Mentor Monday registration

Registration for the Toronto Mentor Monday is now open. 

Date:        February 6, 2012

Location:  KPMG Offices, 333 Bay Street, 46th Floor, Toronto

Time:       3:00 to 6:00 pm

Click here to register.  Please use the password “Innovation”.  Registration is limited.

Digital Puck is back!

Digital Puck is back in 2012 with an additional sponsor, more regional events and more content!

Digital Puck was started in 2010 to create a forum for senior Canadian technology executives to connect with each other, and connect with the Silicon Valley eco-system.  In 2012, OMERS Ventures joins Bridgescale Partners, BDC, KPMG, Northleaf, and Bennett Jones LLP in bringing Digital Puck events and content to Digital Puck members (now numbering >700). 

There are two ways to stay in the loop: subscribe to email on www.digitalpuck.ca and/or join the group “Digital Puck” on Linkedin.  Events like Mentor Monday, the Silicon Valley CEO Conference and ad hoc presentations with senior technology executives will be announced on Digital Puck with event registration on www.digitalpuck.ca. 

Kick-starting 2012, please watch for an announcement about our February Mentor Monday event in Toronto.  We will be taking Mentor Monday on the road in 2012 with events being planned for Vancouver (after a very good turnout last year), Ottawa and Montreal.

2011 was a great year for technology outcomes in Canada and 2012 promises to be even better!

Check out the Canadian Startup Award finalists and vote for your favourite

With so many talented entrepreneurs and innovative startups right here in Canada, Techvibes deemed it a necessity to recognize, honour, and celebrate these people and their companies. Presented by KPMG, The First Annual Canadian Startup Awards will do that.

Techvibes received well over 1,000 nominations across the six categories via comment, email and tweet. So the finalists were determined by you, our readers. In the case of the overall startup category we weren’t able to narrow if down to three finalists which demonstrates the high quality of the current crop of Canadian startups.

Voting is open until 11:59pm PST on Tuesday, January 17th and the winners will be announced on Friday, January 20th. One vote per person.

Read more and vote!

CIX announces Canada’s most innovative tech companies

The Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) today announced this year’s Top 20 most innovative Canadian companies in information and communications technology and digital media. The finalists will present live at CIX on Dec. 1, at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto.

The 2011 CIX Top 20 are: Continue reading »

KPMG and DigitalPuck.ca partner for AlwaysOn Venture Summit

DigitalPuck.ca and KPMG are teaming up for the AlwaysOn Venture Summit Silicon Valley 2011, to be held at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay from Dec. 12-14th.We have negotiated a special $595 show ticket discount for DigitalPuck.ca members. Click on http://www.aonetwork.com/cart/add/p68771?destination=cart to take advantage of this great deal

The Venture Summit kicks off with an AlwaysOn golf outing Dec. 12th at the Half Moon Bay resort’s Ocean Golf Course. The tee off time is at 11 am and is restricted to Venture Summit Silicon Valley attendees.

Continue reading »

Network at Vancouver’s “Buzz Event” Nov. 24

Toronto’s Matt Golden on early-stage investing and his new fund

Matt Golden invests in early-stage mobile startups. Before starting Toronto-based Golden Venture Partners last June, he was an advisor to Five Mobile, which was acquired by Zynga in July 2011. For two years, he was a partner with the BlackBerry Partners Fund.

He also co-founded Tira Wireless and was an associate with Brightspark Ventures. Golden Venture Partners has made investments in Guardly, Wattpad and Yesware, with additional deals to be announced over the coming months.

Here’s our interview with Matt:

DigitalPuck.ca: You’ve always worked in the mobile space as an advisor, entrepreneur or investor. Can you discuss your history and some of your successes? Continue reading »

Pre-CIX hockey game is back!

Wave Accounting’s Kirk Simpson on giving customers what they want

Kirk Simpson is president and CEO of Wave Accounting, a free online accounting service for small businesses. Kirk started Wave after 13 years in digital media.

Wave, which launched in Nov. 2010, is Kirk’s third start-up and the company is on a roll. Wave nabbed a $1.5 million seed round in June 2011, led by OMERS through INKEF Capital. A $5 million Series A round followed in October 2011 led by Charles River Ventures (CRV), with OMERS Ventures. (This came after $750,000 in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario in September.) We recently interviewed Kirk about Wave.

DigitalPuck.ca:  Can you tell us a little bit about what Wave provides customers?

Kirk Simpson: Wave is a ridiculously easy and 100% free online accounting tool for small business owners.  We know that the majority of small business owners hate doing this stuff. They’re using spreadsheets and shoe boxes to manage their income and expenses until tax time.  We use smart technology to cut down on the time they spend on accounting and bookkeeping, while giving them better control of their business. Continue reading »

StartUp Calgary seeks startups for Launch Party

StartUp Calgary is looking for local, up-and-coming technology companies to showcase at Launch Party 2011.

Bringing together the VC’s, angel investors, the A100, and the tech startup community in the city, Launch Party celebrates innovation and technology. The StartUp Calgary Showcase winners will be announced at the event and the top three pre-selected companies will present their pitch to the audience. Continue reading »