By Daylin Mantyka
Every Friday we summarize the top articles we read over the week. This week, we loved articles that were published on Entrepreneur, Gigaom, Fast Company, Spin Sucks and memeburn.
First up, an article about the perks of working for a small business rather than corporate giants, followed by a post on raising $2 million online. Third, a piece on how stories can be infectious. Finally, we’ve got an advice post on how PR professionals can become better makers and last, a piece that introduces the concept of feature-market fit.
Startup perks Wal-Mart and Amazon can never offer
In this article, Gene Marks asks how small businesses can compete with corporate giants for talented employees. To him, the answer is easy. Although small businesses may not be able to offer the money, benefits or sex appeal of the big guys, they can offer less bureaucracy, greater flexibility and a family away from family.
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By Francis Moran
TiE, one of the largest networks of entrepreneurs and business people in the world, is bringing its legendary networking conference, TiECon, to Canada for the first time ever next week. I’ve been to a couple of TiECon events in Boston and am looking forward to the combination of inspirational speakers and full-contact networking when TiECon Canada rolls into Ottawa on Thursday and Friday.
More than 45 speakers will make presentations over the two-day event, with Thursday’s activities taking place at City Hall in downtown Ottawa and Friday’s at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata, nicely catering to the two main centres of entrepreneurial activity in this city. Headlining the list of speakers are keynotes Vivek Wadhwa from Singularity University; Paul Singh, a venture partner at 500 Startups (and doubtless less profane than his colleague Dave McClure); TiE Global chairman Ashok Rao; Bluecat Networks founder Michael Hyatt; Brad Loiselle, Author of Keep Moving 4ward; and Montreal’s Julien Smith, founder of Breather.com, who will speak at the closing gala Friday evening.
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By Anil Dilawri 
I deal with lots of executives who are good presenters — in some cases, really good presenters. But, they choose to work with a presentation coach because they want to become remarkable presenters. Remarkable presentations are memorable and inspiring, and they cause the audience to take action.
Inevitably, during an executive’s career, he or she is required to deliver a monumental presentation — to land that big contract, to attract that strategic investor, to solidify oneself as the right leader for the job. This is when delivering a good presentation isn’t good enough. Something special is needed.
Being a remarkable presenter is hard work. It takes lots of time, effort, and resources. The payback is huge and in some cases game-changing. Here are just a couple of ideas for getting from great to remarkable:
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By Daylin Mantyka
It’s Friday again, which means we’ve compiled a short list of the top articles we read and loved this week. Compliments of Business 2 Community, The Globe and Mail, VentureBeat and Marketo, these posts were shared extensively throughout the startup and marketing communities.
First up, an article that reminds us about the definition of copywriting, followed by a post on crowdfunding in Canada. Third, we’ve selected a highly-shared article that challenges the notion of the lean startup methodology. Next, a post that explores how a background in physics can help with a career in marketing. We conclude with an optimistic outlook for the Canadian tech scene.
What is copywriting and why is it not content marketing?
Julia Spence reminds us that although copywriting and content marketing are often used in the same context, they aren’t synonymous with one another. This post is a good refresher on what copywriting is and what a copywriter does.
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By Daylin Mantyka
We’re startup-heavy this week for Friday’s roundup and have selected some great content from Forbes, Entrepreneur, ZDNet, the Globe and Mail and The Kernel.
We’ve got two great articles on raising capital and growing your business. We found an interesting post about dealing with non-performers in your company and another about finding that perfect investor for your startup. Finally, we’ve selected an interesting post on marketing: Was it a stealthy marketing stunt or was it a spy’s wallet that was found on a London train?
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