2012 was a year of laying foundations for Startup Canada, iMotion Technologies and Startup Nations. Below is a summary of some of the highlights of my 2012.
January – March – Supporting HRSDC in their work on developing a social innovation strategy for Canada
February – Launching Startupcan.ca
March - Piloting the National Tour in Halifax, Truro, Antigonish, Yarmouth and Sydney, Nova Scotia
March - Speaking at the NATI Solutions Summit in St. John’s NL
April - Chairing 3rd Annual ICUE Global Summit in London, UK held at IBM bringing together the leaders of national youth entrepreneurship organizations across the world featuring Sir Paul Judge, Lord Bilimoria and Minister Mark Prisk
April - Speaking at the 4rd Annual NACUE Leaders Training Conference in London, UK at which I presented the inaugural Founders’ Award to the 2012 President of the Year
May 2nd – Launching Startup Canada Officially in Ottawa featuring Minister Baird and Sir Terry Matthews
May – Touring PEI, Ontario and New Brunswick on Tour with Startup Canada
June – Touring Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan on Tour with Startup Canada
June – Securing IRAP support for iMotion Technologies
July – Touring Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador on Tour with Startup Canada
August – Speaking at the Institute for Public Administration of Canada Annual Conference in St. John’s, NL on narrowing Canada’s Innovation Gap alongside Tom Jenkins
September – Speaking at the CIVICUS World Assembly on Social Entrepreneurship in Montreal, QC
September – Completing the Startup Canada National Tour in Ontario and British Columbia
October - Speaking at the Atlantic Dreams Festival (Halifax), the New Brunswick Entrepreneurs Summit (Fredericton) and as the special keynote for the BMO Lecture Series at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS
October - Appointing the New Board and Advisors for Startup Canada
October - Moving into our first office thanks to McMillan LLP
November - Mentoring more than 10,000 Canadian entrepreneurs through the Canadian Mentorship Challenge
November – Coordinating Ottawa’s Global Entrepreneurship Week with +50 events, +20 partners, making Ottawa the most active city in Canada and 3rd in the world
November – Launching StartupBlueprints.ca during 6 PopUp Press Conferences in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver featuring Minister Clement, Minister Berneier and Minister Duguid
November – Hosting the Startup Nations Summit in Ottawa featuring Jonathan Ortmans and Alan Barrell bringing together the leaders of national entrepreneurship organizations and movements from across the world
November – Speaking at events throughout Global Entrepreneurship Week
December – Launching a crowd funding campaign for Startup Connect in Waterloo at the Accelerator with the support of Mayor Brenda Halloran
Partnering with phenomenal corporate partners – Gowlings, Microsoft, Ernst & Young, BDC, EDC, Best Western Hotels and Intuit
Partnering with passionate small business partners – Shopify, Clarity.fm, StartupPlays, Artik Promotions, KA Media, PubliAir, VideoBooth, Switch Video, Blab Media, Paper.li, Hootsuite, Fundica, RGA, the Hinton Group
Partnering with supportive government partners – CICP, DFAIT, British High Commission, American Embassy
Partnering with more than 200 organizations on 200 events throughout the national tour across 40 communities engaging 20,000 Canadians in person and 50,000 Canadians online
Working with passionate and committed volunteers across Canada
Awards – Our Chairman Adam Chowaniec receiving the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal
Media Coverage across Canada and the world, including: The Next Web, TechCrunch, TechVibes, National Post, Globe & Mail, The Star, ITWorld Business and dozens of online and print publication
