Bootup Entrepreneurial Society
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- Beers with Brad Feld (April 22, 2009)
- Co Founder Speed Dating (June 2, 2009)
- DemoCamp Vancouver 07 Social Platforms Edition (July 7th, 2009)
- How to Talk to Lawyers Presented by LexPublica (July 14, 2009)
- UNITY 3D: “The Future of Web and Mobile Gaming” (July 24th, 2009)
- Intro to Unity 3D Workshop (July, 25th, 2009)
- California Market Access Bootcamp – Vancouver Edition (September 14, 2009)
- DemoCamp Vancouver 09 (Oct. 22, 2009)
- Mentor Mixer with Paul Kedrosky (November 19, 2009)
- How to Build a Web App Business (November 25, 2009)
- One-on-Ones with Sumit Mahawar, Bus. Relationship Mgr at Plug & Play (November 25th, 09)
- Conversation with Jonathan Ehrlich (December 4th, 2009)
- User Experience Workshop with MySpace’s VP Product, Mike Macadaan (January 19, 2010)
- DemoCamp Vancouver 10 (March 4, 2010)
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Bootup Demo Days Vancouver
Posted by Maura Rodgers in Uncategorized on January 29th, 2010
Our first Bootup Demo Days took place yesterday, January 28 at the Hyatt in Vancouver. Danny Robinson, kicked the event off with a brief background on Bootup Labs and the Seed Fund/Accelerator options available to early stage Internet entrepreneurs. (Oh, how I wish I had the option of applying at Bootup Labs or Techstars when I started my first company but that is an entirely different post! )
The companies have spent the past month getting ready for Demo Days including one-on-one pitch prep with local mentors Dean Prelazzi of BCIC, Rizwan Kheraj of NRC/IRAP, Boris Wertz of W Media Ventures and Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director of Garage Ventures. So, when the founders finally took the stage yesterday – their pitches were tight.
Big shoutout to all of the mentors for their help and Guy Kawasaki for taking the time to fly up from CA to spend time with each company. I have seen Guy speak at events and online before but this time, I got to see him in action. AND it was awesome. He went through every pitch deck slide-by-slide. He reminded all of the presenters that they had 30 seconds… 30 seconds to explain the problem and the solution.
Oh, and cut out the BS. Keep it simple. In other words, if you have Monetization Engine or Performance Based like words in your presentation, DELETE.
Many Thanks
With the support of IRAP and partners like BCIC, and Clark Wilson, we were successfully able to make Bootup Demo Days. Thanks for helping us grow the startup ecosystem here.
Next Stop => SFO
We are hitting the road for Demo Days in Silicon Valley next week. If you are an investor interested in attending Bootup Demo Days, you can sign up and join us at Plug & Play Tech Centre in Sunnyvale on February 3, 2010 at 9am.
On February 4, Sonia scheduled a tour of the Digg offices in the afternoon and is really hoping she gets to meet Kevin Rose.
February 5, there is a Startup Canadians in the Valley Meetup brewing at the Gallery Lounge in SF. More details to come.
Event Announcement: Mentor Speed Dating! Feb 10th
Posted by Simon Wilson in Events on January 19th, 2010
Vancouver’s technology scene is thriving! But who among us has the time to stop and find that special someone? With all the challenges of working on a technology startup, it’s hard to find Mr.-or-Mrs. Right (now?)!
The Bootup Entrepreneurial Society is looking to help.
Not sure where to find that advisor you’ve been seeking? Mentor Speed Dating may be just the event you’re looking for. If you are a startup-phase company with a problem you need help solving, clear up some space on your calendar for two hours on the morning of Wednesday, February 10th. Bootup is looking to help connect thirty local companies with interested mentors.
The format for the event will follow the speed dating model — after giving a brief introduction to the attendees, each mentor will hear from the companies.
The goal of Mentor Speed Dating is to set follow-up ‘dates’ between mentors and companies.
Companies should expect to come to Mentor Speed Dating prepared with a one-minute summary of the company, founders, and product. Additionally, companies should have a good grasp of the areas where the mentors can help them — legal, fundraising, technology, business development, sales, accounting, etc.; advice particular to a specific problem. Or two!
Mentors at the event will have a two-minute bio prepared which highlights what companies can expect from their expertise, and be ready to keep track of the companies they meet for follow up after the event.
Mentor Speed Dating is NOT a Q&A session or a venture capital pitch forum! Our goal is to focus on the meetings as a means to stimulate the local startup ecosystem.
Here’s how you can get involved: visit http://mentors.bootup.ca and fill out a brief profile, and then show up the morning of February 10th.
