Thanks for a successful Mentor Monday

Mentor Monday this week in Toronto provided another great example of entrepreneurs who are making a big difference in Canada.

Many thanks to our three CEO guests: Mark Jaine, CEO of Intelex, Michael De Monte CEO of ScribbleLive and Ben Baldwin CEO of Clearfit, for a very open and honest conversation about their companies. Continue reading »

Mentor Monday coming up on June 6

Just a reminder that Mentor Monday is coming up soon (and is sold out!)

Mentor Monday Update

Hello friends of Mentor Monday.  As you know, I appreciate your ongoing support of Mentor Monday.

Next Mentor Monday on June 6

Mark your calendars! The next Mentor Monday will be held June 6 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Bennett Jones, 3400 One First Canadian Place, Toronto. Please register at Eventbrite here for the event. RSVP is required.

When Mentor Monday began in early 2010 we intended to create a unique forum to connect CEOs to mentors, providing a candid, effective networking opportunity for all.

CEOs who presented at our last meeting included Krista Zyp from gShiftlabs, Alain Paquin from Whatsnexx and Steve Hulford from Filemobile. I am enthused by the number of young entrepreneurs who come to listen and learn from some very experienced industry veterans.

Stay tuned for more information on our next meeting!
Howard

Next Mentor Monday is on June 6

Mark your calendars! The next Mentor Monday will be held June 6 with a venue and list of speakers to be announced soon.

When Mentor Monday began in early 2010 we intended to create a unique forum to connect CEOs to mentors, providing a candid, effective networking opportunity for all.

CEOs who presented at our last meeting included Krista Zyp from gShiftlabs, Alain Paquin from Whatsnexx and Steve Hulford from Filemobile. I am enthused by the number of young entrepreneurs who come to listen and learn from some very experienced industry veterans.

Stay tuned for more information on our next meeting!
Howard

Mentor Monday Recap

This past Monday marked another informative and engaging Mentor Monday session.  Thank you to KPMG for hosting our session with fantastic hospitality.

We had 70 folks attend all or part of three great presentations from:

1.  Krista Zyp from gShiftlabs.
2. Alain Paquin from Whatsnexx.
3.  Steve Hulford from Filemobile.

We will continue to refine and hopefully enhance the format going forward.  I am enthused by the number of young entrepreneurs who are coming to listen and learn from some very experienced industry veterans – the more the merrier!

Please look for another Mentor Monday session in May on www.digitalpuck.ca.

Howard

Don’t Forget to RSVP to Mentor Monday Feb. 28

Another Great Mentor Monday…Thanks Everyone!

I wanted to take the time today to thank everyone who participated in Mentor Monday this week.
First and foremost, our deep gratitude goes out to Barry Reiter and Gary Solway from Bennett Jones for hosting again at their fantastic facility. Bennett has been a great partner to Digital Puck.  Second, a big thank you to the CEOs who presented at this session:  Chango CEO Chris Sukornyk, Bering Media CEO Michael Ho and Kneebone CEO Wendy Robertson.
All three laid the ground for some great discussion.
Mentor Monday will return in 2011 and we hope to see you then.  Thank you all for the support!

Howard

Mentor Monday: Helping Great Companies Overcome Canada’s Funding Gap

Consider the following list of venture capital firms: Blackboard, Brightspark, BMO Technology Investment Program, CastleHill Ventures Inc., CDP Capital Technology Ventures, CMDF, Crocus Investment Fund , Edgestone, eLab, First Ontario, Garage Canada, Greenstone, GTI Capital, Hydro-Québec CapiTech Inc., Jefferson Partners, Lattitude, Launchworks, Mosaic Venture Partners, MWI Partners, New Generation Biotech Fund, NRG Group, Primaxis, Propulsion, RBC Advanced Technology Fund , RBC Technology Ventures, RBC Capital Partners, RBC Life Sciences Fund, RBC Telecommunications Fund, Rising Tide Canada, RoyNat, Skypoint, Springbank, TechnoCap, Tera Capital, VC Advantage Fund, Ventures West, VentureCoaches, Working Opportunity Fund, XDL, and Vengrowth.

Thanks for staying with me. Now try to guess what all of these firms have in common. Stumped?

Well, the sad truth, which Wellington’s Mark McQueen noted in a recent blog post, is that none of them are investing in new deals in Canada going forward. None.
Continue reading »

Mentor Monday to continue in September 2010

Mentor Monday has been a great success for all and we intend to continue with the model.  Given the summer holiday season is upon us soon, limiting full participation, we are going to restart Mentor Monday in early September.  I have several companies in the queue to present (please send Howard Gwin a note if you would like to present your company) and we will be back in full gear in early August setting up the event.