Every month our team compiles a list of startup and small business events in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario that we’re personally interested in attending and think will be useful to anyone in the startup and small business community.
Some of these events may fill up fast, so if you’re interested in attending please register quickly. Business events are generally free of charge unless a price is listed. If you’re hosting an event or come across one that you think should be included here, feel free to contact us with your suggestion(s). We hope to see you there!
TORONTO EVENTS
Brainstation
BrainStation is a progressive educational institution that is powering the next generation of creators. BrainStation is education for the 21st century, where business, creativity, and technology collide.
Event: Grow Your Brand on Instagram
When: February 6, 2018, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: BrainStation Toronto, 460 King Street West, Toronto, ON
Price: $45.00
Startup Toronto
Startup Toronto is a grass roots entrepreneur-led community of Startup Canada. They connect their members to the startup ecosystem in Toronto, foster a supportive home for all entrepreneurs, and provide programs and tools that help entrepreneurs accelerate their business growth.
Event: Startup Social (formerly Startup Drinks)
When: February 7, 2018, 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Where: Workhaus, 30 Wellington St West, 5th floor, Toronto, ON
Price: $25.00
Camp Tech
Camp Tech is a technical skills training hub. They provide half and full-day in-person workshops for adults who want to learn digital skills. They create a welcoming environment for those who are hesitant with technology, and emphasize skills that can be put into practice right away.
Event: Successful Sales Strategies and CRM Tools
When: February 8, 2018, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where: 455 Spadina Avenue, Suite 304, Toronto, ON
Price: $99.00
RIC Centre
As the Entrepreneur and Innovation Hub for Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon, the RIC Centre offers a comprehensive range of support services to entrepreneurs for free, including mentorship and advisory services, hands-on workshops, and networking events.
Event: Validating your Lean Value Proposition
When: February 8, 15 & 22, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Xerox Research Centre, 2660 Speakman Drive, Mississauga, ON
Price: $100.00
MaRS Discovery District
MaRS is where entrepreneurs get the help they need, where all kinds of people meet to spark new ideas, and where a global reputation for innovation is being earned, one success story at a time. MaRS events are ideal for start-ups and science, technology or social entrepreneurs looking to make connections and learn more about a particular aspect of business.
Event: Grow Camp
When: February 9, 16, 23, & March 2, 9, 16, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Where: Autodesk Technology Centre, MaRS Centre, 661 University Avenue, Toronto, ON
Price: $1200.00 – $1800.00
TechToronto
Each month, the TechToronto Meetup is designed for Toronto technologists to learn something new and meet someone new. You’ll learn from one of the 5x5s: five presentations of five minutes each.
Event: TechToronto Meetup + Afterparty
When: February 12, 2018, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: RBC WaterPark Place Auditorium, 88 Queen’s Quay West, Toronto, ON
Price: $20.00
Ryerson Startup School
Startup School provides fundamental entrepreneurial education to aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs alike. This term, students and founders can take advantage of practical education on topics curated to accelerate a startup’s growth. Join top industry experts, academic thought leaders and seasoned entrepreneurs as they lead sessions on the topics crucial to entrepreneurial success.
Event:Startup School Lunch n Learn: Why Now is the Greatest Time to be an Entrepreneur
When: February 13, 2018, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Where: Ryerson University Student Learning Centre (SLC), 341 Yonge Street, Room 312, Toronto, ON
Price: Free
Ladies Learning Code
Have you taken their HTML and CSS workshop? Looking to expand your web development skills? CSS is a powerful web development language that’s used to create the layout and design for web pages. Without CSS, the web would not be as pretty!
Event: Data Visualization for Beginners: An Introduction to Creative Coding with Processing
When: February 17, 2018, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where: Canada Learning Code HQ, 129 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, ON
Price: $55.00
The Toronto WordPress Group
The Toronto WordPress Group brings together WordPress enthusiasts of all types, whether you are a designer, programmer or end-user; beginner, intermediate, or advanced.
Event: WordPress Weekend
When: February 17, 2018, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Where: TBA
Price: TBA
Enterprise Toronto
Enterprise Toronto is a one-stop source to start and grow your small business. Their team of small business advisors can help you make the right decisions for your business start-up and help develop your management capabilities as your business venture grows.
Event: Website Building for Beginners Boot Camp
When: February 23, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen St. W, 2nd Floor, Committee Room 3, Toronto, ON
Price: $25.00
HackerNest
HackerNest Tech Socials are a fun, relaxed way to connect with your local tech community. Atmosphere: chill, friendly, unpretentious, agenda-free (no sales pitch), and brimming with Ultra Smart People.
Event: HackerNest Toronto February Tech Social
When: February 26, 2018, 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Where: Info-Tech Research Group, 888 Yonge St · Toronto, ON
Price: $10.00
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library provides free and equitable access to services which meet the changing needs of Torontonians.