Who: Startup-phase Companies and Mentors
When: 8-10 AM, Wednesday February 10th
What: Mentor Speed Dating
Why: Connect mentors with startup companies. Come to the event prepared to find opportunities!
How: Register at http://mentors.bootup.ca!
Jan 2010 Bootup Demo Days Companies Selected
Posted by Maura Rodgers in Demo Days, Events, News on January 17th, 2010
Congratulations to the companies selected to participate in the Bootup Demo Days. All companies will present at the Canadian Financing Forum on January 28th, and again at a special event at the Plug and Play Tech Centre in Silicon Valley on February 3rd.
- Coincidence Labs: a stealth social commerce platform, with Giftolicious being the first platform app
- Mobify: a hosted platform for publishers to provide mobile views of their content
- Strutta: a hosted promotion platform that makes for easy online contests
- Unbounce: self-serve hosted landing pages with A/B testing and no developers required
The selected companies will give 10 minute investment presentations in front of angel and early stage investors, and will be joined by the 2009 graduating class from the Bootup Labs portfolio.
Are you an investor interested in attending or a member of the press wanting to cover the event? Please sign up to attend »
Companies and entrepreneurs interested in future opportunities like this, make sure you are subscribed to the Bootup Startup Event Notification List.
New Year, New Office
As some of you may know the folks at Bootup Labs, Bootup Entrepreneurial Society and Strutta spent last weekend moving to our new digs, quite fine digs if I say so myself.
2010 is starting to smell really good as our new office is equipped with a full kitchen where resident foodie Boris Mann has already started to whip us up some delicious Bacon & Egger sandwiches and pizza!
Here’s a short video Jordan and I created touring our new office.
Come on by and visit us at our new office for a tour. I might even whip you up some butter chicken!
*Post written by Sonia*
Bootup Partners with BCIC to Support and Promote Startup Ecosystem
Posted by Maura Rodgers in Press, Uncategorized on December 21st, 2009
At our Paul Kedrosky mentor event on November 19, we announced a BCIC/Bootup partnership before Paul’s talk. Since then, the ink has dried and I have had the pleasure of interacting and working with many members of the BCIC team including “the Deans,” Lin Kishore and Lindsay Thom. Both organizations are committed to helping build a strong startup ecosystem that encourages innovation and offers digital media entrepreneurs the potential for long term success.
“Bootup Entrepreneurial Society fulfills an instrumental role in the acceleration of technology start-ups to competitively position British Columbia in today’s global technology space,” said Dean Rockwell, CEO of BCIC. “BCIC is dedicated to develop entrepreneurial talent and to drive the commercialization of technologies and we are pleased to partner with BES in their efforts to make our province a desirable place to found and build digital media start-ups.”
Through this partnership, BES plans to expand its International Mentorship Program to include regular talks and workshops by leading business development and marketing experts. In addition, BES will work closely with BCIC to raise awareness of BC’s burgeoning digital media startup community locally and abroad.
Wantit.bootup.ca
On top of that, we really want to hear from you. We started wantit.bootup.ca last month to get your feedback and suggestions. Two of the ideas posted on the Wantit site are already in motion:
- Mentor Speed Dating – Mack Flavelle of Compass Engine has come forward to organize a Mentor Speed Dating event on February 10. If you are interested in being a mentor or looking for mentorship, please sign up at mentors.bootup.ca and Mack will get in touch with you.
- University Connect Program – Jon Chui is working on a plan to support student entrepreneurs. More information to come.
Go to Wantit.bootup.ca if you want to add or vote for your favorite suggestion. If you want to help make some of these things happen like Mack and Jon, please contact me or comment below.
Bootup Demo Days Announced
Posted by Maura Rodgers in Demo Days, Events, News on December 10th, 2009
The Bootup Entrepreneurial Society is teaming up with Bootup Labs, in partnership with BCIC to host the first Bootup Demo Days event.
Demo Days is a pre-paid, 2-part, pitch event, for 10 early stage BC start-ups, who are ready to pitch their company to an audience of sophisticated pre-screened investors. Part 1 will be in Vancouver, and part 2 will be in Silicon Valley. In addition to the 5 portfolio companies from Bootup Labs, a BES advisory panel will review and select 5 additional digital media companies from BC.
Part 1 – Vancouver Demo Days – January 28th, 2010
We’re partnering with the Canadian Financing Forum to integrate our Demo Days event within the Financing Forum schedule. The Canadian Financing Forum will be taking place on January 28th, 2010, and has two presenting streams; Information Technology and Cleantech. Bootup will be running a dedicated track for early stage digital media companies in the afternoon from 1:30-4:30pm, followed by a joint reception with the Canadian Financing Forum. Qualified investors who are only interested in attending the Bootup track, may register free of charge.
