Get (free) advice for your startup: Call Guido!

Last week we launched a new site at Mercury Grove to reflect the new direction of our startup – a startup collective in Ottawa, Canada where entrepreneurs can build awesome stuff alongside worldclass designers, developers, and investors.

One of the pillars of our new direction is to provide personalized, professional feedback for startups on their business – not as a paid service, but for free.  Why?  For two reasons:

1. We’re trying to recruit the best startups in Ottawa to join us.
2. Your success = Ottawa’s success

I meet a lot of startups every week – and I love it.  But between Startupplays.com, our other apps, a growing family, travel, and the mentorship I’m doing across Canada, I just can’t meet everyone.

Meet Guido.  I’ve been impressed with Guido since we first met for his startup analysis skills and experience in this space.  A little background about him:

Guido is a young and passionate entrepreneur who just arrived in Canada from Italy. In his home country he worked with EnLabs, the first business incubator in Rome. He was responsible for structuring and launching this new incubator and was instrumental in its early success. While at EnLabs, Guido worked with some of the largest venture capital firms in Europe. He was also focused on selection and providing guidance and mentorship to startups in the program. He helped to develop and nurture the startup culture in Rome, organizing events and conferences with international speakers like Carl Schramm, former president of the Kauffman Foundation.

Guido has a Masters Degree in Entrepreneurship from LUISS University in Rome where he wrote his thesis about business incubators and early stage companies.

Guido has already met with over a dozen companies in Ottawa and all have had very positive feedback on his advice and feedback.

So I urge you to book some time with him – he’ll buy coffee, and I guarantee it will be worth your time.

(photo cred to Design Sponge)

DemoCamp Ottawa is back!

I know, I know… it’s about time!!!  The next DemoCamp is set for March 28th at Mercury Grove.

You can signup to attend or present here.

Never been to a DemoCamp?  It’s the most fabulous event in Ottawa for meeting cool startups and entrepreneurs, and seeing some really awesome apps.  Anyone can grab the stage (actually it’s limited to 6 companies for time) and show you, their peers, their cool stuff with the hopes of getting feedback and tips on how to make it epic.  It’s kinda like the Dragon’s Den tv show without the dragons, the tv, and the pressure – oh, and its a lot of fun, there’s beer, and… ok, its not really like the Dragon’s Den at all – it’s more like a house party with some cool apps on a big screen.

Still… we’re hoping to shine a spotlight on new tech and we’ll have some people who have been asking us about where to invest all their money, so if you’re looking for some internet dough, let us know and we’ll make sure you get a chance to pitch.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Ottawa’s Coral CEA invests in four Toronto based startups

Coral CEA, a not-for-profit open innovation network based here in Ottawa, has invested $120,000 in four companies located at Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ). What is the DMZ? It’s a workplace and incubator designed for young entrepreneurs. It’s members have access to overhead and business services, which means students and alumni can fast track their product launches.

Companies involved in the investment include:

• ARB Labs Inc. designed a software application that that allows any video display to create an immersive 3D effect – without the need for goggles or glasses
• Greenguage Inc. developed a software tool for smartphone and Web that blends mobile technology with the green movement allowing monitoring of Corporate Social Responsibility efforts
• HitSend Inc. offers an online platform to enable and enhance community-based change by tapping into the community’s collective voice
• ViaFoura Inc. created a cloud-based plug and play user engagement and gaming platform for online content sites

 Check out what the DMZ is all about below:

IRAP’S VC Pitchfest and What It Means for Ottawa

Below is a guest post by friend and local entrepreneur Kyle McInnes, co-founder of Pretzil, who was a participant at the IRAP “PitchFest”.  The views are entirely his own and I exercised massive restraint by not changing some of his comments (but couldn’t resist the picture).

The IRAP pitchfest happened recently on Wednesday, February 8th at the new OCRI (now “Invest Ottawa”) building at 80 Aberdeen in Little Italy. I thought I’d summarise the event for those that couldn’t make it and provide a little insight into how I think the event could be improved.

When Scott first blogged on StartupOttawa about IRAP’s VC pitchfest, it obviously touched a nerve with IRAP and the Invest Ottawa crowd. During the whole application process and through the event, I probably heard it indirectly and directly referenced at least a few times. The post brings up some really valid criticisms of the pitchfest idea including the fact that there was zero transparency on the part of IRAP as to how they went about selecting companies to present. Scott’s criticism that IRAP’s mandate doesn’t include this kind of work is something I’d have to disagree with. IRAP’s explicit mandate is to “Help you grow stronger, grow faster, grow bigger through innovation and technology.” I would argue that IRAP bringing VCs to Ottawa is a clear way to fulfill its mandate.

