In a speech entitled “Canada’s innovation conundrum“, Conference Board of Canada President and CEO Anne Golden has praise for Waterloo Region, and concern for Canada’s future.

At the root of her concern is this nation’s productivity gap, the gulf that isolates our research and ingenuity from the jobs, wealth and centrifugal spin-off of commercial enterpise. She goes on to tackle the overt and transparent issues that contribute to Canada’s innovation surfeit, earning us the dubious honour of 14th place among 17 developed nations.

But the fact is that the so-called “technology research triangle” of Kitchener/Waterloo-Cambridge-Guelph, home of the BlackBerry inventor, Research-in-Motion, accounts for about two-thirds of Canada’s high-tech start-ups(click for source).

Golden’s speech is far too long to summarize here, nor is it the proper forum. But her three priorities are worth noting.

Priority One: Canada’s governments, working with industry, should support a small number of targeted niche areas where Canada can grow globally competitive high-tech industries.

Priority Two: Governments should invest strategically in the infrastructure of Canada’s major cities where most innovation occurs

Priority Three: We should boost business investment (incl. venture capital) in R&D and state-of-the-art equipment.

Can Canada acquire this kind of entrepreneurial spirit? An interesting question, much debated. In his study of the evolution of the Canadian character The Unfinished Canadian, Andrew Cohen (President of The Historica-Dominion Institute) argues that we are a country that likes to cut off its tall poppies, a country that resents rather than celebrates its success.

So I present two questions to you: What makes Waterloo Region thrive entrepreneurially, and what can Canada do to spur innovation?

Posted in Digital media, Funding, News, SME, Startups, Waterloo Region Tech, cambridge | 6 Comments »

Our venture services group works with dozens of young companies (surprisingly, not always run by young entrepreneurs) as part of Communitech’s mandate to help tech companies “Start, grow, and succeed.”

In addition to mentoring and making business *cough* funding connections, they’ve also started reaching out with news and links through their monthly newsletter.

Here’s a peek at their August offering. You can expect this to grow in richness and relevancy, if not in frequency.

Like it? Get it hand-delivered to your inbox for the low-low price of “free 99″.

The email won’t fit in this blog, so you can either click this link or the image on the right to see it.

And yes, we know that the Perspecsys interview isn’t with the CEO, it’s with the COO. We’re sorry. We goof sometimes, but we try hard.

Posted in Digital media, Startups, Waterloo Region Tech | No Comments »

There’s a conversation on our LinkedIn group around Angel financing in Waterloo Region (and to some extent, beyond). Since the topic is near and dear to local companies, I thought I’d invite those with expertise or experience to share what they know.

For example, Craig Haney writes:

“There are a number of angels in the K-W area that have successfully funded entrepreneurs. I have been involved with many of them through the MBET program at the University of Waterloo.”

What can you add? What’s the ecosystem like for angels and angel financing here? What are the Do’s and Don’ts? (startups, check out Dan Mathers’ interview on the subject)

Replying to the thread on LinkedIn requires both an LinkedIn account and that you join the Communitech group, so feel free to comment here if you don’t want the hassle.

Posted in Dan Mathers, Funding, Startups, Waterloo Region Tech | No Comments »

Our Venture Services Group is looking to add an Executive-in-Residence (EiR) with expertise in mobile, wireless and/or digital media.

What an Executive-in-Residence does

EiRs work one-on-one with early-stage and emerging tech companies in Waterloo Region, offering them the benefit of hard-earned business savvy and connecting them (through our Venture Services Group) to the many operational and technological resources they need to succeed.

This is an opportunity to help passionate entrepreneurs bring their big ideas to fruition (and stop them from making your mistakes), refresh your own networks, and add to the region’s business ecosystem.

Please visit our Venture Services page for more information.

This is a part-time part or full-time position.

About you

You should have CEO-level experience leading a sizable tech company or have founded at least one significant venture. Most of our EiRs have held senior industry roles or have several past ventures on their C.V.. Extensive experience raising capital, P&L responsibility, corporate leadership, etc are nice-to-haves.

The current team consists of Chris Howlett, Dan Mathers, David Strucke, Mark McArdle and Amol Karnick.

If you fit the bill or know someone who does, please contact Dan Mathers.

Posted in Chris Howlett, Dan Mathers, Digital media, Startups, The HUB, Waterloo Region Tech | No Comments »

Waterloo Region has a lot of tech — and we can prove it.

Our freshly minted Tech Directory catalogues over 700 organizations across the area’s flourishing eco-system.

This online version of our directory allows you to zoom in and out for reading and/or skimming, and to skip to the sections you’re interested in. Most hyperlinks, (for example those in the company taxonomies) are clickable.

Not ‘just’ Tech

The Tech Directory lists contact information for a number of industries and sectors. The full list includes:

• Academia
• Associations
• Consultants


Inside: Communitech EiR Dan Mathers talks about startup funding

• Finance
• Government
• Insurance
• IT Services
• Legal
• Media
• Real Estate
• Services and Suppliers
• Talent Resources
• Venture Capital and Private Equity

Posted in Dan Mathers, Funding, Startups, The HUB, Waterloo Region Tech | No Comments »