Event: Introduction to LinkedIn
When: February 28, 2018, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: 35 Fairview Mall Drive, Toronto, ON
Price: Free
WATERLOO REGION EVENTS
Waterloo Region Small Business Centre
The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre encourages and contributes to the enterprising spirit and economic vitality of our community by assisting entrepreneurs with the development of new or existing businesses.
Event: Simple SEO and Content Tasks to Improve Your Website
When: February 2, 2018, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Where: 200 King Street West St., Kitchener, ON
Price: $10.00
Accelerator Centre
The Accelerator Centre is an award winning startup accelerator/incubator dedicated to building and scaling sustainable, globally competitive technology firms, commercializing advanced research technologies emerging from academic institutions, and enabling corporation to pursue innovation initiatives in a way that is both effective and efficient.
Event: Business Model Design Camp
When: February 3, 2018, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m
Where: University of Waterloo Stratford Campus, 125 Saint Patrick Street, Stratford, ON
Price: $10.00
HackerNest
HackerNest Tech Socials are a fun, relaxed way to connect with your local tech community. Atmosphere: chill, friendly, unpretentious, agenda-free (no sales pitch, yo), and brimming with Ultra Smart people.
Event: HackerNest Kitchener-Waterloo February Tech Social
When: February 12, 2018, 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m
Where: SSIMWAVE, 402-140 Columbia St W · Waterloo, ON
Price: Free
Communitech
Founded by a group of dedicated entrepreneurs in 1997, Communitech is Waterloo Region’s hub for the commercialization of innovative technologies. Over the years, they have supported and helped build a tech cluster of nearly 1,000 companies that now generates more than $30 billion in revenue.
Event: Joseph Fung CEO Kiite on Sales lessons learned and AI for Sales
When: February 20, 2018, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m
Where: Communitech Hub, 151 Charles Street West, Suite 100, Kitchener, ON
Price: Free
HALTON EVENTS
HalTech
HalTech is the leading source of support and personal services for tech and advanced manufacturing entrepreneurs in Halton. They assist Halton’s entrepreneurs and technology companies with developing their ideas and commercializing their products/services as well as establishing and expanding their businesses.
Event: Marketing Masters Meetup
When: March 7, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Where: Haltech Hub @TechPlace, 5500 North Service Road, Suite 801 Burlington, ON
Price: $5.00
Silicon Halton
Silicon Halton organizes a number of events throughout the year in the Halton region, including Burlington, Oakville, and Milton. Their monthly meetups and Peer2Peer events have three main components: a key note presentation, a ‘get to know a member’ presentation, and time set out for networking. These events are catered to anyone at a startup – especially in the tech industry – that wants to learn more about business best practices.
Event: Silicon Halton Meetup – Lessons Learned From Tech Company Founders
When: February 13, 2018, 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Where: Queen Elizabeth Park Community Center – Black Box Room, 2302 Bridge Road, Oakville, ON
Price: $10.00
HAMILTON EVENTS
Hamilton E-Commerce and Online Entrepreneurs
Event: Sell Your Product on Amazon
When: February 4, 2018, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Where: TBA
Price: TBA
Innovation Factory
Innovation Factory helps advance Hamilton’s innovation community and serves as an inspiring expert resource for entrepreneurs that fosters connections across the community and accelerates growth.
Event: Marketing Strategies For Start Ups: Sales Peer2Peer
When: February 14, 2018, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Where: 175 Longwood Rd S, Hamilton, ON
Price: Free
GUELPH EVENTS
Startup Drinks
When: February 1, 2018, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Brass Taps Campus Pub, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON
Price: Free
Innovation Guelph
Innovation Guelph is building prosperity for community wellbeing by providing mentorship and business support programs and services to help innovative enterprises start, grow and thrive.
Event: Sales ABC
When: February 8, 15 & 22, 2018, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Innovation Guelph, 111 Farquhar Street, 3rd Floor, Guelph, ON
Price: $100*
*All deposits will be refunded by the programming team at MaRSDD upon completion of the workshops and a post-workshop survey.
Guelph Business Networking Event
When: February 13, 2018, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Where: Fionn MacCool’s, 494 Edinburgh Rd S, N/E corner of Stone and Edinburgh, Guelph, ON
Price: $15.00
NIAGARA EVENTS
Niagara Falls Small Business Enterprise Centre
The Niagara Falls Small Business Enterprise Centre runs a variety of events geared towards both new start-up businesses as well as existing businesses. Whether you are looking for information about writing a business plan, or perhaps looking at new avenues for marketing your business – they have a seminar for you.
Event: The A to Z Steps to Starting a Business
When: February 22, 2018
Where: TBA
Price: Free
Startup Niagara
Startup Drinks is a monthly networking event for Niagara Startups and those interested in the Niagara business community. Startup Niagara is a place for budding and seasoned entrepreneurs alike to gather, learn from each other and get access to invaluable resources and programming. They are entrepreneur-led and are committed to the long-term success and sustainability of our community.
Event: Startup Drinks Niagara
When: February 28, 2018, 7:00 p.m.
Where: TBA (Niagara, ON)
Price: Free
Are we missing any startup or small business events? Let us know and we’ll add it to the list.
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