Every month our team compiles a list of startup and small business events in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario that we’re interested in attending and think will be useful to 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).
TORONTO AND GTA 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: Fireside Chat | Head of Business Marketing, Facebook Canada
When: March 1, 2017, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: BrainStation Toronto, 460 King Street West, Toronto, ON
Price: $45.00
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: RIC Centre Startup Boot Camp
When: March 1, 2017, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: Xerox Research Centre of Canada, 2660 Speakman Drive, Mississauga, ON
Price: Free
Startup Toronto
Startup Toronto is a grass roots entrepreneur-led community of Startup Canada. We connect our members to the startup ecosystem in Toronto, foster a supportive home for all entrepreneurs, and provide programs and tools that help accelerate business growth.
Event: Startup Toronto Startup Drinks
When: March 1, 2017, 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Marche Brookfield Place (Yonge/Wellington), 181 Bay Street / 42 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON
Price: TBA
Camp Tech
Camp Tech is a tech skills training hub. They provide half and full-day in-person workshops for adults who want to learn website and digital skills. They create a welcoming environment for those who are hesitant around technology, and emphasize skills that can be put into practice right away.
Event: Digital Marketing On A Shoestring Budget
When: March 2, 2017, 06:00 p.m. – 09:00 p.m.
Where: 639 Queen Street West, 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON
Price: $99.00
Mississauga Business Enterprise Centre
Whether you are starting or growing a small business, or just thinking about it, the Mississauga Business Enterprise Centre (MBEC) can help you.
Event: Start Your Small Business – The Basics
When: March 2, 2017, 10:00 a.m – 11:00 a.m.
Where: Central Library, 301 Burnhamthorpe Rd W, Mississauga, ON
Price: $13.25 plus tax
Ladies Learning Code
Have you taken their HTML and CSS workshop? Looking to expand your web development skills? Wonder what all this CSS3 stuff is about? CSS is a powerful language used to create layout and design for web pages. Without CSS, the web would not be as pretty!
Event: HTML and CSS for Beginners: Build a One Page Website From Scratch (Two Evenings)
When: March 7 and 14, 2017, 6:00 p.m – 9:00 p.m.
Where: TWG, 425 Adelaide Street West #300, Toronto, ON
Price: $55.00
Event:Build A Website for Your Business With Squarespace
When: March 7, 2017, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: 35 Fairview Mall Drive, Toronto, ON
Price: Free
Dx3 2017
Join 4000 of your peers this March to learn from industry experts and interact with the technology that’s shaping behaviours. Immerse yourself in the changing world of digital marketing and retail; touch, play and learn about the latest in AI, VR, payment systems, in-store tech, influencer marketing, virtual assistants, and much more!
When: March 8 and 9, 2017, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Where: Metro Toronto Convention Center, 255 Front St., Toronto, ON
Price: $25.00
TechToronto
Each month, TechToronto Meetup is designed for Toronto technologists to learn something new and meet someone new. You’ll learn something new from one of our 5x5s, or five presentations of five minutes each.
Event: TechToronto Meetup + Afterparty
When: March 13, 2017, 6:00 p.m.
Where: RBC WaterPark Place Auditorium, 88 Queen’s Quay West, Toronto, ON
Price: $20.00
SalesTO Meetup
Each SalesTO Meetup is designed for Toronto technologists to learn how to improve their selling and connect with other industry professionals. Panel discussions consist of a diverse selection of leading sales people from Toronto technology companies, big or small. Connect with the SalesTO community and meet someone new over food and drinks provided before each panel.
When: March 21, 2017, 6:00 p.m.
Where: TBA
Price: $30.00
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. The often-free events at MaRS are ideal for start-ups, science, technology and social entrepreneurs looking to make connections and learn more about a particular aspect of business.
Event: Faces of Finance & Commerce: A Chain Reaction
Canada’s Finance & Commerce landscape is stronger than ever and posed to continue being a global leader in building innovative companies across fintech, retail tech, social enterprise, among other verticals.
When: March 21, 2017, 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: MaRS Discovery District, 101 College Street, Toronto, ON
Price: $15.00
Uberflip
Uberflip is a platform for marketers to create, manage, and optimize content experiences, so that content can be fully leveraged by all company stakeholders at every stage of the buyer journey. By providing marketers with the tools they need to boost engagement, generate leads, and fuel demand generation, they can better leverage content to meet their goals.
