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Put Your Startup Community on the Map
2014 Applications are Now Open for Startup Communities - Deadline November 8th
Healthy and vibrant entrepreneurial communities at a local level are the heart of supporting and driving the growth of startups.
Startup Canada Communities is a pan-Canadian network to provide entrepreneurs with a single doorway to enter their local entrepreneur community to access mentors, space, funding and support to start and grow their businesses and to connect with other startup founders online and on the ground.
This initiative is a response to the call-to-action from more than 20,000 entrepreneurs in 40 communities who made their voices heard during the Startup Canada National Tour last year, calling for stronger, more connected and more active local startup communities to accelerate entrepreneur success.
In May 2013, Startup Canada launched 15 pilot communities as the first wave of its national network. This pilot has built the framework and infrastructure to support the roll-out of Startup Communities across a second wave Startup Communities to begin in 2014.
The Application process is now open and the deadline for applications is November 8th.
Click here for the 2014 Startup Communities Information Document and click here for the Application.
Two information sessions will be held next week online on October 21st (2pm -3pm EST) and October 24th (12pm - 1pm EST). Email Hello@startupcan.ca for any questions or to register for an information session.
The selected 2014 Startup Communities will be announced live on November 21st during Startup Canada Day on the Hill.
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National Update
Startup Canada is building a national network of hyper-connected grassroots startup communities to accelerate entrepreneur success in Canada. We accelerate the growth of grassroots startup communities through:
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Monthly working group sessions for best practice sharing, learning and nation-building;
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A private online group;
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National coordination, promotions and advocacy;
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Access to world-leading experts and advisors;
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White labeled network websites and branding; and,
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Impact measurement tools and reports.
Having launched just six-month ago, this month we released the first impact report and health check of the pilot communities and created their online community dashboards. The National volunteer team is focusing now on setting in motion the call for proposals for the 2014 cohort of Startup Communities. Stay tuned for further details.
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Atlantic Canada
Startup St. John's is going strong with regular meet-ups and the recent launch of Common Ground Co-Working. Led by Jason and Roger with the support of NATI, the community is preparing to host its first Startup Weekend.
Startup Fredericton's community has a permanent space at the Cedar Tree Cafe; sent a delegation to the International Startup Festival and is in the process of preparing for Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013; and, has been growing its brand and connectivity across the city. The community has strong partnerships with the University of New Brunswick and the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce.
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British Columbia
Startup Smithers has made considerable progress as the smallest community in the pilot. This community focuses on one-to-one entrepreneur support and is building a co-working space along with a VC fund in partnership with the local Forest Council. This Autumn they are focused on building out their CEP and building relations with feeders.
Startup Prince George runs regular Startup Drinks events and is preparing to run its second Startup Weekend event. The Community is building a Makerspace and is focused on building relationships with feeders and amplifying awareness of its website as a community resource.
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QueÌbec
QueÌbec Startup has had great success stimulating organic growth of the Startup Community. Key activities included sending a delegation to the International Startup Festival and running a regular breakfast series connecting VCs and startups. The community is working with local feeders to explore developing an incubator in the community and is preparing for a Startup Weekend in November.
Startup MontreÌal launched at the International Startup Festival and is about to host its first official MashUp event in October. It has made significant progress in build relationships with feeders, government leaders and corporate partners and establishing critical academic alliances.
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Prairies
Startup Winnipeg is one of the strongest communities in the pilot phase and has invested in building out its core team; launching and improving its co-working space adjacent to AssentWorks; creating highly visible and highimpact programming; and, forging meaningful relationships with feeder organisations. Notably, the community has garnered national attention for hosting David Chilton, author of the Wealthy Barber and for the recent investment into the AssentWorks space.
Startup Lethbridge is laying its foundations for growth, building partnerships with local feeders and entrepreneurs. This community is also working on a co-working space, runs bi-weekly meetups and is preparing to roll-out high-impact events in 2014.
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Ontario
Startup Ottawa has been active with Startup Weekend and Startup Grind events and supported Accelerate OTT and a delegation to the International Startup Festival. The key area of focus this Autumn is Global Entrepreneurship Week and developing a well functioning Community Enterprise Partnership.
Startup London has focused its first six months on fueling activities - e.g. startup weekend, coding and learning sessions and partnership formations. It is now working on building team capacity, communications and building feeder relations.
Startup York is still getting off the ground; however, has developed the first version of its web presence. It is now focused on building a team and programming for 2014.
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Communities in Progress
Startup Langford is set to launch in October
Startup Charlottetown continues to lay the foundations with key local stakeholders
Startup Kingston has feeder support; however, is looking for leader engagemen
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