Overall, the VC pitchfest was a fun event, but I take issue with the way it was managed. It was clear that IRAP is still figuring out how best to connect companies and investors, and as someone who went through the whole event, I can think of a few ways that it could have been run more effectively.

1. Selecting Companies – At the event, I spoke to one of the VCs in attendance to get his impression on the selection process. The VC told me that he hadn’t even been asked by IRAP or Invest Ottawa as to what kind of companies his fund was looking to invest in. Personally, I think it would have made far more sense for IRAP to ask the VCs what kind of companies they want to invest in, and then search Ottawa to connect those companies to the interested VCs.

2. Focus – The IRAP pitchfest had a wide variety of companies pitching. The pitchfest included companies pitching everything from intelligent video hardware to an online wedding registry service. It’s great to see the breadth of companies and talent here in Ottawa, but companies are more likely to get funded if you focus on an industry. IRAP needs to put hardware companies in front of investors who fund hardware companies and mobile companies in front of mobile-focused funds. This will surely increase the likelihood of someone getting funded.

3. Keep it private – The whole event was a little too public. Companies were expected to pitch to a group of investors in a room filled with other startups, IRAP representatives and Invest Ottawa employees. I’ve heard from numerous startups that have raised money that the most effective use of your time is to carefully handpick investors and meet with them to set milestones and expectations. Openly pitching to a group of investors that are possibly interested feels too much like a “spray and pray” versus “sniping” approach.

4. Feedback – IRAP was very eager to help the startups perfect their pitch. During the process, I had to do 2 mock presentations in front of a small IRAP committee as well as an IRAP rep came to my office before pitch day for a private consultation. It’s good to see IRAP so keen on helping but I would have liked to get feedback from real entrepreneurs rather than a panel of government employees. IRAP did a great job of bringing VCs into this pitchfest and it would have been helpful for them to bring in entrepreneurs with experience raising money to help the startups who were about to pitch.

The IRAP pitchfest addressed a clear issue that Ottawa has a hard time attracting VC funds to the city. IRAP proved that it can entice those investors to come to the city, but we need to make sure these investors are meeting talent they’re looking for. In the end, IRAP managed to bring almost a billion dollars to the city. IRAP should continue to work to bring this type of money to the city, but make better use of everyone’s time. For those looking to raise money, the following funds were present and worth researching:

Tandem Expansion Fund ($300M)
SummerHill Venture Partners ($200M)
Real Ventures ($25M)
Ontario Investment Accelerator Fund ($30M)
OMERS Ventures ($180M)
Extreme Venture Partners ($50)
BDC ($190M)

The next time Invest Ottawa and IRAP get involved in bringing companies and investors together, I’d like to see them connect investors and companies in a more structured, transparent and focused approach. The most important thing is that somebody gets funded, because it will send a message to other funds that Ottawa talent can’t be ignored. With enough investments, hopefully these funds will open Ottawa offices and create a strong investment community. That’s when we all win.

TiEQuest 2012 – $150k in Cash Prizes – Deadline in 5 days!

If you’re a startup looking to raise some startup capital, then it might be a good idea for you to start participating in a few Business Plan Competitions. TiEQuest 2012 is accepting registrations for another 5 days and they are giving away ~$150,000 worth of prizes. On top of all of the prizes to be won, you’ll also benefit from getting some visibility with investors (VCs & Angels), potential partners and customers.

TiEQuest is a great opportunity for startups and is less restrictive in it’s requirements than most business plan competitions…You don’t have to have students on your team and don’t have to have a “tech” business in order to participate in TiEQuest… i.e. lifestyle businesses are welcome to apply as well.

TiEQuest is also well known for doing a great job at assigning mentors to teams that participate. They have a large pool of mentors to choose from and will do their best to match your team to a mentor that is experienced in your industry.

You only need to submit a registration form in order to be entered into the first round by January 31st – i.e. you can have the rest of your entrance material ready by a later date – so if you have 15 minutes to spare, I would highly recommend participating in this contest!