Event: Startupong 2017
When: March 14, 2017, 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Where: SPiN Toronto – 461 King St W, Toronto, ON
Price: Free
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 during your business start-up and help develop your management capabilities as your business venture grows.
Event: Marketing & Sales Boot Camp
When: March 30, 2017, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: North York Civic Centre, 5100 Yonge St., 3rd Floor, Committee Room 6, Toronto, ON
Price: $15.00
WATERLOO REGION EVENTS
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: International Sales: Strategy, Programs, and Support
When: March 21, 2017, 8:00 a.m.
Where: Communitech Hub, 151 Charles Street West, Suite 100, Kitchener, ON
Price: Free
Velocity Start
Velocity is a leading entrepreneurship program at the University of Waterloo, and the largest free startup incubator in North America. From idea to product creation to commercialization, Velocity is committed to providing the knowledge, tools, space and network that startups and entrepreneurs need for success.
Event: Velocity Start: How to Find Your Customers Online
When: March 1, 2017, 7:30 p.m – 9:00 p.m.
Where: Velocity Start, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON
Price: Free
Waterloo Region Small Business Centre
The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre encourages and contributes to the enterprising spirit and economic vitality of our commmunity by assisting entrepreneurs with the development of new or existing businesses.
Event: Digital Marketing Bootcamp
When: March 20, 27 and April 3, 2017, 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: 50 Benjamin RD, Waterloo, ON
Price: $44.25 plus tax
HAMILTON EVENT
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: Social Media for the Sales Team – iF’s March Sales Peer2Peer
Join us for an interactive Sales Peer2Peer session on Social Media for the Sales Team with Chad McCaffrey. Chad is the Vice President of Global Sales at PostBeyond. He will talk about the things that sales leaders can do to support their team’s social selling efforts. Chad will also review his teams sales stack and how they target companies.
When: March 8, 2017, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Where: McMaster Innovation Park, 175 Longwood Road South, #101a, Hamilton, ON
Price: Free
HALTON EVENTS
HalTech
HalTech is the leading source of support and personal service for tech and advanced manufacturing entrepreneurs in Halton. They assist Halton’s entrepreneurs and technology companies with developing their ideas, commercializing their products/services and establishing and expanding their businesses.
Event: Establishing Business Operations in the U.S.
When: March 2, 2017, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Where: PwC Office (6th floor), 354 Davis Road, Oakville, ON
Price: Free
Silicon Halton
Silicon Halton organizes a number of events throughout the year in the region Halton which including Burlington, Oakville, and Milton. Their monthly meetups and Peer2Peer has three main components; a key notes 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 want to learn more about business best practices.
Event: Social Media For Your Business – Meetup
When: March 14, 2017, 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Where: Halton HiVE, 901 Guelph Line, Burlington, ON
Price: Free
GUELPH EVENTS
Startup Drinks IV
Startup Drinks is a collaboration between the Centre for Business and Student Enterprise at the University of Guelph (CBaSE) and Innovation Guelph. It’s a simple concept: enjoy a beverage and connect with Guelph’s entrepreneurial community.
When: March 16, 2017, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: The Brass Taps, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East University Centre, Guelph, ON
Price: Free
B2B Guelph Networking Event
Is your business where you want it to be? Do you have all the leads and referrals that you can handle? If not then come out to the Guelph B2B Networking Lunch and meet with some of the other local business people who also want to grow and develop their business.
When: March 22, 2017, 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
St. Catharines Enterprise Centre
The St. Catharines Enterprise Centre provides the information, tools and resources that entrepreneurs need to launch and grow their business. Aspiring and existing entrepreneurs are serviced through many support services, including a number of informative seminars and events.
Event: Intro to Market Research Seminar
When: March 8, 2017, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Where: 1 St. Paul Street, 3rd Floor, Suite A301, St. Catharines, ON
Price: Free
Innovate Niagara
Innovate Niagara is a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs, a network of regional and provincial not-for-profit organizations that deliver services and programs to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Event: The MarCom Toolkit (Marketing Communication)
When: March 10, 17 and 24, 2017, 12:00 p.m.
Where: Cairns Building, Room 207, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON
Price: $100.00
Startup Drinks 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 resource and programming. We are entrepreneur-led and committed to the long-term success and sustainability of our community.
When: March 29, 2017, 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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