By Francis Moran
Startup Canada, the grassroots campaign that is seeking to foster a more entrepreneurial culture in Canada, today launched its most audacious initiative so far with the creation in 15 different cities across the country of Startup Canada Communities, a combination of online and in-person networks intended to give entrepreneurs swifter and more immediate local access to all the resources needed to start a new venture.
We’ve been enthusiastic backers of Startup Canada from its very inception, and as I attended town hall meetings and other events across the country last summer and fall, one consistent theme sounded by entrepreneurs everywhere was that they needed both a one-stop clearing house for information about all the programs and resources available to them and a network through which they could connect with other entrepreneurs, with mentors and with all the other elements of the startup ecosystem.
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By Leo Valiquette
In my various engagements as a freelance writer and marketing communications consultant, I often find myself working with the clients of a client.
It’s a situation that adds a whole new dimension to the relationship between service provider and client. Not only are you serving the needs of that primary client, but now you are also in the role of their ambassador; how you conduct yourself with their clients reflects on them.
For me, this typically manifests itself in this way: My primary client is providing a service to its clients which includes my services as writer and consultant. This most often involves situations where a media outlet is selling advertorial space (in other words, content marketing space) to their advertisers and I come in to help those advertisers fill that space with strong and effective content. There can be quite stringent deadlines to meet and my role is that of project manager as much as it is writer to herd the cats and ensure the job gets done on time.
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By Francis Moran
I doubt if there’s a single business ever that hasn’t been asked at some point or other to discount its prices. For startups, it’s almost an inevitable part of the process in bringing their technology to market. There are pros and cons to discounting but, as you can probably guess from the headline, I’m not a big fan.
Here are some circumstances where discounting most often comes into play.
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By Leo Valiquette
Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with several individuals who reminded me how much a natural part of doing business it should be for philanthropy and giving back in some way to the community that sustains you.
At VLN Advanced Technologies, founder Mohan Vijay spent 13 years fighting uphill to commercialize his company’s forced-pulse waterjet technology. When at last his ship came in, the 75-year-old immediately redirected much of his company’s new profitability into the VLN Reach Foundation. Through his foundation, Vijay supports the Make A Wish Foundation, the Ottawa-Carleton Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, the Brain Injury Association of Canada and Propeller Dance, and also makes cash donations to many other charities each year.
But most inspiring of all is his ambitious plan to create a sustainable funding model for worthy charities that struggle year after year to muster sufficient funding. He wants to construct a mixed-use development that operates on a not-for-profit basis, with any net profits donated to charity. The site could be used for almost anything: a convention centre, a retail space, commercial office space, condos or some combination thereof. But the most jaw-dropping aspect of his plan is the physical shape that he wants the building to take.
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By Francis Moran
It doesn’t have much to do with bringing technology to market but today’s post is one I’ve been meaning to write for a while. Having spent the last two weeks travelling across three continents, six time zones and nearly 20,000 miles, it seemed appropriate that I tackle it today. A lot of entrepreneurs and startup CEOs become reluctant road warriors as they raise funding and meet with customers who can be globally distributed. If today’s post helps stretch your scarce travel dollars while making things less stressful, then I will have done well.
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