Startup and Small Business Events You Don’t Want to Miss in August 2015

Business Events_Startup Guelph

Every month our team compiles a list of startup and small business events in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario that we’re interested in attending and think will be useful to the startup and small business community.

Some of these events may fill up fast, so if you’re interested in attending please register quickly. Business events are generally free of charge, unless a price is listed. If you’re hosting an event or come across one that you think should be included here, feel free to contact us with your suggestion.

Toronto Events

RIC Centre

As the Entrepreneur and Innovation Hub for Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, the RIC Centre offers a comprehensive range of support services to entrepreneurs for free, including mentorship and advisory services, hands-on workshops and networking events.

Event: Entrepreneur Workshop on Starting Lean:Value Proposition
When: August 11 & 18, 2015, 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Xerox Research Centre of Canada, 2660 Speakman Drive, Mississauga
Price: $100.00

Camp Tech

Camp Tech is a tech skills training hub. They provide half- and full-day in-person workshops for adults who want to learn web and digital skills. They create a welcoming environment for those who are hesitant around technology, and we emphasize skills that can be put into practice right away. Camp Tech was founded in August 2012. Offering approximately 75 workshops a year in Toronto, and have recently expanded into Ottawa, Hamilton, and Kitchener/Waterloo.

Event: SEO: How To Drive More Traffic To Your Website
When: August 12, 2015, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: Centre for Social Innovation, 215 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Price: $85.00

Toronto Board of Trade

The Toronto Board of Trade facilitates opportunities for knowledge sharing, networking, business development, and city building. It is the authoritative voice of Canada’s most prominent business community.

Event: Networking with the World
When: August 13, 2015, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Royal Ontario Museum, Bronfman Hall, 100 Queens Park, Toronto, ON
Price: $35 for Members; $55 for Non-members

Rails Pub Night

This great informal social event in Toronto is perfect for anyone interested in web development. People in the industry, as well as interested recruits are able to gather in Toronto’s exciting web development and  start up community.

Event: Toronto Rails Pub Night
When: August 17, 2015, 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Where: The Rhino, 1249 Queen Street West (Queen & Dufferin), Toronto
Price: Free

Enterprise Toronto

Enterprise Toronto is a one-stop source to start and grow your small business. Their team of small business advisors can help you make the right decisions during your business start-up and help develop your management capabilities as your business venture grows.

Event: Marketing and Sales Boot Camp
When: August 18, 2015, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, 2nd Floor, Committee Room 4, Toronto
Price: $15.00

MaRS Discovery District

MaRS is where entrepreneurs get the help they need, where all kinds of people meet to spark new ideas, and where a global reputation for innovation is being earned, one success story at a time.The often-free events at MaRS are ideal for start-ups, science, technology and social entrepreneurs looking to make connections and learn more about a particular aspect of business.

Event: Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Workshops – Pitching to Investors (3 sessions)
When: August 19, 2015, 8:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: MaRS Centre, 101 College Street, Toronto
Price: $100.00

Ladies Learning Code

Have you taken our HTML and CSS workshop? Looking to expand your web-development skills? Wonder what all this CSS3 stuff is about? CSS is a powerful language used to create layout and design for web pages. Without CSS, the web would not be as pretty!

Event: HTML & CSS for Beginners (Evenings)
When: August 20 – 27 2015, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: 425 Adelaide St W., Toronto
Price: $55.00

Inbound Toronto

Inbound Marketing Toronto is a monthly meetup focused on hot topics in the world of inbound marketing. The meetup hosts experts in the fields of Digital Marketing, SEO & Local SEO, Social Media, UX Design, Graphic Design, PPC, CRO, CRM, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Start-up Founders, and more.

Event: InboundTO #29: “SEO Deep Dive: Q&A Session
When: August 20, 2015, 6:00 p.m.
Where: BNOTIONS office, 106 Front Street East, suite 200, room YMC, Toronto
Price: $10.00

Waterloo Region events

Communitech

Founded by a group of dedicated entrepreneurs in 1997, Communitech is Waterloo Region’s hub for the commercialization of innovative technologies. Over the years, they have supported and helped build a tech cluster of nearly 1,000 companies that now generates more than $30 billion in revenue.

Event: User Experience Workshop
When: August 20, 2015, 6:45 a.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Where: 151 Charles Street West, Kitchener

Waterloo Region Small Business Centre

The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre encourages and contributes to the enterprising spirit and economic vitality of our commmunity by assisting entrepreneurs with the development of new or existing businesses.

Event: Marketing (101)
When: August 25, 2015, 9:30 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: 200 King ST West, Kitchener
Price: $20.00

Halton Events

Silicon Halton

Silicon Halton organizes a number of events throughout the year in the region Halton which including Burlington, Oakville, and Milton. Their monthly meetups and Peer2Peer has three main components; a key notes presentation, a get to know a member presentation, and time set out for networking. These events are catered to anyone at a startup – especially in the tech industry – that want to learn more about business best practices.

Event: Solopreneur Peer-2-Peer #48: 5 Questions we Wish Clients Would Ask 
When: August 20, 2015, 8:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Where: Hampton’s Restaurant (Civitan Room), Quality Suites Hotel, 754 Bronte Road, Oakville

HalTech

HalTech is the leading source of support and personal service for tech and advanced manufacturing entrepreneurs in Halton. They assist Halton’s entrepreneurs and technology companies with developing their ideas, commercializing their products/services and establishing and expanding their businesses.

Event: HalTech New Client Enrollment Session
When: August 20, 2015, 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Where: Sheridan College, Trafalgar Campus, Sheldon Levy Centre, Rm J114, 1430 Trafalgar Road, Oakville
Price: Free

Guelph Events

Startup Weekend Guelph

Startup Weekend is a 54 hour event that brings together Guelph designers, developers, entrepreneurs,
and experts from all domains to do amazing things. All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and embark on a three-day frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekend culminates with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback!

When: August 28 – 30, event starts at 6:30 p.m.
Where: McLaughlin Library (University of Guelph), 50 Stone Road East, Guelph
Price: $99.00

Niagara Events

Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Businesses in Niagara are looking for leadership to address the real issues that are facing businesses and communities in Niagara. After extensive discussion and research the decision was made by a group of business people to create the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce. The goal is that this organization can bring together business leaders who are ready to help position Niagara’s economy for the 21st Century.

Event: Business After Five
When: August 11, 2015, 5:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.
Where: 1594 Concession Six, RR#2 Niagara-on-the-Lake
Price: Free

Niagara Falls Small Business Enterprise Centre – Marketing and Advertising

The Niagara Falls Small Business Enterprise Centre runs events geared towards both new start-up businesses as well as existing businesses. This 2 hour seminar will describe marketing techniques that are critical to the success of your business. Investing in a good marketing plan will generate excellent returns and provide long-term benefits to your business.

When: August 27, 2015, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where: City of Niagara Falls, 4310 Queen Street, Niagara Falls
Price: $20.00

Are we missing any startup or small business events? Let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

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Startup and Small Business Events You Don’t Want to Miss in August 2015