to attend the Software Hamilton meetup this past week.  There were 40 attendees talking passionately about their ideas, businesses, and Hamilton.  It was a great event and I know there are many more planned for the fall.

The bottom line is that there has never been a time better in Hamilton to get help with your startup and be part of a growing community.  I am sure there will be many solutions and businesses emerging form Hamilton over the next few months and years.

 

 

 

 

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