For our newsletter, our team compiles a list of small business events that we are interested in attending for the upcoming month, which we also believe to be useful to the startup and small business industry. A number of organizations listed are involved in a variety of events, but we have chosen to feature one event that we feel will be particularity useful for startups. We will be posting this blog with featured events the first week of every month.
The events we focus on are primarily in Toronto, the GTA, Guelph, Kitchener, Niagara, St. Catharines and Hamilton, so take a look through the events we are suggesting For April. Please note that the following events may get sold out fast, so if you are interested in attending contact the organization quickly. If you’re hosting an event or have come across one you think we should mention, please feel free to contact uswith your suggestions.
Innovation Factory facilitates the discussion of new ideas and discovery between business, science and academia. Their events are beneficial to anyone at a startup to a multinational corporation. Innovation Factory offers events for both networking and learning along with the support of their experienced advisors. These events run in the region of Hamilton. Be sure to come out and hear from VA Partners’ very own Mark Elliott, guest speaker for the evening.
Event: Café iF: Free and Almost Free Must-Have Sales Resources
When: August 15, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where: Factory Floor at McMaster Innovation Park (suite 305A), 175 Longwood Road South Hamilton
Toronto is proud to be the latest host of O’Reilly Media’s international Ignite series. O’Reilly has been instrumental in spreading the knowledge of innovators through its books, magazines and conferences and Ignite is no different. Ignite is the brainchild of Brady Forrest and BrePettis. Brady is a technologist for O’Reilly Media, and BrePettis, who was at Make Magazine at the time, currently works at Etsy and is the founder of Maker Bot and NYC Resistor. The Ignite motto is “enlighten us, but make it quick.” It captures the best of geek culture in a series of five-minute speed presentations on a diverse range on topics. Be Sure to tweet it up with #igniteTO
Featured Event: Ignite TO6
When: August 16, 6:15 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Where: The Pilot, Stealth Lounge, 2nd floor, 55 Cumberland St, Yorkville
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 include 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 are looking to learn more about business practices.
Event: Meetup #34: Rev Up Your Business with CRM and Marketing Automation
When: August 14, 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Where: Ned Devine’s, 575 Ontario Street South Milton
Events at Haltech target startup businesses in the technology industry that are looking to develop new ideas, establish their business or continue to grow it. The events by Haltech are held in the region of Halton, and provide training for entrepreneurs as well as a chance to network.
Event: Silicon Halton & HalTech Demo Night
When: August 23, 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Where: Teatro Conference & Event Centre121 Chisholm Drive, Milton
Startup Drinks
Startup Drinks provides an open space for entrepreneurs and small business owners to connect and share ideas. There are no presentations or pitches, just conversation and networking. To meet some of the up-and-coming people in the startup community, this is a great event to attend. These events are held in a number of locations such as Toronto, Hamilton, and Waterloo.
Event: Startup Drinks Waterloo
When: August 7, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Chainsaw, 28 King Street North
Event: Startup Drinks Toronto
When: August 29, 8:00 p.m.
Where: Hotel Ocho – 2nd floor, 195 Spadina Avenue
Event: Startup Drinks Hamilton
When: August 9, 6:00 p.m.
Where: The Winking Judge, 25 Augusta Street
Innovation Guelph is an organization that provides programs, events, and services to help entrepreneurs, community organizations, researchers and business leaders develop their ideas. They also have expert advisors to help in your development.
Event: Innovation Guelph Startup Stories
When: August 10, 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Where: Delta Hotel, 50 Stone Rd W, Guelph
Rails Pub Night
This informal social event in Toronto is perfect for anyone interesting in web development. People in the industry are able to gather along with both recruits as people in the web development start up community.
When: August 20, 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Where: The Rhino, 1249 Queen Street West, Toronto
Communitech events are focused on being engaging and interactive, providing useful information for companies of many sizes. Communitech is based in the Waterloo region and these events are varied and include peer2peer, Hub for Grub, Techworking Breakfast and Communitech Connect and more. Be sure to bring copies of your resume for this month’s event.
Event: Waterloo TechVibe Recruitment Event
When: August 21, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where: Waterloo Inn, Regent Room, 475 King Street North, Waterloo
Social Media Breakfast: Waterloo Region
Social Media Breakfast is the perfect opportunity to network with fellow blogging/podcasting/new-media individuals while enjoying breakfast. Gain great insight through panel discussions, presentations, case studies, debates, and breakout sessions by coming out to a social media breakfast event.
Event: Mini-Unconference
When: August 1, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: Symposium Cafe, 2-4 King Street North, Waterloo
Don’t forget to sign up for next month’s newsletter for more events
