5 Questions...with Saul Colt

Saul Colt is the Lead Evangelist for Rogers Ventures (Portfolio companies: Zoocasa.com, GridCentric.ca Thoora.com) and is currently doing everything in his power to help build the brand of Thoora.com.  He was recently named as one of the iMEDIA 25: Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators and has been called one of Canada's best community builders/experiential marketers. Chris Brogan once referred to Saul as "exactly who you want representing your company.”  Saul  loves women and is tired of people asking him to remove his shirt.

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

I am motivated by many things but mostly I am driven by immense personal pride and and the desire to be thought of as the best at what I do...and what I do is execute on my ideas and constantly push the boundaries of relationship marketing. On top of that, I like attention. I choose to promote myself and products/services I am a part of in the way I do because never before has small companies of personal brands had such access to people before. I have no desire to be an internet celebrity but I do crave for people to be impressed by my accomplishments and say things under their breath like "OMG (said as initials not the whole words) There goes the greatest living non-traditional marketer ever".

Do you have any success start-up tips for people wanting to create a name for themselves in your industry?

My advice would be different depending on if people are looking to make a name for themselves or for a product/service but there are a lot of similarities. For both you have to focus on providing value to people being helpful and going out of your way to connect with people on a human level and most importantly you need to provide access. A lot of people will talk about engagement but I like to talk about access. They are basically the same thing but by calling it access it sounds new and totally different!

In your opinion why is Toronto a hotbed for cool tech start-ups?

Toronto is full of smart and focused people who recognize that there is a real opportunity for success due in part to a tight community of people willing to support each other. Events like Sproutups (from Sprouter.com), DemoCamps, IgniteToronto, and Refresh Events work very hard in keeping the community energized and prepared to blaze new trails.

What's your favourite tech toy and social media site and why?

I am not sure if this is my favorite tech toy but have recognized recently that I get very nervous and a little twitchy when I am physically removed from my iPhone. It is my connection to the world and I depend on it in a similar way that babies need milk and rap stars need bling or ice. I am not sure if I have a favorite Social Media site because I read approx 500 sites a day but I will say I am way more attracted to content and topics then one or two specific urls.

Who would you say is one of Toronto's social media/tech stars and why?

As I mentioned earlier, Toronto is full of amazing people in this space and to name just one would be very difficult so instead of naming an "all star" I would rather highlight someone who deserves more attention then they currently get so my 2 Toronto Twitter "Hidden Gems" are @gogogooding and @firsttiger and for blog content you can never go wrong with Dave Fleet.

Thanks for this!

You are very welcome!