Check out Ottawa Startups!

Below is a video highlighting many of the amazing startups that you can find in Ottawa.  I’m constantly amazed at how many dynamic, awesome startups and entrepreneurs that we have in this city and I don’t think everyone is aware of just how many we have and how great they are.  For a (near) complete list of local startups, check out the Startup Directory – which we hope to improve over the next couple of weeks – or just sit back and enjoy this video!

We’re Crowdsourcing our new product name

Last week I wrote about the issues we were having after receiving a "Cease and Desist Letter" from a large company.  Based largely on the feedback on this blog, we have decided to "crowdsource" our product name and ask people of the startup community, and technology community at large to help us find a suitable alternative to "DEX".

I still think that this kind of reaction by all businesses needs to change.  While we have openly blogged about our process and as we try to develop our product collaboratively, some companies continue to pay a team of lawyers to “monitor the internet” and guard them against other people.  I think that lawyers and businesses need to update their “cease and desist” letters from aggressive and threatening warnings to “inform and engage” letters that seek to educate and engage their “potential competition” and their customers, and that they need to get involved in the ongoing dialog that is taking place – whether they are listening or not.

Please take a moment to suggest a name on our website and vote for the name that you think would be best.

Thanks.

Try to be Funny, Win a Shirt

I am sure everyone’s already heard about our "almost famous" t-shirt caption contest through our blog: Mercury Rising.

In case you haven’t, we are looking for witty captions we can place on t-shirts, mugs, posters, billboards, airplane banners, baseball game megatrons, etc…

You, being one of my wittiest friends, have a better than average chance of submitting the best caption!

So if you could take just a minute to read the blog post, and offer your best one-liner in the comments section below, I’ll send you one of the very first dex t-shirts(!)

Here is the site: http://mercurygrove.com/blog/160

And if you have other funny friends who love to compete and could use more classic shirts, please send them the link.

Thanks a lot for your help – and best of luck!