Part 2 – Silicon Valley Demo Days – February 3, 2010
On February 3, Bootup will be hitting the road and heading to Silicon Valley with the same 10 companies that presented in Vancouver. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to showcase our best companies in front of world-class VC and Angel investors. We will be releasing the list of RSVP investors to the selected companies as we get them.
Company Selection Process
Digital Media companies that are interested in this opportunity need to complete our online application form by December 23, 2009. To be eligible, companies must have already received an initial seed investment of at least $30K. All applications will be reviewed by our Selection Panel.
<< — COMPANIES APPLY HERE – >>
The package includes one-on-one pitch prep with local mentors, accommodations and airfare from YVR to SFO, and introductions to local and International investors.
Investor Only Event
The Bootup Demo Days event is open, free of charge, to interested Investors, participating companies and press. Investors are asked to register for the Bootup Demo Days Event. Investors are also encouraged to also register to attend the Canadian Financing Forum in the morning.
“Facebook’s #1 Marketing Plan: Build An Awesome Experience” with Jonathan Ehrlich, Director of Consumer Marketing
Posted by Jon Chui in Events, International Mentor Program on December 7th, 2009
Jonathan Erhlich, Director of Consumer Marketing at Facebook, was in town last friday to talk about effective product marketing. Set in the intimate Harbor View Room at Steamworks, it was an energetic & engaging talk. In the words of Boris Mann:
“Jonathan is rocking the room – forcing people to pay attention, think & respond” – @bmann
However, the comedic highlight of the evening occurred after Jonathan told the room that “Facebook ads work.” To which someone replied:
“Ads convert fans, but I can’t eat fans. Any tips on converting fans into money?”
Even Jonathan had to laugh at that.
Though it’s easy to summarize the key points as follows:
- Build something great.
- Acquire and engage users intelligently.
- Iterate like hell.
It simply does not do Jonathan justice. Therefore, read on if you want to hear those key points fleshed out with more salient quotes and examples, as well as Jonathan’s response on how to convert fans into revenue.
Mentor Mixer with Paul Kedrosky
Posted by dannyrobinson in International Mentor Program, Uncategorized on December 1st, 2009
This Week in Tech Events – November 30-Dec.4, 2009
Posted by Maura Rodgers in Events, Uncategorized on November 30th, 2009
November has been a busy one! As we move into December, I think tech events will take a back seat to company holiday parties. But before the season kicks itself in high gear, there are a few events on our calendar this week you may want to check out:
FutureHosting – Presented by GigaOm & Peer 1
- Wednesday, December 3rd
- 9:30am
- http://livestream.com/gigaomTV/
BC Innovation Council Soundboard: Legal Speak-Easy with Clark Wilson
- Thursday, December 3rd
- 3:00pm
- The Lion’s Pub – 888 West Cordova Street
- Free
- Saturday, December 5th
- 8:30-5pm
- Vancouver Film School Downtown
- Free
Bootup presents a Marketing Conversation with Jonathan Ehrlich
- Friday, December 4
- 3-5pm
- Harbour View Room, Steamworks – 375 Water Street
- $20
-
Events- Feb 10, 2010: Mentor Speed Dating at To Be Determined
- Mar 13, 2010: CloudCamp Vancouver at Discovery Parks
- Feb 15, 2010: Founders & Funders Toronto at TBD
- Apr 7, 2010: F5 Expo at Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre
- Jun 15, 2010: NXNE Interactive at The Hyatt Regency Toronto
- Apr 15, 2010: Launch Party Vancouver 9 at To Be Determined
- Launch Party Posts
- Under the Launch Party – our hottest event yet! September 19, 2009by Maura Rodgers (@Maurar) Another Launch Party is under our belt. Our 8th Launch Party to be exact. Aside from finding a venue with a PA system that doesn’t make us sound like Charlie Brown’s Teacher or has sufficient AC to keep all 400+ of us a little cooler, I would call it a success. I enjoyed seeing many familiar faces as well as meeting visitors from […]
- AND the LPV8 winners are… September 17, 2009The results are in and it’s time to announce the winners in the LPV8 Startup Contest. A panel of 8 Judges casted their votes for the “Startup Most Likely to Succeed” and awarded Hootsuite. From Judge Gary Yurkovich’s comments: “For social marketers, this is a great platform. Almost mandatory to have something like this when managing multiple Twitter accounts […]
- Under the Launch Party – our hottest event yet! September 19, 2009