Nfld & Labrador hosts Startup Canada
St. John’s, NL (July 16, 2012)– Startup Canada will be visiting the country’s most eastern coast this week as Newfoundland and Labrador hosts a slate of events from July 16 – 19 as part of Startup Canada’s National Tour to celebrate and inspire entrepreneurship across the country.
Startup Canada is an entrepreneur-led, national movement to enhance the country’s competitiveness and prosperity through entrepreneurship. Its National Tour is traveling across Canada to engage more than 25,000 Canadians and 250 partner organizations through a series of Town Hall Meetings and Fringe Events, and to develop community-driven solutions to challenges faced by entrepreneurs. The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries (NATI) is co-hosting the events in Newfoundland and Labrador with Startup Canada.
“Startup Canada is the platform that encourages Canadians to use entrepreneurship and innovation to inspire industry and to create the foundation for the next generation of start-ups,” said NATI CEO Ron Taylor. “I see a number of ways in which our organizations can collaborate to cultivate a stronger, more vibrant entrepreneurial culture here in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
The province already has a strong entrepreneurial background to build from, notes Startup Canada Governing Board member, Rivers Corbett, who is also an award-winning Atlantic Canada entrepreneur.
“Atlantic Canadians offer an incredible community of entrepreneurs and Newfoundland and Labrador entrepreneurs are no exception to the rule,” said Corbett. “One only has to look at the history of this great province to see the true essence of entrepreneurial journeys – creating great success through great adversity.”
Dean MacDonald, President & CEO of Tuckamore Capital and the Startup Canada Patron for Newfoundland and Labrador, is looking forward to the conversations and possible collaborations that will stem from the Startup Canada events.
“Startup Canada is creating an environment for like-minded entrepreneurs to connect with each other and share ideas, which is the lifeblood for creating exciting new businesses,” said MacDonald.
Startup Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador activities include visits to two successful business incubators in St. John’s, the Genesis Centre and Launch Pad, as well as a Youth Entrepreneurship Workshop and Town Hall in St. John’s, another Town Hall in Cornerbrook, and entrepreneur spotlight interviews in Gander and Grand Falls. A full event listing is featured on the Startup Canada Campaign website http://www.startupcan.ca/tour.
In addition to MacDonald, Startup Canada is championed by other influential patrons such as Brett Wilson (Host of RiskyBusinessTV, former Dragon & serial entrepreneur), Heather Reisman (Founder, Indigo Books & Music), and Dani Reiss (Founder, Canada Goose).
Startup Canada sponsors include Microsoft, Gowlings, Ernst & Young, Best Western Hotels, Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program, Export Development Canada, VideoBooth, Kick Ass Media, PubliAir, the Ottawa Technology Transfer Network, the Association of University Research Parks Canada, the Canadian Association of Business Incubation, the Evidence Network, Francis Moran & Associates, FreshBooks, Global Advantage Consulting Group, MSBi Valorisation, Podio, Backbone Magazine, HootSuite, ITWorld Canada, NextMTL, Paper.li, Sprouter, and Techvibes.
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For additional information or to pre-schedule interviews, contact:
Victoria Lennox
Co-Founder, Startup Canada
victoria@startupcan.ca 613-316-6203
Brittany Brinston
Marketing and Events Coordinator, NATI
brittany@nati.net 709-757-3251
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is Canada’s first-ever, entrepreneur-led, national movement to enhance the nation’s competitiveness and prosperity by supporting and celebrating Canadian entrepreneurship. Startup Canada is harnessing the collective energies of Canadian entrepreneurs and enterprise support communities from Coast to Coast with the goals of providing the entrepreneurship community with a strong voice, promoting a vibrant entrepreneurial culture and creating a unified brand that Canadians can rally around. Startup Canada is launching this effort with the country’s first national entrepreneurship tour and campaign. The tour will run from March to September, engaging 25,000 Canadians and 250 partner organizations across the country. Entrepreneurs will participate in more than 30 Town Halls and 100 Fringe Events and connect through a social media groundswell campaign.
About NATI
www.nati.net
The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries (NATI) is a not-for-profit industry association representing the province’s advanced technology sector. NATI provides leadership to the technology sector through policy development and advocacy activities. Additionally, NATI works to connect key players in the industry through networking events and regular industry communications. Program support for the development and growth of local technology companies, as well as assistance in identification, engagement, and development of export opportunities, is provided by NATI to its membership. NATI works to fuel the growth of the technology industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. A leader in Atlantic Canada, NATI thinks and behaves like a business in pursuing opportunities that offer the most growth potential for its members.