Learn more about TiEQuest & Register Today!

Bootstrap Awards 2012 – Deadline Midnight Tonight!

It’s that time of the year again and the Bootstrap Awards are almost here! If you’re a startup, then you should apply as the deadline is tonight! The award ceremony is great fun as there are always amazing speakers and the whole process is an opportunity to get some visibility in the community (investors, media/blogs, prospective customers)…

If you haven’t applied yet, click here to apply now!

Local startup acquired: MediaMiser acquires InfoGlutton Solutions

A great Ottawa startup success story! You may recall we reported almost a year ago that MediaMiser had received $1Mil in funding, now the Ottawa media monitoring and analysis firm has annnounced its acquisition of Gatineau-based InfoGlutton.

Congrats!

Here’s the official news release:

MediaMiser acquires InfoGlutton Solutions

OTTAWA – MediaMiser, a media monitoring and analysis technology company, has acquired Gatineau-based social media and online reputation monitoring firm InfoGlutton Solutions.

The acquisition will provide MediaMiser with its own built-in, automated toning engine able to gauge the sentiment of news stories, tweets, blog posts and other content in multiple languages.

Previously, InfoGlutton’s technology had conducted online reputation management and social media listening specifically for the restaurant and hospitality industry. It was founded in 2009 and incubated via the Talent First Network’s Lead To Win program.

“This is our first acquisition and an extremely important one,” said MediaMiser CEO Brett Serjeantson. “Integrating InfoGlutton’s market-tested sentiment technology with MediaMiser’s own social media monitoring and analysis tools will help the company provide real-time, as-it-happens feedback to both large enterprises and SMEs.”

Mr. Serjeantson added the acquisition will allow MediaMiser to roll out a standalone social media product separate from its flagship software, MediaMiser Enterprise.

InfoGlutton co-founder and CEO David Nadeau, a PhD in computer sciences from the University of Ottawa, joins MediaMiser as Chief Science Officer.

“We see this opportunity as a chance to grow from a relatively small firm into a large company almost overnight,” said Mr. Nadeau. “Working within MediaMiser gives us the means to achieve our ambitions.”

MediaMiser is based in Ottawa and was founded in 2003.

Sam Zaid gives you a step-by-step plan for funding via StartupPlays.com

In case you haven’t heard, StartupPlays.com is the hottest “startup for startups” with an all-star lineup of successful entrepreneurs who share their founder recipes on how to do everything from getting amazing press for your startup (Adrian Salamunovic) to building a content strategy to drive millions of readers to your blog (Dan Martell).  Past and upcoming authors include Jeremy Olson (Tapity), Cameron Herold (1-800-GOT-JUNK), and Aaron Hall (DressRush, Member of 500 Startups).

Today we launched the newest Play with local startup celebrity Sam Zaid on how to raise money for your startup.  I had the chance to sit down with Sam (CEO of Getaround.com and winner of 2011 TechCrunch Disrupt) to talk startup funding and he had some great insights on how startups should structure their business and focus on milestones to make funding much more straightforward (and successful).

Here are some of the highlights:

• How to determine when you need money and alternative funding mechanisms
• Do your research and hand-pick investors that will be a good fit
• Setup milestones for your business.  Check with investors to see if they’re the right milestones
• How to know when you’ve nailed a pitch
• Tips on how to negotiate the best terms (and to get term sheets)

Raising money is a prerequisite for most startups – especially startups that want to scale and are working on the BIG idea.  If you’re launching a new startup or thinking about raising money in the future – you should buy this play NOW – not the night before your first pitch.

(note: I’m affiliated with the StartupPlays.com website… but I still think its ingenious!)

Hangin around with the smart people at Wherecloud

SWIX is hiring!

Now’s your chance!

We’re a fun-sized team, young at heart, passionate, and set on blowing the doors off this new market forming around social media! We typically hire talented people either right out of school or with a couple years on the job. There are few opportunities to kickstart your career like SWIX offers. Being a smaller, new company, you really get to have an impact on the group’s success, and gain exposure to a lot of things you wouldn’t normally be allowed to touch in a larger more bureaucratic company. We’ve got a great work environment set up here in the trendy Byward Market, both because of the lifestyle the Market offers, plus the incredible people we’ve hired so far.

We currently have open:

• 1 office admin
• 3 developers
• 1 inside sales

Check out our career page for the full scoop!