By Linda Forrest
This past weekend, my family went to the Canada Science & Technology Museum. I’m ashamed to admit that I hadn’t been there since I participated many, many moons ago in Encounters with Canada, but was pleasantly surprised that some of the things I remembered and liked were still there but that most of the museum had been updated since my last visit, nearly 20 years ago.
My young son marvelled at the train cars and the space exhibits, but the display that most moved me and will always stay with me is that of the Phoenix capsule, the feat of engineering and proof of the power of human determination that carried 33 trapped Chilean miners from over 2,300 feet below ground to the surface as the world watched. The men had survived for a record 69 days underground.
When we initially made plans to go to the museum, we didn’t know that the capsule would be there. It’s a travelling exhibit and kudos to whomever was responsible for getting Ottawa on the tour.
Read More
This is the 11th 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
“Companies that can’t clearly articulate their customer and market are not real serious companies, they are research projects … Engineering and marketing need to work together from the get go.”
We began this series a couple of months ago with this timeless quote from Band of Angels’ Ronald Weissman. It strikes to the heart of what all of us here take as gospel.
Read More
This is the 10th 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
As we have said before, entrepreneurs must have a vision that will stretch the boundaries of what they know and challenge what they believe is attainable. They must be willing to seek the outside counsel and feedback that will reveal the weaknesses in themselves, their teams, their technology and their paths to market. It’s difficult to overcome a weakness if you haven’t recognized and acknowledged it.
We conclude our Words of Wisdom string today by looking once again at the human factor and the right stuff that individual entrepreneurs and management teams need to succeed. There is no denying that the greatness of an organization is defined by its people. But how do you ensure that you are making the right hires?
Read More
By Alexandra Reid
The acquisition of the social media-monitoring platform Radian6 by enterprise cloud computing company Salesforce for $326 million made headlines this week as a major win for the Canadian venture capital and startup community.
Radian6 is a prime example of how a startup can be successful by establishing itself as a leader in a relatively unknown and risky space. Social media monitoring platforms are still far from perfect and were in their infancy when Radian6 entered the market. The huge acquisition also supports the argument that entrepreneurs should build their companies to sell, even if they haven’t the slightest ambition to do so.
Allow me to elaborate.
Read More
This post is by Associate Peter Hanschke, an Ottawa-based product management specialist. Peter’s post is part of our continuing series about the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market. We welcome your comments.
By Peter Hanschke
Here’s the situation: Your development team is busy creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). You have people off in all directions trying to secure some funding. But do you have a Market Validation Plan? Furthermore, are you executing this plan along with all the other activities? In other words, is this an activity that you are currently performing?
As the name suggests, a Market Validation Plan (another MVP for those who like TLAs) is about reaching out to your target market to determine whether:
- The market likes your product or product concept
- The market is willing to buy your product when you have it ready
Read More
