The next new Canadian tech startup hotspot is Hamilton, Ontario! In the past few years things have been shaping quite well for the golden horseshoe area. Venture Accelerator Partners started almost five years ago and since then we have been involved in the Hamilton Tech Community. Our first client was from Hamilton. When we started our business many of the local activities were organized by Mark Chamberlain and Ty Shattuck from Trivaris and Dr. Laurence Hewick .The events were the Golden Horseshoe Venture Forum and the occasional innovation night. The community seemed to be overshadowed by Toronto and the fast growing Waterloo Region.
Fast forward five years and there is plenty going on. The Trivaris team is still there in a new building at McMaster Innovation Park and PV Labs one of their companies, is one of the fastest growing organizations in Canada. Dr. Hewick and VA Partner’s Steve Gruber are still organizing GHVF events. There are many other things going on as well fastest growing organizations in Canada. Dr. Hewick and VA Partner’s Steve Gruber are still organizing GHVF events. There are many other things going on as well.
The Innovation Factory has launched within the past year and is modeled on the successful KW based Communitech. They are providing mentoring services, lunch and learns targeted at startups, and helping to organize events like the revamped innovation night. It was at the Open House Innovation Factory event that my eyes were opened to what Hamilton was becoming. There were hundreds of people in attendance, with many entrepreneurs talking about their solutions. It was one of the best networking events I have ever been to.
The story does not stop with the Innovation factory but builds from there. Mohawk and McMaster are becoming more focused with entrepreneurship on the campus and in the community. There are also a couple of grass roots events being organized by Kevin Browne, a PHD student at McMaster. He is the driving force behind the DemoCamp Hamilton and Software Hamilton. I have not been able to attend DemoCamp Hamilton as my first attempt was blocked by a sold-out event, a good indication of the pent up demand. I was able to attend the Software Hamilton Meetup this past week. There were 40 attendees talking passionately about their ideas, businesses, and Hamilton. It was a great event and I know there are many more planned for the fall.
The bottom line is that there has never been a time better in Hamilton to get help with your startup and be part of a growing community. I am sure there will be many solutions and businesses emerging form Hamilton over the next few months and years.
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