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Two Great Opportunities For Canadian Startups
Published on 12/03/08
by Will Pate
To my colleagues from coast to coast in Canuck startups, I have a special invitation for you: submit your company to present at the Canada’s Hottest Companies showcase before a panel of leading investors at the Canadian Innovation Exchange conference. They want to meet Canadian innovators in new media, web services, mobile, software and hardware.
On April 29 & 30th in Toronto leading investors, public & private executives and service providers are gathering to meet our country’s most innovative entrepreneurs at CIX. The conference will feature keynotes, educational sessions, facilitated & informal networking, and the startup showcase. I’ll be there to facilitate a workshop about using the web to its full potential.
There is no cost to submit and your company will be reviewed by a selection committee of over 20 leading investors. Their top rated companies will get 10 minutes to present on stage, and a guaranteed minimum of 3 meetings. It’s a no-lose situation, and if you have a business plan it should be easy to copy and paste.
There is also going to be a StartupCamp Toronto 2 at CIX, apply there too to double your chances of presenting your startup to a room full of people that can help.
This is a great opportunity to support technology startups in Canada and that’s why I’m working with Achillies Media to help spread the word. I presented at nextMEDIA, and they tapped me to help Canadian startups find out about the opportunity. I’m passionate about startups in Canada because of the high regard I hold for innovators I’ve met across this country. I hope a lot of people apply, and tell them I sent you.
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Comments on Two Great Opportunities For Canadian Startups
4 Responses
Angie Chang
12/03/08
Don’t forget Women 2.0 in Canada!
http://www.women2.ca
James Sherrett
14/03/08
Hey Will, the fine print on the reg page also says “* In addition to the conference fee, $495.00 will be charged should your company be selected as a Presenting Company.”
As an entrepreneur trying to make the startup a living, breathing, successful reality, this additional charge (conference + travel + pitch cost) starts to make it look like a $2,000 bill. That’s $200 per minute of presentation or almost $700 per guaranteed meeting.
I think entrepreneurs already fully recognize the nothing-ventured, nothing-gained mantra, but why is the burden of cost on the startup? It looks like an additional tax on trying to get your venture working.
And how many startups will be selected to present for 10 minutes? It can’t be too many, maybe 5 at the high end? Doesn’t it seem more fair for someone who stands to benefit from the potential dealflow to sponsor this part of the event for $2,500 (5 companies x $495) instead of extracting that from the startups?
Lastly, unless we (the startups) know the ‘20 leading investors,’ the proposition is pretty weak. It’s a matter of speaking to the right people, not the most people. So it could be 100 leading investors. The number doesn’t really matter. Who are they and what are their areas of expertise / investment? That’s what counts.
Will Pate
14/03/08
Hey James,
I’m looking into the cost issue with the folks running the conference and hope to have some news on that shortly.
There is actually 2 hours total for presenting companies, so that means with 10 minutes per company the goal is to have 12 presenting companies.
You can see the selection committee here. They are definitely some of the best folks in Canada.
http://www.canadianinnovationexchange.com/look.who.coming.php?page=selection
James Sherrett
18/03/08
Thanks for the follow up, Will. The list of folks on the selection committee does look strong.
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