DP: What’s the core mission of Startup Calgary?

Arpad: It’s core mission is to foster a stronger ICT startup community. It is an association run by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. While reaching out to the extended community for support and partnerships, at its core, its focus is on the startup entrepreneurs.

DP:  Can you talk about some of the challenges Canadian entrepreneurs face?

Arpad: Startup entrepreneurs in Canada definitely are facing a number of challenges. A primary challenge across the country is access to seed capital. Another is access to mentors and advisors who are experienced in the tech space who can provide guidance and direction for startups to make smart decisions.  Startup Calgary will help address these challenges by raising the profile of the tech startup community, and by being the chosen forum for entrepreneurs to connect with each other and to others who can help such as  A100, C100, and investors.

DP: You just launched a company this week. Tell us a little bit about Mobizou.

Arpad: Mobizou is a SaaS service that enables merchants to easily create offers and surveys and seamlessly distribute content across multiple channels – including mobile, Twitter, Facebook and the Web. Merchants can now engage their customers in a targeted way, driving foot traffic to their stores and decreasing their marketing budgets with better results. The market opportunity is significant. As Smartphone adoption rates amongst consumers continue to grow, more and more brands are shifting significant marketing resources to reach these users. Mobizou is well-positioned to ride this growth.