This is the 19th article in a continuing series that examines the state of the ecosystem necessary to successfully bring technology to market. Based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business leaders, academics, tech-transfer experts and policy makers, this series looks at what is working and what can be improved in the go-to-market ecosystem in the United States, Canada and Britain. We invite your feedback.
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
Throughout this series, we have often referenced startup accelerators and the important role they play in the commercialization ecosystem, as well as where government support fits into the equation. So we thought it was time to take a closer look at these entities by profiling three different ones from Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
We continue this week with TechStars, a mentorship-driven seed-stage investment program that operates three-month sessions in Seattle, Boulder, Boston and New York. We caught up with Nicole Glaros, managing director of TechStars Boulder, to talk about what has made the program successful, how it works and why it chose the cities it did in which to operate.
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As part of our ongoing series examining the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market, we asked Carleton University’s Tony Bailetti to share his thoughts on regional economic development and common pitfalls startup technology companies can avoid. This is the first of his commentaries and we welcome your feedback.
By Tony Bailetti
When bringing technology to market, a supplier typically produces a set of sound bites in order to feature and describe how its products and services benefit potential customers, partners and investors. A sound bite is a very short piece of information considered to be an important feature the supplier wishes current and potential stakeholders to remember. Sound bites also serve as points of emphasis in a supplier’s message to individuals and organizations in the business ecosystem in which the company operates.
The marketing collateral of 12 local technology companies distributed over the last four months was examined and it is evident that the quality of sound bites needs significant improvement. A technology company that is serious about commercializing its products and services needs to produce a set of high-quality sound bites.
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This is the 18th article in a continuing series that examines the state of the ecosystem necessary to successfully bring technology to market. Based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business leaders, academics, tech-transfer experts and policy makers, this series looks at what is working and what can be improved in the go-to-market ecosystem in the United States, Canada and Britain. We invite your feedback.
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
Throughout this series, we have often referenced startup accelerators and the important role they play in the commercialization ecosystem, as well as where government support fits into the equation. So we thought it was time to take a closer look at these entities by profiling three different ones from Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
This week, we start with Waterloo’s five-year-old Accelerator Centre. We recently spoke with Tim Jackson, COO of the AC, about the role that this kind of organization plays in the process of getting technology to market, what makes it tick, the culture required to support it and how it measures success. What follows is an abridged transcript of our conversation.
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This is the 17th article in a continuing series that examines the state of the ecosystem necessary to successfully bring technology to market. Based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business leaders, academics, tech-transfer experts and policy makers, this series looks at what is working and what can be improved in the go-to-market ecosystem in the United States, Canada and Britain. We invite your feedback.
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
Over the past couple of weeks, we have explored where and how government can facilitate the process of commercialization to help technology entrepreneurs get their products to market. Throughout this series, we have talked about the entrepreneurial right stuff and the value of those soft skills collectively referred to as emotional intelligence.
But where does good old-fashioned formal education fit into all of this? What role does, and should, a person’s alma mater play in the formation of the next generation of entrepreneurs?
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As part of our ongoing series examining the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market, we asked Andrew Fisher, executive vice-president at Wesley Clover, to share his insights on public policy issues and the culture of entrepreneurship. This is the second of his commentaries and we welcome your feedback.
By Andrew Fisher
As someone who engages with entrepreneurs, investors, bureaucrats and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, it is clear to me that we don’t stimulate and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit in Canada and the U.K.
In my previous post, I questioned whether Canada’s rich buffet of government subsidies for technology companies, subsidies that focus far more on research than they do on commercialization, in fact weaken the entire eco-system. We need to support and encourage commercialization, an essential part of innovation, with tweaks to our current models that will also weed out those companies that use government subsidies as a crutch rather than doing what it takes to become a viable going concern.
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By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
